Her first name means 'I love you': Who is Dua Lipa?

Dua Lipa, born August 22, 1995, is an English-Albanian singer, songwriter, and model.

Lipa was born on August 22, 1995, in London. Her first name, "Dua" is an Albanian word and means "I love you", "I want" or "I need". Her parents are ethnic Albanians from Kosovo. She studied at the Sylvia Young Theater School.

She immigrated to Kosovo with her family in 2008, which coincided with when Kosovo declared its independence. She returned to London when she was 15 years old and started living with her friends. Her goal in this comeback was to build a music career, and she started working as a model again at the age of 16.

Her father was a rock musician in the past and she spent time listening to his music. At the age of 14, she covered and released her favorite songs Christina Aguilera and Nelly Furtado on YouTube.

In 2015, Lipa started working with Warner Bros Records for her debut album. She released her first single, "New Love", in August 2015. She released her second single, "Be the One", written by Lucy Taylor, in October 2015.

Lipa describes her musical style as "Dark Pop".

Dua Lipa is currently working on her new album, which will follow the 2020 release “Future Nostalgia”. It is possible to read news on the Internet that half of the album has been completed. At the same time, the album tends to take a completely different route halfway through. In fact, it is quite possible to ask the question of whether Rolling Stones legend Mick Jagger will be one of the guests of the third Dua Lipa album, considering the photos taken with Mick Jagger on a comfortable sofa in the studio environment. This is the music part. Because Dua Lipa has never made a name for herself only with her songs and stage shows since the first days we heard her name. Yes, the tabloids often talk about the weight they lost, who they love, who they don't love anymore, and where and what they wear. But this time we want to talk about another feature of Dua Lipa.

We know Dua Lipa as the daughter of an Albanian family who immigrated from Kosovo to England. We sympathize with and embrace Dua Lipa just because of the elements in this identity presentation. Regardless of their songs, their music. Of course, it's not just us, those who adopt it. She was declared Honorary Ambassador of Kosovo just this year. At the end of November, she was ceremonially granted Albanian citizenship.

Maybe a career plan

It is a subject that can be discussed a lot about how famous figures who actively use social media and naturally the internet direct the power in their hands. There are those who use that power to say a few words about what is going on in the world or even to put it into action, and there are those who only feed the institution of admiration, enter into good collaborations with beautiful brands, and sometimes ask the question "Which world do they live in?" It's a choice. Maybe a career plan. Dua Lipa uses the power in her hands to use it efficiently, to 'raise awareness' in modern times, and even to have a very good attitude.

Social media posts are a bit like words written in water. Everyone can talk about your post today. You can be praised. Or you can 'get lynched'. Tomorrow is a new day. Your post is already outdated. Something else is on the agenda today, being praised or slammed. That's why it can be valuable to go around concepts such as Twitter activism and apply them to ways that we hope can be more permanent and effective under the conditions of the day, with a weekly newsletter or a regular podcast. Dua Lipa does just that.

There is no 'I know'

Dua Lipa has been publishing a weekly newsletter called Service95 for about a year. Service95, which has content like a magazine that comes to your e-mail address every Thursday. It can also include a text about toxic positivism and Iraqi cuisine. This bulletin contains lines describing the path of an immigrant swimmer to the Olympics, as well as files about what is happening in Iran. We can read the translation in different languages.

Again, Dua Lipa has been making a podcast for about a year. “Dua Lipa: At Your Service”, or Dua Lipa at your service, draws attention with a wide variety of guests in these podcasts. When talking about Lipa, it is mentioned that she is an avid reader and a big cinema fan. These podcasts reflect that, too. One of its most recent guests is Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, for example.

Of course, when there are so many important publications, the question may come to mind whether we will read or listen to what is going on from a pop star. It's a reasonable question. But Dua Lipa is aware of what's going on, being a follower and not wanting to express an opinion about them, but the content of the newsletter and podcast we are talking about. She doesn't approach the issue as "I know". On the contrary, it includes those who know. She asks them, she makes them tell. Like a publishing director, she has people who know the subject write it down and asks them. And she makes it read/listen to an audience that will pay attention only when they hear about it, perhaps from or through Dua Lipa. It doesn't sound bad when compared to celebrities who react with a single emoji on issues that shake the world, doesn't it?