Dua Lipa: Elevating (2022) Movie Script
1
- With all my songs, I don't
really know any different,
so I have to talk about
personal experiences.
I guess it's not necessarily
just about one person.
It's really about
finding happiness
and being confident in that
and not allowing anyone
to take that away from you.
Dua Lipa has become one
of the biggest names in pop.
From the moment she released
her first single in 2015,
there was no limit to
what she would achieve.
Her catchy pop tunes and
smooth, sultry vocals
have made her music
appeal to a wide audience,
gaining her fans
across the globe.
Her commitment and
positivity towards her goals
and music career have made
her the deserving winner
of countless awards,
including two Grammys.
Dua Lipa's popularity
quickly expanded
between 2015 and 2018.
By 2018, she had become
the first female artist
to hit one billion
views on YouTube
on her hit single "New Rules."
- If you're not a female artist
that's by a piano
or by a guitar,
people are instantly gonna
think you're manufactured
or you don't write
your own songs
or you don't make
your own music,
and I feel like we have to
spend a lot more time proving
to the world that this is us.
Two years on,
"New Rules" has over
two billion views.
Her music brings an
essence of confidence
and authenticity
which her fans adore.
- When I get up on
stage, I do what I feel.
I dance the way I feel
like just my body moves,
and I like to perform
in different ways.
I find myself headbanging and
throwing kicks and jumping up
and down rather than having
like a set choreography.
I feel like for me,
that's way more organic.
If I just go into the
studio and I write fiction,
although it's my words,
if I don't have the
story to back it up with,
no one's gonna believe it.
And I think that's also a
big part of my songwriting
as well and why I feel like
I do it the way I do it.
With a long
lasting career ahead of her,
Dua Lipa has cemented her legacy
in pop from such a young age.
- When I think of it and
what I would like to say
to my younger audience
is that no matter
what you decide to
put your mind to,
you should always work
really hard for it.
Always believe in
yourself because one thing
that I know is I
always had to believe
in myself first
before anybody else,
and that was the one thing
that I felt really carried me
and helped me build
my confidence and
really helped me learn
who I am as an artist
and as a person.
Dua Lipa was
born in London, England
to Kosovo-Albanian parents.
She has always
praised her parents
for being positive influences
on our life, even to this day.
- Being from two places at once,
I feel like I
represent both Kosovo
and I feel like the
UK at the same time.
I've seen my parents
work my whole life.
I've seen them go to
work during the day,
go to university in the
evening, take us to school,
be parents, be there for
us, at the same time,
get an education,
working multiple jobs.
I've seen them adapt to
whatever was thrown at them,
and, at the same
time, make us feel
like we weren't missing
out on anything.
And I think watching them work
so hard has been so ingrained
on me that I'm I guess a
little bit of a workaholic.
I feel like I can't
stop until I get
what I want or I am
where I wanna be,
and I actually thank
my parents for that
because they've always
told me that you have
to work really hard
to get a little bit
of luck and you
make your own luck,
and that's the best advice
that I think I've been given.
She clarified with fans that,
while Dua Lipa may sound like
somewhat of a stage name,
it is, in fact, her birth name,
and Dua can be translated
to mean love in Albanian.
Well, I guess
when I was younger,
I didn't really
appreciate my name
as much as I guess I do now,
because especially when
I was living in London,
I was like, "I just
want a normal name."
I'm really proud of it, and
it has such a lovely meaning,
and my grandmother,
it was like my
grandmother's favorite name,
which is why my
dad gave it to me.
And I never actually
got to meet her
because she passed
before I was born,
so I always feel like I get to
keep a piece of her with me.
Dua's father
had a large musical influence
on her as he was the lead singer
and guitarist of a
Kosovan rock band.
Her father continued
to play music at home,
which inspired her to get
involved with music herself.
She started singing at age five.
She attended Sylvia
Young Theatre School
until the age of
13 when she moved
from London to Kosovo
with her family.
- It was quite exciting for me
'cause I'd finished.
All my friends are going
to different schools.
I was not going to the same
school as my closest friends
from primary school
anyway, so I was like,
"I guess I'm just going
into a different country."
And I was really excited
because I have family
in Kosovo that I'd
never met before.
And so, yeah, I went down.
I went to Kosovo, and
it was really exciting,
but obviously, I thought
my Albanian speaking
was a lot better than it was
until I started going to school,
and everyone was like,
"Okay, you're definitely
talking Albanian
like an English person
would, fully with an accent."
But it was an
amazing experience.
It was such a
different kind of life.
As a teenager,
Dua Lipa began recording
herself singing covers
of popular pop songs and
uploaded them to YouTube.
Although her true
passion was in music,
she began a modeling
career around this time
and signed with an agency.
This then helped her acquire
a producer and manager,
allowing her to enter the
world of music professionally.
In 2014, Dua Lipa
signed a record deal
with the large
production company,
Warner Brothers Records.
This has been called a
smart decision on her part,
as the company didn't have
a large female register
at that time, which meant
she captured their attention
from day one and
helped to change that.
In August 2015, she
released her first single
titled "New Love," which
was all about her struggle
to find her place in
the music industry.
Her second single "Be the One"
was released to large
European success,
charting in the top 10 in
over 11 European territories.
Her first tour in the UK
and Europe began in January 2016
and concluded in
November the same year.
Let me see all your hands up!
On February 18th, 2016,
Dua Lipa released her
third single, "Last Dance,"
followed by "Hotter
than Hell" on May 6th.
"Hotter Than
Hell" reached success,
particularly in the UK,
where it peaked at number 15.
On August 26th, her
fifth overall single,
"Blow Your Mind" was released,
peaking in number 30 in the UK.
It became her first entry
on the US Billboard Hot 100,
debuting at number 72.
How excited are you
about the album, or are
you bit with trepidation?
- I'm really excited.
I just got back
from LA yesterday,
and I've been working,
finishing it off,
and it's finally
really comes together.
I got some really
special surprises, so.
And you're
gonna be performing some
of these tracks at
festivals this summer,
I guess?
- Yeah.
Well, some of the album
will be out by then, so.
Dua Lipa's
self-entitled debut studio album
was released on the
2nd of June, 2017.
- I'm excited for everyone
to hear the new record.
