To open the 2020 virtual edition of Billboard Women in Music, honoree Dua Lipa pivoted from her standard high-energy and vibrant visuals to a more stripped-down, pointed performance of “Boys Will Be Boys.”
The Future Nostalgia closer was the perfect statement-making song for the night, as Lipa repeated its chorus “boys will be boys … but girls will be women.” Wearing a black gown and performing in front of a blank canvas, occasionally illuminated to show silhouettes of the string players accompanying her, the bare-bones setup allowed Lipa’s impassioned vocals — and the song’s message — to take center stage.
Lipa released Future Nostalgia, her acclaimed second album, earlier this year and more recently performed a record-breaking livestream, Studio 2054, to more than 5 million viewers around the world. Lipa is the recipient of this year’s Women in Music Powerhouse Award, given to an act whose music dominated streaming, sales and radio.