Dua Lipa


Dua Lipa is an English singer and songwriter. After working as a model, she signed with Warner Music Group in 2015 and released her self-titled debut album in 2017. The album peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart, and produced nine singles, including "Be the One" and "IDGAF", and the UK number-one single "New Rules", which also peaked at number six in the US. In 2018, Lipa won the Brit Awards for British Female Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act.
Released in April 2018, the single "One Kiss", with Calvin Harris, peaked at number one in the UK, and became the longest-running number-one single for a female artist in 2018. It won her the 2019 Brit Award for Song of the Year. In 2019, she was also awarded the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, and "Electricity", a collaboration with Silk City, won her the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. The success of the singles helped her self-titled album become one of the most-streamed albums on Spotify and achieve platinum certifications. Her second studio album, Future Nostalgia, was released in March 2020 to critical acclaim. It is her first UK number-one album; its lead single "Don't Start Now" peaked at number two on both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100.
Lipa has received various accolades, including two Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards and two MTV Europe Music Awards. She has also been nominated for three Billboard Music Awards, an American Music Award, and ten MTV Video Music Awards.

Early life

Lipa was born on 22 August 1995 in Westminster, London, to Kosovar Albanian parents who had moved from Pristina, FR Yugoslavia in 1992. Her father—Dukagjin Lipa—is a marketing manager and the lead vocalist in the Kosovan rock band Oda, while her mother—Anesa Lipa —works in tourism. Through her maternal grandmother, Lipa is also of Bosnian descent. Lipa has a younger sister Rina and a younger brother Gjin. She attended Sylvia Young Theatre School part-time before moving to Kosovo with her family in 2006 when her father accepted a job offer there. In Kosovo, Lipa attended the Mileniumi i Tretë school in Pristina, and became a fan of hip hop artists which would eventually influence her music style.
At the age of 14, Lipa began posting YouTube covers of her favourite songs by artists such as Pink and Nelly Furtado. She has stated that she was influenced by the discovery of Justin Bieber on YouTube which inspired her to achieve the same. One year later, she moved back to London with aspirations of becoming a singer, living with a friend and studying at Parliament Hill School during the week and at the Sylvia Young Theatre School on Saturdays. In order to earn money for music sessions, Lipa worked different jobs, such as hostessing restaurants and nightclubs. She began working as a model for the online catalogue ASOS Marketplace when she was 16, with the goal of meeting people who could help her pursue a music career, but she left after a manager told her to lose weight. In 2013, Lipa starred in a television advertisement for The X Factor.

Career

2015–2018: Career beginnings and ''Dua Lipa''