I think, for me, again,
it's also being able
to have that ongoing
conversation with my fans
and my listeners with the
music and also ensuring
that they have a safe
space and a place
where they can come and listen
to the music and hang out,
and that's what's
really important for me.
Its sixth single, "New Rules,"
released in the following month,
became her first
number one in the UK
and the first by a female
solo artist to reach the top
in the UK since Adele's
song "Hello" in 2015.
"New Rules" was met with acclaim
from music critics, with
many labeling it a breakup
and female empowerment anthem.
As of March 2021, it is
the most streamed song
by a British female in the UK,
and it broke the record
for the most weeks
on the US mainstream
Top 40 chart.
- I feel like I'm very much
more in touch with who I am,
which was something
that I was very,
especially when I
started songwriting
properly for my album.
Now I have a very clear
idea of what I'm doing
and what I wanna
say and who I am
and things I'm not afraid of.
Another successful single
from the album was
to track "IDGAF."
Lyrically, the song is about
an ex-boyfriend who intends
to get back with her before
she sends him on his way.
- I think, with all my songs,
I don't really
know any different,
so I have to talk about
personal experiences.
I guess it's not necessarily
just about one person.
It's more just like
about experiences,
about things that I've
spoken to with my friends
about their experiences as well.
It's really about
finding happiness
and being confident in that
and not allowing anyone
to take that away from you.
So the main the way I like
to think about is like I work
on these songs and then once
they're out into the world,
they no longer belong to me.
So whatever they wanna make
of it, it's up to them.
I think art is subjective.
I think some people
will also want
to pretend it's about them.
Several music critics
complimented the
strong production
and post breakup
lyrics of "IDGAF."
The song was viewed as
a sequel to "New Rules."
She also performed
at the Glastonbury
Festival that same year
to a large crowd
of adoring fans.
- I never like to base
success on accolades,
but on getting the recognition
and getting up there
in front of my
fans and my peers,
it does mean a lot, and
I appreciate it so much,
and it makes me wanna
work really, really hard,
and I'm excited for new music.
Sometimes, it's just
the little things.
In December,
Dua 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.
- It's been really lovely,
and it's been really nice,
and it's given me
the opportunity
to tour all over the world.
And I've announced
some dates in the US,
and I'm just really
grateful for it all,
so I'm looking
forward to everything.
We're almost at that time
where we start going,
"Been a good year.
What about next year, 2018?"
- Well, next year I'm really
touring until April 2018,
but in between whenever
I have time I'm writing
for the next album.
I'll be releasing new
music, new videos.
So yeah, I'll be around.
Even as these bigger shows,
how do you feel about that step
up in terms of the capacity?
- It's surreal to get to
announce shows like that,
but it's really cool.
It makes me a bit
nervous. I'm excited.
I've already started
planning 'cause every show,
I want it to be like a
step up production wise,
and I want to bring
a whole new new show
every time people
come to see it,
so I'm really looking
forward to it.
In January 2018,
Dua Lipa received nominations
in five categories
at the Brit Awards,
more nominations than any
other artists that year.
She was nominated for
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.
She went on to win
British Female Solo Artist
and British Breakthrough Act.
This was the first time
that a female artist
had received five nominations.
Dua took this opportunity
when receiving the awards
to make a statement about
women in the music industry
and show her feminist side.
- But I've always
been so, so in love
with so many incredible
female artists,
and I've always looked up to
them and they've been there.
But I think now we're
at a time where people
are really paying
attention to us,
and so we're
screaming real loud.
Even by seeing the nominations
in different categories
at award shows, it's
changed drastically.
Every year, it changes and
gets better in our favor,
and I think that's
a nice feeling.
For men, getting older and
an industry is celebrated,
whereas for women, we're
instantly being put down or,
"Surely she can't be
still doing pop music
because she's getting older,"
or whatever I guess
the dialogue is,
but it's quite upsetting
because why can't we?
As a female artist,
well, in general,
for all female artists,
when we start something
in our careers,
we wanna have longevity and
we don't want the reason
of us aging to be the
reason we stop working
or people stop being
interested in us.
We still create very
interesting things.
We still have a lot to say.
We still have a lot
to bring to the table.
But why is it so
different for us?
And I think it's a lot to
do with the conversations
that are still being
made on social media
and being made online, and
those aren't allowing us to grow
and aren't allow
us to be ourselves
whereas we portray
that very much so
when we're speaking
in front of a camera.
It's as if like me coming
out now and being like,
"I support women
and I'm doing this,"
but then I go on social
media and I'm talking about
or comparing two women
against each other or why one
isn't better than the other
or that kind of thing.
It's very hypocritical,
and so it's trying to
get away from that.
Dua Lipa
started working on music
for her second
album in March 2018.
In April 2018, she collaborated
with DJ Calvin Harris
to release the
single "One Kiss,"
which topped the
UK singles charts,
becoming her second number one.
She provided the
vocals for the track
and is also credited
as a writer.
When you hear that "One Kiss"
has been streamed more than
one and a half billion times?
- My goodness.
- That slightly mind blowing?
- You're the first person
to have told me that,
so I'm like, "Oh my God."
It is mind blowing.
It's crazy, and it
was one of those songs
where I know when we
did it, I was like.
I constantly kept listening
to it before it came out,
I was like, "I just don't know
if people are gonna get it.
I don't know if people
are gonna get it."
And it's that nervous, exciting,
anxious butterfly
feeling that you get
before you put something out,
and I think you only
get those feelings
when you really
believe in something
and you really want other people
to feel the same way
about it as you do.
So I'm excited that they did,
and I'm grateful that they did,
and we got a Brit for
it, which is pretty cool.
The single went on
to become the biggest
selling song in the UK
of 2018 and topped the chart
for eight consecutive weeks.
Dua also collaborated on
another track with Mark Ronson
and Diplo's newly formed
super duo Silk City.
They released the track
"Electricity" in September 2018,
which was extremely
popular with the fans.
Dua Lipa won Best New Artist
and Best Dance Recording
for her collaboration
on "Electricity" at the
61st annual Grammy Awards.
I get very excited obviously
for the recognition,
especially for something
like the Grammys
to be a British
artist and to know
that people are listening
to my songs over there
and that people are
coming to the shows
and they know my name,
and it means a lot to me.
