Dua Lipa

Background

Dua Lipa was born in London, on August 22, 1995, to Kosovo Albanian parents Anesa Rexha and Dukagjin Lipa. She is of Bosnian descent through her maternal grandmother. Her ancestors can also be traced back to the Kosovo city of Peja. Lipa’s grandfathers were both historians. She has a brother, Gjin Lipa, and a sister, Rina. Lipa was influenced musically by her father, the lead singer, and guitarist of the Kosovan rock band Oda.

At home, her father continued to play music, including his own compositions and songs by David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Sting, The Police, and Stereophonics. Lipa began singing when she was five years old. She began singing at the Sylvia Young Theater School when she was just nine years old. Lipa covered ‘Beautiful’ by Christina Aguilera and ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ by Alicia Keys on YouTube. In 2014, Lipa signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records. Her debut single, New Love, was released in August 2015.

Her first tour began in January 2016 and ended in November of that year. Lipa’s fifth single, ‘Blow Your Mind (Mwah),’ reached number 30 in the United Kingdom. It was her first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, peaking at number 72. Her self-titled debut studio album “Dua Lipa” was released on June 2, 2017. Lipa was named the most-streamed woman in the U.K. by Spotify in 2017. She had four U.K. top 10 singles in 2017: ‘Be the One,’ ‘New Rules,’ ‘No Lie,’ and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water.’

In February 2018, Lipa performed at the Brit Awards. In March 2018, she began work on her second album. On the “Fifty Shades Freed” soundtrack, she collaborated with American D.J. Whethan on the song ‘High.’ After collaborating with Jaguar, she set a world record for the most remixed song ever. In March 2020, Lipa’s sophomore album, “Future Nostalgia,” debuted at number two on the Official U.K. Albums Chart.

Lipa is the first British female artist since Vera Lynn to have three top-10 singles in the same calendar year. She was named global ambassador of the French mineral water brand Évian on August 11, 2020. Lipa appeared on Miley Cyrus’ seventh studio album, “Plastic Hearts,” in the song ‘Prisoner.’ She will also perform as a musical guest on “Saturday Night Live” on December 19th. Lipa performed in a live-stream concert titled Studio 2054 on November 27. Lipa parted ways with her longtime management firm, Ben Mawson and Ed Millet’s TaP Management, on February 18, 2022.