In 2013, Lipa signed a contract with Tap Management, directed by Ben Mawson and Ed Millett, while working as a waitress in a cocktail bar. Subsequently, they offered her a monthly salary to leave her job and focus on recording music. During one of the sessions, Lipa co-wrote the song "Hotter than Hell", which would eventually lead to her signing a record deal with Warner Music Group in the summer of 2015. Millett retrospectively elaborated: "Dua was really smart – she signed to Warner Bros. partly because they didn't have a big female pop artist and they needed one. They really wanted her, so she had the focus of the team from day one." In August 2015, Lipa released her first single "New Love", produced by Emile Haynie and Andrew Wyatt. Her second single, "Be the One", was issued to European success in October 2015, reaching number one in Belgium, Poland and Slovakia, as well as charting within the top ten in over eleven European territories. In Australia and New Zealand, the song became an airplay success, reaching numbers 6 and 20 respectively. In November 2015, she was revealed as one of the acts on the BBC Sound of... 2016 long list. Her first tour in the UK and Europe began in January 2016, and concluded in November 2016.
On 18 February 2016, Lipa released her third single "Last Dance", followed by "Hotter than Hell" on 6 May. The latter reached success, particularly in the UK, where it peaked at number 15. On 26 August, her fifth overall single "Blow Your Mind " was released, peaking at number 30 in the UK. It became the singer's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100, debuting at number 72. The song also topped the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart and reached number 23 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart. Lipa was featured on Sean Paul's single "No Lie", released in November 2016, which reached number ten in the UK. The following month, a documentary about Lipa named See in Blue was commissioned by The Fader magazine. In January 2017, Lipa won the EBBA Public Choice Award, and released the single "Scared to Be Lonely", a collaboration with Martin Garrix, reaching number 14 in the UK. In May 2017, she performed at the anniversary of Indonesian television channel SCTV and was awarded as Young and Promising International Artist at the SCTV Music Awards.
Lipa's self-titled debut studio album was released on 2 June 2017. Its sixth single, "New Rules", released in the following month, became Lipa's first number one in the UK, and the first by a female solo artist to reach the top in the UK since Adele's "Hello" in 2015. Her best-selling single to date, the song also charted in the top ten of other countries, including number two in Australia, number six in the US, and number seven in Canada. Lipa performed at the Glastonbury Festival in June. The following month, Lipa performed at the We the Fest, an Indonesian music festival in Jakarta. She performed on BBC's Later... with Jools Holland in October. In December, Lipa was named the most streamed woman of 2017 in the UK by Spotify. She had four singles reach the UK top 10 in 2017, with "Be the One", "New Rules", "No Lie", and "Bridge over Troubled Water", a charity single for the families of the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire in London.
In January 2018, Lipa received nominations in five categories at the Brit Awards, more nominations than any other artist that year. She was nominated for MasterCard British Album of the Year for Dua Lipa, British Single of the Year and British Video of the Year for "New Rules", British Female Solo Artist, and British Breakthrough Act, winning the latter two. This was the first time that a female artist had received five nominations. She performed at the awards ceremony held on 21 February at the O2 Arena in London.
in February 2018 |left
The singer collaborated with American DJ Whethan on the song "High" for the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack, released in February 2018. She started working on new material for her second album in March 2018. On 6 April, Lipa and Calvin Harris released the single "One Kiss", which topped the UK Singles Chart on 20 April, making it Lipa's second number one in the chart; Lipa provided the vocals and is also credited as a writer. The single went on to become the biggest selling song in the UK of 2018 and topped the chart for eight consecutive weeks. She performed in the opening ceremony of the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final in Kiev on 26 May. It was reported that Lipa would be releasing collaborations with other artists coming out later in 2018, such as one with Mark Ronson and Diplo's newly formed superduo Silk City. Ronson later confirmed the song's title would be "Electricity". The song was released on 9 September. Lipa was also featured in "If Only", a song from Italian singer Andrea Bocelli's sixteenth studio album Sì.
Lipa performed at F1 Singapore Grand Prix in September. In the same month, Lipa endorsed British car brand Jaguar's new electric car, I-PACE. The brand created a remix of Lipa's song "Want To", and launched a service where fans could create their own version of Dua Lipa x Jaguar's song on the Join the Pace website, based on their own driving behaviour or the music they listen to, and share it on social media. According to Lipa's team, Jaguar and Lipa set the world record for the "most remixed song ever." In October, the singer released , an expanded version of her debut album that includes three new songs, including the aforementioned "Want To", and her previous collaborations with other artists. This included a collaboration with South Korean girl group Blackpink called "Kiss and Make Up".

2019–present: ''Future Nostalgia''

In January 2019, Lipa released the single "Swan Song" as part of the soundtrack to the 2019 film . That same month, Lipa stated that she had been spending the preceding year in the writing process for her second studio album. While discussing the album's sound, Lipa commented that it would be a "nostalgic" pop record that "feels like a dancercise class". In August 2019, Lipa partnered with brand Yves Saint Laurent to endorse their fragrance Libre.
Following the release of its lead single "Don't Start Now", Lipa's second album Future Nostalgia and its accompanying tour were announced in December, alongside the release of "Future Nostalgia", the album's first promotional single. "Don't Start Now" peaked at number two in the UK and became Lipa's second top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked at number one on the US Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart. Lipa's third single leading up to the release of the album, was "Physical". It was released on 30 January 2020 and the song's music video was released a day later. "Physical" debuted at number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100. A remix version of the song, featuring South Korean singer Hwasa was released on 17 March. Future Nostalgia was released on 27 March to widespread critical acclaim, following the release of the album's third single "Break My Heart" on 25 March. Future Nostalgia debuted at number two on the Official UK Albums Chart, 5550 copies behind 5 Seconds of Summer's Calm. Future Nostalgia peaked at number one on the Official UK Albums Chart the following week in April 2020, while the album's three singles entered the top ten of the Official Singles Chart.

