Dua Lipa is the pop star of the hour. The London-born daughter of a refugee family from Kosovo is now releasing her second album "Future Nostalgia". With ntv.de she talks about pressure, Brexit and nostalgia.
There are few artists who have a career as steep as yours. You practically rose from zero to a superstar. And at a time when you were just growing up. How do you get on with it?
Dua Lipa: I think I learned a lot very quickly. When I made my first album, I did it all: touring, advertising, making videos, going to award shows, making TV recordings ... All of that! Yes, I really had to find out first how I could manage it all. I can now deal with it much better. I know what to expect and have better time management. I've grown a lot with what has happened since the first album.
Can you still enjoy it
I love it! That's why I do it too. Especially in times of social networks, there are always people who tell you that you are not good enough or that you wrongly take your place. But I make music because that's what inspires and makes me happy. It also gives me the feeling that I deserve my place.To give you a few examples: You have already worked with Sean Paul, Chris Martin from Coldplay, and Calvin Harris. You have won several Brit Awards, Grammys and the Bambi. You have promotional deals with Pepe Jeans, Jaguar, and Yves Saint Laurent. You performed at the Glastonbury Festival and the Champions League final. You have organized your own Sunny Hill Festival in Kosovo and are committed to Unicef. What do the most of all mean to you?
It means a lot to me! Starting a festival and giving something back to the community enables me to be an ambassador for my hometown. On the other hand, I've always attended the Glastonbury Festival since I was a teenager. Performing there now is a dream come true. Going on tour around the world and watching the halls get bigger is my yardstick of success. Being able to grow as an artist, working with different people, and creating something that I am really proud of gives me the support and the feeling of having finally arrived as an artist.
Now your second album "Future Nostalgia" is released. I can still imagine that with all these experiences in the background it is not easy to make a second album. Do you feel pressure?
I think there is always pressure on the second album, with every artist. It defines a part of your place in the industry, according to the motto: "Do you have what it takes to build on your first success?" I want to think about it as little as possible. For me, the time since my first album in which I grew up was really decisive. I want to take over the things I liked about my first album, vary them, experiment with them, and take risks. This is the only way I can continue to grow. And I am convinced that if my dreams are not a risk, they are definitely not big enough. (laughs)
Your first album was simply called "Dua Lipa". Your explanation was that it should just stand for you as a person ...
The first album was a mixture of all the things that had inspired me until then. That's why I said: The album just represents me. After all, there was a long time in which I had to define myself as an artist. I wanted to find my own style, tell a story, create a topic, start the future, and be ahead of it at the same time. And I wanted to make a pop record. (laughs) The first album will always be my baby. I owe him all the incredible possibilities now, including the ability to make an album like "Future Nostalgia".
The title "Future Nostalgia", on the other hand, is quite programmatic. Are you a nostalgic person
Total! I like to rummage in the treasure chest of the past and pull out memories. It is very nostalgic for me and I think that the music of many artists is based on this nostalgia. When I was a child, I played music from Prince, Blondie, Moloko, or Jamiroquai at home, for example. I see that as my musical influences, to which my parents naturally also contributed. As an artist, I would now like to incorporate this into something that feels modern and new. That is where the future plays. It’s very exciting for me.
The first single from the album was "Don't start now". You also sang it with "The Voice of Germany" with a candidate. Would participation in a casting show ever have been an option for you?
That was never on my screen. I think it's great that people are given this platform. But for me the way was different: upload cover songs on YouTube, go to the studio, and do my thing. I never actually considered participating in a casting show.
You never really stay behind the mountain with your opinion. How are you - especially with your personal background of being born to a refugee family from Kosovo in London - with Brexit?
It breaks my heart. My parents fled to London because of a conflict in their home country. At the same time, this opened up the possibilities that I have today. Knowing that other children are now being denied this makes me sad. I live in my bubble in London that is so diverse, multicultural, and open to people of all backgrounds. In my environment, everyone thinks exactly like me about Brexit. But you have to recognize that the political climate and the overall situation look different and there is still a lot of persuasive work to be done.
Volker Probst spoke to Dua Lipa.
The conversation took place before the outbreak of the corona pandemic. Dua Lipa's live performances in Germany, originally scheduled for May, were postponed to early 2021.
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