Being British and
having your music heard
over in the states
is quite a big deal,
at least it is for me
because it gives me
so much opportunity to
be able to tour there,
and not only just in America
but to be able to go over
to Australia and
New Zealand then go
to Asia and South America,
and it's really, it
just opens so many doors
to be able to tour worldwide.
I very much split my
time between London
and Los Angeles or
New York in order
to have my music
be heard out there.
You need to dedicate a lot
of time and a lot of effort
and lots of, you have
to do the groundwork.
I think I really,
really took the time
and especially when I was
touring on my first album.
I think I went around
America three times,
just as I did with
everywhere else in Europe.
I worked really hard.
I'm so grateful for
the recognition,
but I've still got
lots of work to do.
Dua Lipa's second album,
titled "Future Nostalgia,"
and its accompanying tour
was announced in December 2019.
- When I kept thinking about it,
I know that everybody's like,
"The second album is
always the hardest album."
But I've tried to
take my mind away
from that and just
have fun with it.
People are just
constantly releasing songs
and releasing music.
It's just like this
is the body of work
where I just wanna show
this is what I love.
This is what I do,
and you can just constantly
keep putting stuff out.
And it's gotta be fun. You
can't be too stressed about it.
You can't get yourself in
this vicious cycle of like,
"Oh, will this go on the
radio. Will this be?"
So it's all about
just being proud
of what you put your name to,
and that's just what I'm doing.
The first
single "Don't Start Now"
was released around the same
time and peaked at number two
in both the UK singles charts
and the US Billboard Hot 100.
Dua's second single leading up
to the release of the
album was "Physical."
It was released on the
30th of January, 2020,
and the song's music video
was released a day later.
The music video for "Physical"
was nominated for
Best Art Director
at the Berlin Music
Video Awards in 2020.
"Future Nostalgia" was
released on March 27th
to widespread critical
acclaim following the release
of the record's third
single, "Break My Heart,"
on March 25th.
Since March
2020 was around the time
of the beginning of the
worldwide COVID pandemic,
Dua Lipa considered pushing
the release date back in hopes
of being able to promote the
album outside of isolation.
However, that didn't
quite go as planned.
The album originally had a
release date of April 3rd
but was leaked a week early,
giving her no choice but to
deliver fans her new album.
- I just feel like when I
was making my last album,
like towards the end of
it, everything was like
or the way that I was
describing, it was like,
"Oh, well my album,
I make dark pop,
and that's just what it is."
I really fell in love with the
whole concept of dance crying
because I was like, "I
wanna make people dance."
But if you listen to
the lyrics a bit more,
I feel like it could
also make you cry.
It's very emotional.
It's very real.
It's something that's
happening in my life.
"Future Nostalgia" just
came from so much happiness
and joy and dancing, and that
was just the only message
that I wanted to push forward.
And I feel like it
really radiates that
and the energy of it is that,
and I didn't feel
like I wanted to sit
on a piano and make a ballad.
I was like, "I just
wanna keep going.
Let's just keep dancing.
Let's just do it."
There was nothing
holding me back in that,
and creatively, that
wasn't where I was at.
Releasing the
album during the pandemic meant
that there would be no tour
or no talk show appearances.
However, it just so happened
to be the perfect time
to deliver new music.
- When I was making
it, obviously,
I had the idea that it
was gonna be listened to
in the club, in a bar, people
going out, getting ready.
I had very different
ideas for it
when I was making this record,
but I definitely feel like
it still served its purpose.
It's served for me as a form
of escapism, and I feel like,
although it was scary
when releasing the record
'cause it was at such
an uncertain time,
we didn't know how long we
would be in this situation,
for how long the
pandemic would last,
we never thought that
we'd be a year in
and still with the
same lockdown measures
and stuff like that.
But I feel like it also just
came at the perfect time
for everybody to be able to
have like or, in my eyes,
I hope that people
had it for them be
like a source of escapism
when they're at home
and dancing in the kitchen.
For one second, if
you close your eyes,
maybe you think you're outside
clubbing or something.
And so I think it was
perfect just the way it is.
I think some things
are just meant to be,
and hopefully, when
the time comes,
we can go back out and
dance to these songs
whenever the time is right.
I'm grateful that it served
as like a form of escapism,
at least, during this time
for myself and people around,
and my whole idea behind
it was to still be able
to create a fun world
for people to enjoy even
while they were at home,
and, and I feel lucky
that I had the
opportunity to do that.
"Future Nostalgia"
became the most streamed
album by a woman
and fifth most streamed album
overall on Spotify in 2020.
The album debuted at number two
on the official UK Albums Chart
but then peaked at number one
on the official UK Albums
Chart the following week
in April 2020 while four
of the album's singles
entered the top 10
of the official singles chart.
- You always have to
believe in yourself
before anybody else because
that's the one thing
that's always gonna push you
in your confidence
and move you forwards.
And I think that's yeah,
for any young girls,
people are I guess
gonna champion you
until you get to
where you want to be,
and then people are gonna
try and bring you down
or bring you down a couple pegs.
But I think you have to
remember that hard work
and your dedication
and your passion
for what you do got you
to where you wanna be,
and no one can take
that away from you.
The album's closing track,
"Boys Will Be Boys"
showed Dua Lipa once again
demonstrating her feminist side.
As she said, she wrote
the song intending
to start a conversation
about toxic masculinity
and the growing pains
girls experience.
- I think for women,
self policing each
other is second nature.
For as long as I can
remember myself going out
with my friends alone, you
would always send the text
or you would always ask
your friends to make sure
that they'd message
you when they get home
or share your little
Uber location thing
that there's always this thing
where we've just had to look
out for each other and look
out for ourselves a lot more.
When I wrote "Boys Will
Be Boys," it's very real.
You put your keys
through your knuckles.
This is something that
I've done literally
on my way back from school
for three-minute walk
from the bus station to the
flat that I was living in.
It wasn't far at all, but
because it was nighttime
and I was all on my own,
I put my keys between my
knuckles like Wolverine,
thinking that just in case
something was to happen,
I would be protected
or I would be able
to look after myself.
Or you'd walk down the
street on your phone,
and whether you were
actually talking to someone
or whether you were
pretending to talk to someone,
you were still trying to
protect yourself in some way.
