Dua Lipa has opened up about her experience of moving to London after she left her family home in Kosovo when she was just 15-years-old.
Originally born in London to Kosovar-Albanian parents who fled conflict and political instability in the Balkans, Dua left the UK in 2008 when her family moved to Pristina after Kosovo declared independence.
However after a few years the star in the making decided to bravely return to the UK alone at just 15 to pursue her dreams of pop stardom.
Appearing on The Graham Norton Show, which is due to air on Friday, Dua, 29, revealed how she really felt about moving back to London on her own.
She explained: ‘I moved back to London from Kosovo on my own when I was 15 because there were more opportunities in music in London. It was a good time.’
Dua Lipa, 29, has revealed how she REALLY felt moving to London alone when she was just 15 while her family stayed behind in Kosovo
Dua and her family left the UK in 2008 when her family moved to Pristina after Kosovo declared independence. However at just 15 (pictured) she decided to bravely return to the UK alone to pursue her dreams of pop stardom
Asked how she felt making such a big move at such a young age, the hitmaker revealed that despite their physical absence she still felt incredibly supported by her family.
‘I am very close to my parents who put a lot of trust in me, so I was as good as possible. My family keeps me grounded in all the madness,’ revealed Dua.
Dua returned to the UK in 2014 as she believed she needed to move if she wanted to break the international music market.
Once back in London she moved in with an older family friend in Camden and attended Parliament Hill School where she achieved four A-Levels in Politics, Psychology, English and Media Studies.
Despite the distance, Dua remained close to her family and her mother even flew to London for parents’ evenings.
Alongside school and the odd modelling job for ASOS and Topshop, the teenager was taking weekend classes at Sylvia Young Theatre School, whose alumni include Billie Piper, Amy Winehouse and Keeley Hawes, and filming covers of pop songs for YouTube and SoundCloud.
Eventually her videos caught the eye of Ben Mawson at Tap Management, which represents Ellie Goulding, Lana Del Rey and Little Mix’s Leigh-Ann Pinnock.
Her original song Hotter Than Hell, which appeared on her self-titled debut album, led to her signing with Warner Bros. Records in 2014.
Appearing on The Graham Norton show, the hitmaker revealed that despite their physical absence she still felt incredibly supported by her family
Once back in London she moved in with an older family friend in Camden and attended Parliament Hill School where she achieved four A-Levels in Politics, Psychology, English and Media Studies (pictured age 12)
Dua was joined by Oscar-winning actresses Kate Winslet and Cate Blanchett, Hustle star Adrian Lester, and pop superstar Justin Timberlake (L-R) on The Graham Norton Show which is due to air on Friday
Dua with her mother Anesa, brother Gjin, sister Rina and father Dukagjin in 2019
Dua also talked about her appearance in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, joking: ‘It’s very embarrassing to talk about it while sitting on a sofa with major legendary actors, but I am very proud of it, and it was so much fun’
And it was clearly the right decision as Dua has since toured the world with a No.1 album, picked up three Grammy awards, and six Brit awards.
Discussing her latest work and the release of a second single ahead of a new album, she said: ‘An album will be out soonish. I haven’t announced the title yet, but a big part of it will be more organic with live instrumentation.’
Joined by Oscar-winning actresses Kate Winslet and Cate Blanchett, Hustle star Adrian Lester, and pop superstar Justin Timberlake, Dua also talked about her appearance in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.
She joked: ‘It’s very embarrassing to talk about it while sitting on a sofa with major legendary actors, but I am very proud of it, and it was so much fun.’
Talking about the hit song Dance the Night, she said: ‘Initially we wrote it based on what Greta told us about the film and we were leaning towards Barbie’s existential crisis and thoughts of death. It was quite dark.
‘Then we got to see the film and I had changed it up a bit, so we decided to write the song like a score following the dance moves. The whole soundtrack is amazing.’