Artistry

Lipa's music is primarily pop. Lipa describes her musical style as "dark pop". Her music has also been described as dance-pop, synth-pop, R&B, dream pop and alternative pop. She is also known for singing in a "distinct, husky, low register", and her "sultry" tone.
During writing sessions, Lipa states she usually comes to the studio with a concept and starts developing the song with her co-writers. She cites Pink, Nelly Furtado, Jamiroquai, Kendrick Lamar and Chance the Rapper among her musical influences. "My idea of pop has been P!nk and Christina Aguilera and Destiny's Child and Nelly Furtado,..." said Lipa in a GQ interview in 2018. Future Nostalgia was inspired by artists that she listened to during her adolescence, including Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Moloko, Blondie and Outkast.

Fashion

In January 2016, Lipa was in the cover for an editorial of Elle. In February 2016, she modeled for the cover of Wylde magazine. She modeled for an editorial for Stella McCartney, published on 23 February 2016. In April 2016 she was again in an editorial of Elle. She also modeled for an editorial of Paper magazine, published on 6 June 2017.
In late February 2019, she was in an image for the Pepe Jeans London spring/summer 2019 collection campaign.
Months later she releasing a clothing collection with the brand Pepe Jeans London, consisting of clothing trends from the late 90s and early 2000s and chain mail dresses, casual denim outfits and denim. On 2020, she modelled and released a second design collaboration with Pepe Jeans London for spring/summer 2020 collection inspired by late 1980s fashion and early 1990s fashion.

Philanthropy

Together with her father Dukagjin, she co-created the Sunny Hill Foundation in 2016 to raise funds to help people with financial difficulties in Pristina-based Kosovo, and in August 2018, she organised a festival to raise money for the Sunny Hill Foundation, called the Sunny Hill Festival. Former Pristina Mayor, Shpend Ahmeti, awarded her the Pristina Key, the first time one had been awarded. She hosted the festival for the second year in a row in 2019, with Miley Cyrus part of the performer lineup. Lipa has 15 tattoos, including one dedicated to Sunny Hill.
In mid-November 2018, she was part of a campaign organized by UNICEF called "Go Blue" in support of children's rights on the occasion of World Children's Day on November 20. The action consisted of a short video starring Millie Bobby Brown, alongside celebrities like Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson and Lilly Singh; whose clip was about dressing in blue or displaying the color blue, in which Lipa is in a studio re-recording the lyrics of "Be the One" and changes the word "red" to "blue" in the song.
On 13 April 2019, she became a UNICEF supporter on a three-day visit to a camp for refugee children and youth in Beirut, Lebanon that is supported by the said humanitarian agency; including many uprooted by the conflict in Syria.
On 26 November 2019, following the 2019 Albania earthquake, Lipa asked fans for support and donations to the relief effort. In collaboration with Albanian designers, she co-released a limited edition line of t-shirts called Pray for Albania in collaboration with the clothing manufacturer Bond to raise funds, where all proceeds went to families and victims affected by the seismicity.
On 16 May 2020, she did a live performance of "Break My Heart" on the television special aimed at the high school students whose graduation ceremonies and proms were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the end of May 2020, she participated in a digital event called "Dream With Us", organized by One Humanity and Constellation with the aim of raising funds. The event consisted of a 24-hour streaming concert with the participation of more than 150 artists in which a portion of proceeds would go to organizations that help fight the disease of COVID-19.

Activism

Lipa has stated to be part of feminism and has expressed being against sexism within the music industry, as well as using social media to raise awareness of women's problems and defend gender equality, as well as she has advocated for the equal acceptance of LGBT people in society. Also, she has shown support for the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Feminism

She participated in a short film for an initiative called "Global Feminism" directed by The Circle of Annie Lennox in association with Apple Music released on March 7, 2019 due to International Women's Day that it celebrating the later day. The clip highlights "the injustices that still suffered millions of women and girls around the world due to misogyny, rape and violence to pay for the disparity" in which Lipa appears with a poster that states: "1 and 3 women and girls are impacted by physical or sexual violence in their lifetime".