I definitely feel
like having a platform
is such a privilege.
I definitely try and
speak up about things
that are incredibly
important to me.
I want to be able to be a voice
for those that have trusted me,
and because I talk about so
much about female equality
and female empowerment, it
was just a song that I felt
like writing in that
day in the studio.
And I was like, "Well,
this is just what happens."
And what I felt when I was
making "Boys Will Be Boys"
is more so that I'm hoping
that the younger generation
will start asking
questions and will be like,
"Oh, why does this happen or
why do you think she did this?"
What sounds like quite
a pretty song, again,
you're like hearing the
lyrics and you're like,
"Oh, this is something very
real," and it's, again,
us masking the things
that we have to do.
The lyric, they cut
deep in so many ways,
but then it's, again, masking
it with something pretty.
But I hope that it just
starts a conversation,
and obviously,
the conversation's
already happening,
and I think they need
to continue to do so.
At the time
of the album's release,
Dua Lipa became the first
British female artist
since Vera Lynne to have
three top 10 singles
in a single calendar year with
Lynn having three in 1952.
She eventually
overrode this record
with the single "Levitating,"
which also peaked
within the top 10
on the Billboard Hot 100 chart,
becoming her third top
10 in the US overall.
Dua Lipa was
also featured on "Prisoner,"
a song from Miley Cyrus's
seventh studio album,
"Plastic Hearts."
The single was released on
the 19th of November 2020
alongside the music video.
In 2021,
after a year of COVID lockdown
rules and social distancing,
the annual Brit Awards
took place in May,
held with a limited audience
as a part of a trial
to have a large crowd in a venue
without any social distancing.
The ceremony had a live audience
of over 4,000 key
workers from London.
- It's all very surreal. It
feels so nice to be home.
It feels so nice to be in
a room filled with people.
It feels so nice to be
celebrating British music.
It's just been really,
really exciting throughout,
and I feel so honored
and so grateful
to have this opportunity
and to be here tonight
and for everybody to do
it safely, and hopefully,
this is like the first
step into the new normal,
so it feels brilliant.
Dua Lipa not only
performed at the ceremony,
but she also won two awards,
one for British
Album of the Year
and another for British
Female Solo Artist.
Well, being back
on the Brit stage,
I wanted to do something
different, something special.
So there's pressure
that comes with that,
but I'm very excited.
It's different and it's fun,
and just decided to go
a little bit out there
with the performance would
make it very London, so.
What I wanted to
do with my album
was really just grow as an
artist and as a performer
and create music that
I was really proud of,
something that I felt
like really represented me
and who I am and helped me
grow in so many different ways.
And I definitely feel like I've
built a lot more confidence.
I feel like I'm
becoming the performer I
always wanted to be.
I feel like I've learned so
much from so many experiences,
and as a songwriter, I feel
like I've gotten a lot stronger,
and there's been so many moments
that they've been
really important,
and this album
means a lot to me.
It was a lot about growth,
and so to be awarded for
this album means a lot.
At the 2021 Grammy awards,
Dua Lipa won an award
for Best Pop Vocal Album
for "Future Nostalgia."
- "Future Nostalgia" is such
an important album to me,
and I feel like I've
really come into myself.
I feel like I've gained
so much confidence.
I feel like I've learned
how to be the artist
that I've always wanted to be.
I feel like I learned so
much about music in general
with my first album and
the process of touring
that I knew what I
wanted this album to be,
and to get the recognition
for it just means
the absolute world.
It's amazing. I'm
very, very grateful.
When I got nominated,
I was so taken back by,
first of all, I was so
honored and grateful
to have been
nominated, but also,
the fact that I had already
seen such a change just
in the Best New Artist category
that it was predominantly women.
And it felt like I
was part of a change,
and it felt like I was a part
of this new era, if you will,
and more women being given
all this recognition.
And given what happened
the year before,
and I know Neil Putnam even
came up and spoke about it
and apologized for
what he had said
when he had said it, but it
was still something that,
in a time when so many
women were doing so much,
it felt like we weren't
being given the recognition,
and we weren't being
looked out for, really.
And this year felt a
little bit different,
and it felt really good
to just be nominated
alongside so many
artists that I love
and I listen to and
I think are so cool
and give out so many
incredible messages,
and I feel like it just felt
good, and it just felt right,
and that's just what happened.
The ceremony was held
despite the ongoing
COVID pandemic
with extra measures put in
place to keep everyone safe.
- Well, obviously,
because it's COVID,
everybody had to
stay quite far apart.
We said hi to each other.
It was really sweet though.
As I was on my way to the
press room off to the Grammys,
I bumped into Beyonce and
Jay-Z on their way in,
and I was just like, "It's
amazing what you've done."
And she was so graceful
and humble and sweet.
They both were, and they
were very, very nice to me,
and it was just amazing
to casually bump into them
in the hallway and just
have like a little chat.
I'm like.
Also in 2021,
Dua Lipa tanned up with
music legend Elton John
and Australian
electronic trio PNAU
for a collaborative new
track called "Cold Heart."
The club-ready single seamlessly
blends together a number
of Elton John's beloved tracks,
including "Sacrifice,"
"Kiss the Bride,"
and, of course, "Rocket Man."
The song has
since reached number one
in the UK.
Dua showed her versatility
as a celebrity icon
as she made her runway debut
at Versace's Spring Summer 2022
show at Milan Fashion Week,
which was soundtrack
by the tracks
from her album
"Future Nostalgia."
- I feel like my work
life has changed a lot,
but my personal life
is still the same.
I have my friends and family.
They keep me so grounded,
and to them, I'm just me.
So it's all pretty normal at
home, which is really nice.
Dua Lipa is only in her late 20s
and has already achieved so much
in such a short amount of time.
Her music and undeniable talent
has gained her widespread
exposure and popularity.
- I think that the one thing
that I'm so, so grateful for
is that it opens so many
doors for me to be able
to work with so many
other people that I love,
and I get to be a bit
more experimental,
and I get to try out new things,
which is always very exciting.
Her self-titled debut
was the most streamed
album in Spotify history.
Now she's currently
breaking daily records
for plays and streams
around the world.
- The world should expect
a ton more pop anthems
and dance classics
from Dua Lipa.
