It’s all about moving forward for Dua Lipa.
The “Levitating” singer is on the new June/July issue of Vogue, and in it she discusses her growth as an artist and as a human being in the midst of her burgeoning career.
“Everyone has their own version of spirituality. Sometimes when you talk about it, it can sound cliché,” the 26-year-old says. “But for me, God is just what you put out there and what you get back. I’m trying to bring people together with music, trying to bring light, you know? There’s a cosmic element to sharing songs that make people feel seen or understood.”
READ MORE: Dua Lipa Says ‘Toxic Currency’ Of Social Media ‘Got To’ Her In 2017
Talking about releasing new music at the start of the pandemic, Lipa says, “I didn’t get to see people’s reaction to the album in real life. So being on tour and seeing the crowds is like, Oh, it was a really big album. I get so excited seeing people coming together as a collective.”
Having a career in pop music has also placed immense pressure upon the artist.
“All I ever wanted was for it to be about the music. My goal was, I want the music to be good enough so that people would talk about that more than anything else,” she says. “But unless you’re a fully formed pop star who’s trained in pop-star camp for five f**king years before you hit the stage for the first time, one misstep, one wrong move, one dance that doesn’t really work and it’s used against you. That was f**king hard for me.”
Thankfully, Lipa has her tight-knit Kosovar community backing her completely.
“They have given me so much,” she says. “They believed in me before anyone else did. So I want to be able to lift other people up if I have the opportunity.”
READ MORE: Jack Harlow Reveals Dua Lipa’s Initial Reaction To His Song Named After Her: ‘I Suppose It’s Okay’
Being in her 20s also means growing up and maturing right alongside her music, and Lipa is embracing that.
“For two years we were frozen. I didn’t get to really do these songs in the way that I’d envisioned them, and now that I’ve been able to put a show around it, it feels new to me. But there are also ways I feel I’m moving on a little bit,” the singer explained. “Especially now that I’ve started writing again and working on new music. I’ve definitely grown up. Overall, whether it’s sonically or in terms of the themes, I’ve matured. It’s like I’m coming into my power and not afraid to talk about things. It’s about understanding what I want.”
Lipa adds, “The next chapter of my life is about truly being good with being alone. Some people on the internet were like, ‘Oh, Dua went out for dinner on her own, blah blah, I do this all the time.’ And I think that’s amazing if you do it all the time. You must be so confident. But it was a big step for me. I was nervous—like, what am I gonna do? I don’t want to be on my phone. I want to know I can just be there for myself, you know?”