LGBT movement

On 12 February 2018, she expressed her support for the LGBT community by raising an LGBT flag while singing his song "Be the One" in a presentation at the Hollywood Palladium in the city of Los Angeles as part of The Self-Titled tour.
On 12 March 2018, she waved an LGBT flag to fans while performing "Blow Your Mind " at a concert at the Palais Theatre of Melbourne.
In November 2019, Lipa was announced as the headliner party host for the following year's Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade. On 29 February 2020, she was part of the parade, before performing "New Rules", "IDGAF", "Physical" and "Don't Start Now" at the Hordern Pavilion.
In early June 2020, in an Instagram post, she quoted the hashtag #BlackTransLivesMatter, a movement that advocates for racial equality within the LGBT community.

Black Lives Matter

On June 3 2020, she attended with her family and Anwar Hadid a Black Lives Matter protest in London.

Personal life

Controversies

Lipa became embroiled in controversy in early January 2018 when a cover of the song "Smoke, Drink, Break-Up" that she recorded in 2014 resurfaced on YouTube where she can be heard saying the n-word on the track with distorted audio, which lyrics says: "So I roll me swisha, pour me some liquor before we start to bicker and calling each other out our names like plenty bitches and n-----". On January 4 2018, after receiving backlash, she tweeted that she "never meant to offend or upset anyone," and that she "shouldn't have gone there at all" before stating that a different word should have been chosen to "avoid offence and confusion".
On 12 September 2018, an incident occurred in a Lipa concert that took place in National Exhibition and Convention Center of Shanghai where some fans were removed from the event by security personnel for allegedly dancing in their seats while waving rainbow flags, despite that homosexuality was decriminalised in 1997 in China. In response, the singer through Twitter dedicated a message to those members of the audience who were forcibly expelled from the concert in which she claimed to have been "proud" and "grateful" of those people who showed their pride in the show.
At the end of January 2020 she was involved in criticism from social media for attending an after-party in a strip club in Los Angeles after the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony with Rosalía, Lil Nas X and Lizzo, after the singer Lizzo shared a video through her Instagram stories where Lipa is seen throwing money at the dancers. This caused the reaction of people who accused Lipa of being "anti-feminist" contributing to a job that "literally allows you to objectify women", and the backlash soon sparked the launch of the hashtag #dualipaisoverparty. Months later, Lipa stated that in the event "everyone was having fun" and that she also "believe in supporting women in all fields of work", in addition to claiming that "nothing at that party was derogatory".

Political views

In November 2019, Lipa endorsed the Labour Party in the 2019 UK general election. She shared the policies of both Labour and Conservatives on various issues in an Instagram post and wrote that it was "the most important election in a generation", urging people to vote for Labour. In March 2020, she endorsed Bernie Sanders for Democratic nominee for US president.
In June 2020, Lipa shared, and later deleted after facing backlash, a post detailing the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in the wake of the George Floyd protests. The post depicts Israeli security forces detaining Palestinian minors. Controversy and outrage among fans arose from the nature of the caption and post, criticizing the Israeli government. The post referred to "fake" Jewish people in the Israeli government and "fake Christians" in the United States creating Hamas for people to "believe that hamas is the reasons for the decades worth of occupation, oppression, ethnic cleansing, and MURDER."
On 18 July 2020, Lipa shared a post on her Instagram story saying "Why Kosovo is not & will never be, Serbia", asking her followers to sign a petition which asked Apple to put Kosovo on their mapping services.
On 19 July 2020, Lipa faced backlash after she posted an image of a banner commonly associated with supporters of extreme Albanian nationalism on her social media accounts. The same banner had sparked controversy at the 2014 Serbia vs. Albania football game. The banner depicts the irredentist map of Greater Albania, while the caption, "autochthonous", alludes to the Illyrian theory of the origin of the Albanians. In response, Twitter users, many of them Macedonian, Greek, Montenegrin and Serbian, accused the singer of ethno-nationalism. Political scientist Florian Bieber described Lipa's tweet as "stupid nationalism", a belief which states that one group deserves greater rights because it was there earlier and that migrants to the nation should be deemed less worthy. In response, Lipa then tweeted that her post "was not intended to incite hate" and claimed that it had been "misinterpreted".

Relationship

In 2013, Lipa began on-again, off-again relationship with Isaac Carew. The couple were together for three and a half years until early 2017, and getting back together in January 2018. They broke up for the second time in June 2019. Since June 2019 Lipa has been dating American model Anwar Hadid.

Discography

Headlining