- With all my songs, I don't
really know any different,
so I have to talk about
personal experiences.
I guess it's not necessarily
just about one person.
It's really about
finding happiness
and being confident in that
and not allowing anyone
to take that away from you.
Dua Lipa has become one
of the biggest names in pop.
From the moment she released
her first single in 2015,
there was no limit to
what she would achieve.
Her catchy pop tunes and
smooth, sultry vocals
have made her music
appeal to a wide audience,
gaining her fans
across the globe.
Her commitment and
positivity towards her goals
and music career have made
her the deserving winner
of countless awards,
including two Grammys.
Dua Lipa's popularity
quickly expanded
between 2015 and 2018.
By 2018, she had become
the first female artist
to hit one billion
views on YouTube
on her hit single "New Rules."
- If you're not a female artist
that's by a piano
or by a guitar,
people are instantly gonna
think you're manufactured
or you don't write
your own songs
or you don't make
your own music,
and I feel like we have to
spend a lot more time proving
to the world that this is us.
Two years on,
"New Rules" has over
two billion views.
Her music brings an
essence of confidence
and authenticity
which her fans adore.
- When I get up on
stage, I do what I feel.
I dance the way I feel
like just my body moves,
and I like to perform
in different ways.
I find myself headbanging and
throwing kicks and jumping up
and down rather than having
like a set choreography.
I feel like for me,
that's way more organic.
If I just go into the
studio and I write fiction,
although it's my words,
if I don't have the
story to back it up with,
no one's gonna believe it.
And I think that's also a
big part of my songwriting
as well and why I feel like
I do it the way I do it.
With a long
lasting career ahead of her,
Dua Lipa has cemented her legacy
in pop from such a young age.
- When I think of it and
what I would like to say
to my younger audience
is that no matter
what you decide to
put your mind to,
you should always work
really hard for it.
Always believe in
yourself because one thing
that I know is I
always had to believe
in myself first
before anybody else,
and that was the one thing
that I felt really carried me
and helped me build
my confidence and
really helped me learn
who I am as an artist
and as a person.
Dua Lipa was
born in London, England
to Kosovo-Albanian parents.
She has always
praised her parents
for being positive influences
on our life, even to this day.
- Being from two places at once,
I feel like I
represent both Kosovo
and I feel like the
UK at the same time.
I've seen my parents
work my whole life.
I've seen them go to
work during the day,
go to university in the
evening, take us to school,
be parents, be there for
us, at the same time,
get an education,
working multiple jobs.
I've seen them adapt to
whatever was thrown at them,
and, at the same
time, make us feel
like we weren't missing
out on anything.
And I think watching them work
so hard has been so ingrained
on me that I'm I guess a
little bit of a workaholic.
I feel like I can't
stop until I get
what I want or I am
where I wanna be,
and I actually thank
my parents for that
because they've always
told me that you have
to work really hard
to get a little bit
of luck and you
make your own luck,
and that's the best advice
that I think I've been given.
She clarified with fans that,
while Dua Lipa may sound like
somewhat of a stage name,
it is, in fact, her birth name,
and Dua can be translated
to mean love in Albanian.
Well, I guess
when I was younger,
I didn't really
appreciate my name
as much as I guess I do now,
because especially when
I was living in London,
I was like, "I just
want a normal name."
I'm really proud of it, and
it has such a lovely meaning,
and my grandmother,
it was like my
grandmother's favorite name,
which is why my
dad gave it to me.
And I never actually
got to meet her
because she passed
before I was born,
so I always feel like I get to
keep a piece of her with me.
Dua's father
had a large musical influence
on her as he was the lead singer
and guitarist of a
Kosovan rock band.
Her father continued
to play music at home,
which inspired her to get
involved with music herself.
She started singing at age five.
She attended Sylvia
Young Theatre School
until the age of
13 when she moved
from London to Kosovo
with her family.
- It was quite exciting for me
'cause I'd finished.
All my friends are going
to different schools.
I was not going to the same
school as my closest friends
from primary school
anyway, so I was like,
"I guess I'm just going
into a different country."
And I was really excited
because I have family
in Kosovo that I'd
never met before.
And so, yeah, I went down.
I went to Kosovo, and
it was really exciting,
but obviously, I thought
my Albanian speaking
was a lot better than it was
until I started going to school,
and everyone was like,
"Okay, you're definitely
talking Albanian
like an English person
would, fully with an accent."
But it was an
amazing experience.
It was such a
different kind of life.
As a teenager,
Dua Lipa began recording
herself singing covers
of popular pop songs and
uploaded them to YouTube.
Although her true
passion was in music,
she began a modeling
career around this time
and signed with an agency.
This then helped her acquire
a producer and manager,
allowing her to enter the
world of music professionally.
In 2014, Dua Lipa
signed a record deal
with the large
production company,
Warner Brothers Records.
This has been called a
smart decision on her part,
as the company didn't have
a large female register
at that time, which meant
she captured their attention
from day one and
helped to change that.
In August 2015, she
released her first single
titled "New Love," which
was all about her struggle
to find her place in
the music industry.
Her second single "Be the One"
was released to large
European success,
charting in the top 10 in
over 11 European territories.
Her first tour in the UK
and Europe began in January 2016
and concluded in
November the same year.
Let me see all your hands up!
On February 18th, 2016,
Dua Lipa released her
third single, "Last Dance,"
followed by "Hotter
than Hell" on May 6th.
"Hotter Than
Hell" reached success,
particularly in the UK,
where it peaked at number 15.
On August 26th, her
fifth overall single,
"Blow Your Mind" was released,
peaking in number 30 in the UK.
It became her first entry
on the US Billboard Hot 100,
debuting at number 72.
How excited are you
about the album, or are
you bit with trepidation?
- I'm really excited.
I just got back
from LA yesterday,
and I've been working,
finishing it off,
and it's finally
really comes together.
I got some really
special surprises, so.
And you're
gonna be performing some
of these tracks at
festivals this summer,
I guess?
- Yeah.
Well, some of the album
will be out by then, so.
Dua Lipa's
self-entitled debut studio album
was released on the
2nd of June, 2017.
- I'm excited for everyone
to hear the new record.
