He's a successful Jewish singer, she's a pop star who, putting it delicately, isn't among Israel's most enthusiastic supporters. But on stage last Saturday, Troye Sivan and Dua Lipa intertwined bodies as if there were no bloody politics in the world and all that's needed for peace is hot music.
Dua, who is currently dancing on stages during her tour, surprised the audience in Melbourne, Australia when on Saturday she chose to bring Sivan on stage where the two performed his hit "Rush" with sensuality and enthusiasm. "The next song in the show changes every night," Lipa told the excited crowd, adding that this is the moment when she performs a song "by a local artist." "Tonight, I thought it would be a big mistake if I didn't perform a song by one of my favorite artists who is also my friend," she said.
Without any prior announcement, Sivan joined her – and the two gave a performance that included many sensual body movements and mutual touching. Afterward, they performed an unofficial remix of Lipa's "Physical" before going down to the audience and asking fans for a favor.
Dua Lipa gave a lucky fan a USB with a remix of her song "Physical" ft. Troye Sivan at the 'Radical Optimism' tour in Melbourne:
"Can we trust you to leak it?" 🎥: @emmett_mccann_
— Buzzing Pop (@BuzzingPop) March 22, 2025
According to fan documentation circulated online, Lipa stood in front of the crowd holding a pink USB containing the remix of "Physical" with Sivan. "Do we trust you to leak this?" Lipa asked the audience before passing the USB to a fan who thanked her with a big hug. "The Dua duo we didn't know we needed," users summarized the musical performance of the two.
If we put aside the musical number for a moment, this isn't such a natural connection even though Lipa claims the two are friends. As mentioned, Lipa, who is of British-Albanian origin, hasn't hidden over the years that she is an enthusiastic pro-Palestinian, has repeatedly made harsh critical statements against Israel, and even had a two-year relationship with Anwar Hadid, brother of Bella and Gigi and son of Mohammad, a family known for its extreme views against Israel.
Interestingly, since the outbreak of the "Iron Swords" war and despite still holding a pro-Palestinian position, in media interviews, Lipa, a known supporter of equal rights for the LGBTQ community to which Sivan belongs, has provided statements with a less inflammatory tone.
"There needs to be a humanitarian ceasefire," she declared in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in January 2024. "My feelings about people being displaced from their homes are very real," she said about Gaza residents after also signing a petition calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. "It's a topic that's very difficult for me to talk about because it's controversial, but there's a world where you can grieve all human lives lost. I don't support the actions of Hamas. All human lives are precious," she added and even mentioned the Israeli side: "I feel bad for every Israeli who lost their life and for what happened on October 7."
Sivan has Jewish roots. He was born in South Africa and at age two immigrated with his family to Australia. His mother Laurel was a model who converted to Judaism when she married his father Shaun, an entrepreneur and real estate broker, and Sivan grew up in a religious home and was educated in an Orthodox Jewish school, with his singing career, as he told in interviews, beginning when he sang in a synagogue as a child.
Sivan isn't very vocal regarding Israel (although he's already stamped his passport on a visit to the country and his sister even lives here as far as fans know) and doesn't maintain a religious lifestyle, but he is proud (in both senses) of his Jewish roots, occasionally tweets in support of Israel, and even founded a lifestyle brand called Tsu Lange Yor which in free translation from Yiddish means "to long life," selling home products such as candles and even a Hanukkah dreidel for a thousand dollars.
"Since I'm not a particularly religious person and I'm queer, my Jewish identity was something I struggled with and wasn't sure about," he said after coming out. "I liked the idea of reclaiming it and proudly declaring, even to other Jewish people, 'I'm queer and I'm also Jewish and these two things are equally important in defining who I am.'"
