Albanian born pop star Dua Lipa shines at the Grammys and gets ‘Best New Artist’

Los Angeles, USA | 11 Feb 2019 (Tirana Echo) – Albanian born British pop star Dua Lipa shined at the 61^st Grammy Awards last night by getting ‘Best New Artist’ title, beating her class of fellow talented nominees Chloe x Halle, Luke Combs, Greta Van Fleet, H.E.R., Margo Price, Bebe Rexha and Jorja Smith.

This is her second win of the night, after “Electricity” won Best Dance Recording, her track with Silk City aka Diplo and Mark Ronson.

“I want to say thank you to my fans who have allowed me to be the best version of myself,” Lipa said in accepting the award.

Born in 1995 in London to Albanian parents originally from Kosovo, Dua Lipa’s breakthrough came in 2016 with her first global hit “Hotter than Hell,” which she followed with “Blow Your Mind (Mwah),” storming into the US Top 100 Billboard.

Lipa then broke out with her massive hit “New Rules,” from her 2017 self-titled debut album, which also features her platinum single “IDGAF.”

During her acceptance speech, Lipa made an emotional reference to her background during others to feel special when different from others.

“My God I am so nervous, so excited and so grateful. One thing that I really want to say is for anyone who hasn’t realized how special they are to have a different story, a different background, a name that honors their roots because they want to be normal, whatever the hell that means, just know that no matter where you’re from, never let that get on the way of your dreams, because you deserve it.” Lipa concluded by making an emotional reference to her Albanian roots.

Dua Lipa Wins Best New Artist | 2019 GRAMMYs Acceptance Speech

Dua Lipa was born on 22 August 1995 in Westminster, London, to Albanian parents. Her father, Dukagjin Lipa, is a marketing manager who had a side gig as a lead vocalist in a Kosovar rock band named Oda and her mother, Anesa Lipa (née Rexha), is a tourism executive. Her parents are from Kosovo and had left Pristina in 1992.

She attended Sylvia Young Theatre School part-time before moving to Kosovo with her family in 2006 when her father had graduated from his studies and been offered a job in Kosovo.

At the age of 14, she began posting covers of her favourite songs by artists such as Pink and Nelly Furtado on YouTube and at the age of 15, she moved back to London with aspirations of becoming a singer.

Lipa lived with a friend and studied at Parliament Hill School, where she finished A-levels in Politics, Psychology, English and Media, returning to the Sylvia Young Theatre School on Saturdays. She began working as a model for the online catalogue ASOS Marketplace when she was 16 and 17. She also worked as a hostess at a Mexican restaurant La Bodega Negra in Soho, and at a nightclub in Mayfair. In 2013, she starred in a television advertisement for The X Factor.

In 2015, Lipa began working on her debut album for Warner Music Group. In August 2015, she released her first single “New Love”, produced by Emile Haynie and Andrew Wyatt. She released her second single “Be the One”, in October 2015 achieving success across Europe, reaching number one in Belgium, Poland and Slovakia, as well as charting within the top 10 in over 11 European territories.

In January 2018, Lipa received nominations in five categories at the Brit Awards – more nominations than any other artist that year. She was nominated for British Female Solo Artist, British Breakthrough Act, MasterCard British Album of the Year for Dua Lipa, British Single of The Year and British Video of The Year for “New Rules”.

This was the first time that a female artist had received five nominations. She performed at the awards ceremony held on 21 February at the O2 Arena in London and won the awards for British Female Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act.