I think, for me, again,
it's also being able
to have that ongoing
conversation with my fans
and my listeners with the
music and also ensuring
that they have a safe
space and a place
where they can come and listen
to the music and hang out,
and that's what's
really important for me.
Its sixth single, "New Rules,"
released in the following month,
became her first
number one in the UK
and the first by a female
solo artist to reach the top
in the UK since Adele's
song "Hello" in 2015.
"New Rules" was met with acclaim
from music critics, with
many labeling it a breakup
and female empowerment anthem.
As of March 2021, it is
the most streamed song
by a British female in the UK,
and it broke the record
for the most weeks
on the US mainstream
Top 40 chart.
- I feel like I'm very much
more in touch with who I am,
which was something
that I was very,
especially when I
started songwriting
properly for my album.
Now I have a very clear
idea of what I'm doing
and what I wanna
say and who I am
and things I'm not afraid of.
Another successful single
from the album was
to track "IDGAF."
Lyrically, the song is about
an ex-boyfriend who intends
to get back with her before
she sends him on his way.
- I think, with all my songs,
I don't really
know any different,
so I have to talk about
personal experiences.
I guess it's not necessarily
just about one person.
It's more just like
about experiences,
about things that I've
spoken to with my friends
about their experiences as well.
It's really about
finding happiness
and being confident in that
and not allowing anyone
to take that away from you.
So the main the way I like
to think about is like I work
on these songs and then once
they're out into the world,
they no longer belong to me.
So whatever they wanna make
of it, it's up to them.
I think art is subjective.
I think some people
will also want
to pretend it's about them.
Several music critics
complimented the
strong production
and post breakup
lyrics of "IDGAF."
The song was viewed as
a sequel to "New Rules."
She also performed
at the Glastonbury
Festival that same year
to a large crowd
of adoring fans.
- I never like to base
success on accolades,
but on getting the recognition
and getting up there
in front of my
fans and my peers,
it does mean a lot, and
I appreciate it so much,
and it makes me wanna
work really, really hard,
and I'm excited for new music.
Sometimes, it's just
the little things.
In December,
Dua 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.
- It's been really lovely,
and it's been really nice,
and it's given me
the opportunity
to tour all over the world.
And I've announced
some dates in the US,
and I'm just really
grateful for it all,
so I'm looking
forward to everything.
We're almost at that time
where we start going,
"Been a good year.
What about next year, 2018?"
- Well, next year I'm really
touring until April 2018,
but in between whenever
I have time I'm writing
for the next album.
I'll be releasing new
music, new videos.
So yeah, I'll be around.
Even as these bigger shows,
how do you feel about that step
up in terms of the capacity?
- It's surreal to get to
announce shows like that,
but it's really cool.
It makes me a bit
nervous. I'm excited.
I've already started
planning 'cause every show,
I want it to be like a
step up production wise,
and I want to bring
a whole new new show
every time people
come to see it,
so I'm really looking
forward to it.
In January 2018,
Dua Lipa received nominations
in five categories
at the Brit Awards,
more nominations than any
other artists that year.
She was nominated for
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.
She went on to win
British Female Solo Artist
and British Breakthrough Act.
This was the first time
that a female artist
had received five nominations.
Dua took this opportunity
when receiving the awards
to make a statement about
women in the music industry
and show her feminist side.
- But I've always
been so, so in love
with so many incredible
female artists,
and I've always looked up to
them and they've been there.
But I think now we're
at a time where people
are really paying
attention to us,
and so we're
screaming real loud.
Even by seeing the nominations
in different categories
at award shows, it's
changed drastically.
Every year, it changes and
gets better in our favor,
and I think that's
a nice feeling.
For men, getting older and
an industry is celebrated,
whereas for women, we're
instantly being put down or,
"Surely she can't be
still doing pop music
because she's getting older,"
or whatever I guess
the dialogue is,
but it's quite upsetting
because why can't we?
As a female artist,
well, in general,
for all female artists,
when we start something
in our careers,
we wanna have longevity and
we don't want the reason
of us aging to be the
reason we stop working
or people stop being
interested in us.
We still create very
interesting things.
We still have a lot to say.
We still have a lot
to bring to the table.
But why is it so
different for us?
And I think it's a lot to
do with the conversations
that are still being
made on social media
and being made online, and
those aren't allowing us to grow
and aren't allow
us to be ourselves
whereas we portray
that very much so
when we're speaking
in front of a camera.
It's as if like me coming
out now and being like,
"I support women
and I'm doing this,"
but then I go on social
media and I'm talking about
or comparing two women
against each other or why one
isn't better than the other
or that kind of thing.
It's very hypocritical,
and so it's trying to
get away from that.
Dua Lipa
started working on music
for her second
album in March 2018.
In April 2018, she collaborated
with DJ Calvin Harris
to release the
single "One Kiss,"
which topped the
UK singles charts,
becoming her second number one.
She provided the
vocals for the track
and is also credited
as a writer.
When you hear that "One Kiss"
has been streamed more than
one and a half billion times?
- My goodness.
- That slightly mind blowing?
- You're the first person
to have told me that,
so I'm like, "Oh my God."
It is mind blowing.
It's crazy, and it
was one of those songs
where I know when we
did it, I was like.
I constantly kept listening
to it before it came out,
I was like, "I just don't know
if people are gonna get it.
I don't know if people
are gonna get it."
And it's that nervous, exciting,
anxious butterfly
feeling that you get
before you put something out,
and I think you only
get those feelings
when you really
believe in something
and you really want other people
to feel the same way
about it as you do.
So I'm excited that they did,
and I'm grateful that they did,
and we got a Brit for
it, which is pretty cool.
The single went on
to become the biggest
selling song in the UK
of 2018 and topped the chart
for eight consecutive weeks.
Dua also collaborated on
another track with Mark Ronson
and Diplo's newly formed
super duo Silk City.
They released the track
"Electricity" in September 2018,
which was extremely
popular with the fans.
Dua Lipa won Best New Artist
and Best Dance Recording
for her collaboration
on "Electricity" at the
61st annual Grammy Awards.
I get very excited obviously
for the recognition,
especially for something
like the Grammys
to be a British
artist and to know
that people are listening
to my songs over there
and that people are
coming to the shows
and they know my name,
and it means a lot to me.
