Dua Lipa: My dad can really rock

Lipa also cites Sting, David Bowie and Stereophonics as her musical idols
“Attitude”: Dua Lipa shot for Hunger issue 11
Hunger magazine
Alistair Foster27 September 2016
The Weekender

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Rising star Dua Lipa has told how she was inspired by her father — a rock singer in his native Kosovo.

The 21-year-old, who has attracted more than 115 million YouTube views despite her debut album not being due for release until early next year, was born in London after her ethnic Albanian parents moved here from Pristina in the Nineties.

She went to Sylvia Young Theatre School before relocating to Kosovo as a teenager, only to return to London to pursue music.

Dua told Hunger magazine: “My father [Dukagjin Lipa] is a musician from Kosovo, so I’ve always grown up around music at home. Whether that’s my dad’s own songs or Sting, David Bowie, Stereophonics.

“But the first albums that I fell in love with myself were Whoa, Nelly! by Nelly Furtado and Missundaztood by Pink when I was about six. They were significant parts of my life, and I still reference them when I go into the studio now.”

The Blow Your Mind singer, who is signed to Warner Music, is also known for her fashion style.

She said: “I’ve always loved dressing up and expressing myself through clothes. Even at school I always wanted to be a bit different — I like to stand out.

"Now I get to express myself on stage and different places inspire different outfits.”

Cover star: The YouTube star graces the front of HUNGER
Hunger magazine

Dua says her dark lyrics are not a reflection of how she is in person: “Most of my inspiration comes from sadness because it’s the emotion that sticks in the back of my mind and the easiest way to get things out is through music.

"There’s an attitude that comes out in the music, but then there’s nice me when I meet people, which is different to the music.”

Read the full interview in Hunger issue 11, UNLOCKED, out October 6, or at hungertv.com.

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