Dua Lipa The Dark Pop Princess

You’ve heard her collabs with Martin Garrix (“Scared to Be Lonely”) and Sean Paul (“No Lie”). We caught up with Dua Lipa when she was in town to showcase her first album at JW Marriott.

- Sophie Hong

You’ve had teachers who told you you couldn’t sing. What encouraged you to keep going?

Because I love to sing, I wanted to audition for the school choir. It was at an assembly where my teacher played a really high note and was, like, “Come on Dua, sing this song” and nothing came out. Then he was, like, “OK, next time” and he never gave me a place in the choir. But still, I loved singing so much, so I’d go to the Sylvia Young Theatre School [in London] on Saturdays. When I was nine years old, there was a teacher there who said I could really sing, and he put me in a class with 13- and 14-year olds. It made me really nervous because I was with teenagers and it was really scary [for a nine-year-old].

Your dad, Dukagjin Lipa, is also a musician. What’s the best advice he’s given you?