Being British and
having your music heard
over in the states
is quite a big deal,
at least it is for me
because it gives me
so much opportunity to
be able to tour there,
and not only just in America
but to be able to go over
to Australia and
New Zealand then go
to Asia and South America,
and it's really, it
just opens so many doors
to be able to tour worldwide.
I very much split my
time between London
and Los Angeles or
New York in order
to have my music
be heard out there.
You need to dedicate a lot
of time and a lot of effort
and lots of, you have
to do the groundwork.
I think I really,
really took the time
and especially when I was
touring on my first album.
I think I went around
America three times,
just as I did with
everywhere else in Europe.
I worked really hard.
I'm so grateful for
the recognition,
but I've still got
lots of work to do.
Dua Lipa's second album,
titled "Future Nostalgia,"
and its accompanying tour
was announced in December 2019.
- When I kept thinking about it,
I know that everybody's like,
"The second album is
always the hardest album."
But I've tried to
take my mind away
from that and just
have fun with it.
People are just
constantly releasing songs
and releasing music.
It's just like this
is the body of work
where I just wanna show
this is what I love.
This is what I do,
and you can just constantly
keep putting stuff out.
And it's gotta be fun. You
can't be too stressed about it.
You can't get yourself in
this vicious cycle of like,
"Oh, will this go on the
radio. Will this be?"
So it's all about
just being proud
of what you put your name to,
and that's just what I'm doing.
The first
single "Don't Start Now"
was released around the same
time and peaked at number two
in both the UK singles charts
and the US Billboard Hot 100.
Dua's second single leading up
to the release of the
album was "Physical."
It was released on the
30th of January, 2020,
and the song's music video
was released a day later.
The music video for "Physical"
was nominated for
Best Art Director
at the Berlin Music
Video Awards in 2020.
"Future Nostalgia" was
released on March 27th
to widespread critical
acclaim following the release
of the record's third
single, "Break My Heart,"
on March 25th.
Since March
2020 was around the time
of the beginning of the
worldwide COVID pandemic,
Dua Lipa considered pushing
the release date back in hopes
of being able to promote the
album outside of isolation.
However, that didn't
quite go as planned.
The album originally had a
release date of April 3rd
but was leaked a week early,
giving her no choice but to
deliver fans her new album.
- I just feel like when I
was making my last album,
like towards the end of
it, everything was like
or the way that I was
describing, it was like,
"Oh, well my album,
I make dark pop,
and that's just what it is."
I really fell in love with the
whole concept of dance crying
because I was like, "I
wanna make people dance."
But if you listen to
the lyrics a bit more,
I feel like it could
also make you cry.
It's very emotional.
It's very real.
It's something that's
happening in my life.
"Future Nostalgia" just
came from so much happiness
and joy and dancing, and that
was just the only message
that I wanted to push forward.
And I feel like it
really radiates that
and the energy of it is that,
and I didn't feel
like I wanted to sit
on a piano and make a ballad.
I was like, "I just
wanna keep going.
Let's just keep dancing.
Let's just do it."
There was nothing
holding me back in that,
and creatively, that
wasn't where I was at.
Releasing the
album during the pandemic meant
that there would be no tour
or no talk show appearances.
However, it just so happened
to be the perfect time
to deliver new music.
- When I was making
it, obviously,
I had the idea that it
was gonna be listened to
in the club, in a bar, people
going out, getting ready.
I had very different
ideas for it
when I was making this record,
but I definitely feel like
it still served its purpose.
It's served for me as a form
of escapism, and I feel like,
although it was scary
when releasing the record
'cause it was at such
an uncertain time,
we didn't know how long we
would be in this situation,
for how long the
pandemic would last,
we never thought that
we'd be a year in
and still with the
same lockdown measures
and stuff like that.
But I feel like it also just
came at the perfect time
for everybody to be able to
have like or, in my eyes,
I hope that people
had it for them be
like a source of escapism
when they're at home
and dancing in the kitchen.
For one second, if
you close your eyes,
maybe you think you're outside
clubbing or something.
And so I think it was
perfect just the way it is.
I think some things
are just meant to be,
and hopefully, when
the time comes,
we can go back out and
dance to these songs
whenever the time is right.
I'm grateful that it served
as like a form of escapism,
at least, during this time
for myself and people around,
and my whole idea behind
it was to still be able
to create a fun world
for people to enjoy even
while they were at home,
and, and I feel lucky
that I had the
opportunity to do that.
"Future Nostalgia"
became the most streamed
album by a woman
and fifth most streamed album
overall on Spotify in 2020.
The album debuted at number two
on the official UK Albums Chart
but then peaked at number one
on the official UK Albums
Chart the following week
in April 2020 while four
of the album's singles
entered the top 10
of the official singles chart.
- You always have to
believe in yourself
before anybody else because
that's the one thing
that's always gonna push you
in your confidence
and move you forwards.
And I think that's yeah,
for any young girls,
people are I guess
gonna champion you
until you get to
where you want to be,
and then people are gonna
try and bring you down
or bring you down a couple pegs.
But I think you have to
remember that hard work
and your dedication
and your passion
for what you do got you
to where you wanna be,
and no one can take
that away from you.
The album's closing track,
"Boys Will Be Boys"
showed Dua Lipa once again
demonstrating her feminist side.
As she said, she wrote
the song intending
to start a conversation
about toxic masculinity
and the growing pains
girls experience.
- I think for women,
self policing each
other is second nature.
For as long as I can
remember myself going out
with my friends alone, you
would always send the text
or you would always ask
your friends to make sure
that they'd message
you when they get home
or share your little
Uber location thing
that there's always this thing
where we've just had to look
out for each other and look
out for ourselves a lot more.
When I wrote "Boys Will
Be Boys," it's very real.
You put your keys
through your knuckles.
This is something that
I've done literally
on my way back from school
for three-minute walk
from the bus station to the
flat that I was living in.
It wasn't far at all, but
because it was nighttime
and I was all on my own,
I put my keys between my
knuckles like Wolverine,
thinking that just in case
something was to happen,
I would be protected
or I would be able
to look after myself.
Or you'd walk down the
street on your phone,
and whether you were
actually talking to someone
or whether you were
pretending to talk to someone,
you were still trying to
protect yourself in some way.
I definitely feel
like having a platform
is such a privilege.
I definitely try and
speak up about things
that are incredibly
important to me.
I want to be able to be a voice
for those that have trusted me,
and because I talk about so
much about female equality
and female empowerment, it
was just a song that I felt
like writing in that
day in the studio.
And I was like, "Well,
this is just what happens."
And what I felt when I was
making "Boys Will Be Boys"
is more so that I'm hoping
that the younger generation
will start asking
questions and will be like,
"Oh, why does this happen or
why do you think she did this?"
What sounds like quite
a pretty song, again,
you're like hearing the
lyrics and you're like,
"Oh, this is something very
real," and it's, again,
us masking the things
that we have to do.
The lyric, they cut
deep in so many ways,
but then it's, again, masking
it with something pretty.
But I hope that it just
starts a conversation,
and obviously,
the conversation's
already happening,
and I think they need
to continue to do so.
At the time
of the album's release,
Dua Lipa became the first
British female artist
since Vera Lynne to have
three top 10 singles
in a single calendar year with
Lynn having three in 1952.
She eventually
overrode this record
with the single "Levitating,"
which also peaked
within the top 10
on the Billboard Hot 100 chart,
becoming her third top
10 in the US overall.
Dua Lipa was
also featured on "Prisoner,"
a song from Miley Cyrus's
seventh studio album,
"Plastic Hearts."
The single was released on
the 19th of November 2020
alongside the music video.
In 2021,
after a year of COVID lockdown
rules and social distancing,
the annual Brit Awards
took place in May,
held with a limited audience
as a part of a trial
to have a large crowd in a venue
without any social distancing.
The ceremony had a live audience
of over 4,000 key
workers from London.
- It's all very surreal. It
feels so nice to be home.
It feels so nice to be in
a room filled with people.
It feels so nice to be
celebrating British music.
It's just been really,
really exciting throughout,
and I feel so honored
and so grateful
to have this opportunity
and to be here tonight
and for everybody to do
it safely, and hopefully,
this is like the first
step into the new normal,
so it feels brilliant.
Dua Lipa not only
performed at the ceremony,
but she also won two awards,
one for British
Album of the Year
and another for British
Female Solo Artist.
Well, being back
on the Brit stage,
I wanted to do something
different, something special.
So there's pressure
that comes with that,
but I'm very excited.
It's different and it's fun,
and just decided to go
a little bit out there
with the performance would
make it very London, so.
What I wanted to
do with my album
was really just grow as an
artist and as a performer
and create music that
I was really proud of,
something that I felt
like really represented me
and who I am and helped me
grow in so many different ways.
And I definitely feel like I've
built a lot more confidence.
I feel like I'm
becoming the performer I
always wanted to be.
I feel like I've learned so
much from so many experiences,
and as a songwriter, I feel
like I've gotten a lot stronger,
and there's been so many moments
that they've been
really important,
and this album
means a lot to me.
It was a lot about growth,
and so to be awarded for
this album means a lot.
At the 2021 Grammy awards,
Dua Lipa won an award
for Best Pop Vocal Album
for "Future Nostalgia."
- "Future Nostalgia" is such
an important album to me,
and I feel like I've
really come into myself.
I feel like I've gained
so much confidence.
I feel like I've learned
how to be the artist
that I've always wanted to be.
I feel like I learned so
much about music in general
with my first album and
the process of touring
that I knew what I
wanted this album to be,
and to get the recognition
for it just means
the absolute world.
It's amazing. I'm
very, very grateful.
When I got nominated,
I was so taken back by,
first of all, I was so
honored and grateful
to have been
nominated, but also,
the fact that I had already
seen such a change just
in the Best New Artist category
that it was predominantly women.
And it felt like I
was part of a change,
and it felt like I was a part
of this new era, if you will,
and more women being given
all this recognition.
And given what happened
the year before,
and I know Neil Putnam even
came up and spoke about it
and apologized for
what he had said
when he had said it, but it
was still something that,
in a time when so many
women were doing so much,
it felt like we weren't
being given the recognition,
and we weren't being
looked out for, really.
And this year felt a
little bit different,
and it felt really good
to just be nominated
alongside so many
artists that I love
and I listen to and
I think are so cool
and give out so many
incredible messages,
and I feel like it just felt
good, and it just felt right,
and that's just what happened.
The ceremony was held
despite the ongoing
COVID pandemic
with extra measures put in
place to keep everyone safe.
- Well, obviously,
because it's COVID,
everybody had to
stay quite far apart.
We said hi to each other.
It was really sweet though.
As I was on my way to the
press room off to the Grammys,
I bumped into Beyonce and
Jay-Z on their way in,
and I was just like, "It's
amazing what you've done."
And she was so graceful
and humble and sweet.
They both were, and they
were very, very nice to me,
and it was just amazing
to casually bump into them
in the hallway and just
have like a little chat.
I'm like.
Also in 2021,
Dua Lipa tanned up with
music legend Elton John
and Australian
electronic trio PNAU
for a collaborative new
track called "Cold Heart."
The club-ready single seamlessly
blends together a number
of Elton John's beloved tracks,
including "Sacrifice,"
"Kiss the Bride,"
and, of course, "Rocket Man."
The song has
since reached number one
in the UK.
Dua showed her versatility
as a celebrity icon
as she made her runway debut
at Versace's Spring Summer 2022
show at Milan Fashion Week,
which was soundtrack
by the tracks
from her album
"Future Nostalgia."
- I feel like my work
life has changed a lot,
but my personal life
is still the same.
I have my friends and family.
They keep me so grounded,
and to them, I'm just me.
So it's all pretty normal at
home, which is really nice.
Dua Lipa is only in her late 20s
and has already achieved so much
in such a short amount of time.
Her music and undeniable talent
has gained her widespread
exposure and popularity.
- I think that the one thing
that I'm so, so grateful for
is that it opens so many
doors for me to be able
to work with so many
other people that I love,
and I get to be a bit
more experimental,
and I get to try out new things,
which is always very exciting.
Her self-titled debut
was the most streamed
album in Spotify history.
Now she's currently
breaking daily records
for plays and streams
around the world.
- The world should expect
a ton more pop anthems
and dance classics
from Dua Lipa.