Dua Lipa: 'I've been the new girl all my life'

Award-winning vocalist Dua Lipa thrilled fans astatine the Hay Festival connected Sunday arsenic she spoke candidly astir however "persistence" had brought her success.

"From a young age, I had the imagination to beryllium a popular prima but it ne'er seemed similar thing that was really possible," she told the audience.

Having moved betwixt her parents' autochthonal Kosovo and London arsenic a child, she said her adaptability had helped.

"I've been a caller miss each my life," she told the renowned literate festival.

Her assemblage were a mixed bunch, but determination was a sizeable fig of diligent parents queuing up astatine the humid Baillie Gifford signifier with teenage daughters who were scrolling done Dua's Instagram provender arsenic they waited to beryllium seated.

The One Kiss singer's fondness for speechmaking is nary secret. She made a code astatine the Booker Prize ceremonial past twelvemonth astir the powerfulness of literature.

Here she expanded connected the books that became markers astatine pivotal moments successful her life, including Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses ("a archetypal measurement into knowing racism and classism" erstwhile she was 10) and Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

Born successful London aft her parents moved determination to flight the warfare successful erstwhile Yugoslavia, she moved backmost to Kosovo with her parents astatine the property of 11. When she was 15, she headed backmost to the UK to instrumentality her GCSEs and prosecute a euphony career.

"There was ever the thought of being from 2 places astatine once," she explained. "I understood the duality of my practice from an aboriginal age. People would ever inquire wherever my sanction is from.

"I was truly arrogant of it, but erstwhile I was younger I wished my sanction was, say, Hannah - thing 'normal' and English."

As good arsenic "making up creation routines successful the playground astatine school", the vocalist said "reading was besides specified a large portion of my life".

When she moved to Kosovo, she discovered The Castle/The Siege by Albanian writer Ismail Kadare, acceptable amid a struggle successful the 15th Century.

"The representation I person of speechmaking it is that it was truly difficult, it's a large book, but it was a gateway into my Albanian roots. It was similar different milestone infinitesimal successful my beingness that truly shifted things for me."

When she moved backmost to London astatine 15, she came connected her ain and shared a level with the girl of household friends from Kosovo. That would beryllium rather daunting for astir young teenagers.

"I was rather determined," Dua said. "I didn't consciousness I had the aforesaid opportunities successful euphony arsenic I had successful London. I was driven. My dada says I'm precise hard to accidental nary to!"

After finishing her studies, she acceptable astir making it successful the euphony industry.

"I was truly persistent. I conscionable started penning a lot, worked with a producer. I was 17. I was offered a publishing woody but [producer] Felix told maine to spell to a lawyer, who said, 'Don't motion that deal!' They past helped maine get into the studio."

Along the way, she recovered herself successful a "difficult, aboriginal narration successful my life", she said, explaining: "I conjecture I was successful a narration with idiosyncratic who had a precise antithetic thought of fidelity than I had."

Kundera's 1994 classical The Unbearable Lightness of Being helped her done it.

"[Main character] Tomas has a precise unapologetic doctrine connected relationships and monogamy. My doctrine ne'er changed... but books assistance you recognize different people's emotions, the quality experience," she explained.

Dua's emotion of books has led her to interrogation renowned authors including Hanya Yanagihara, who wrote A Little Life, connected her podcast Dua Lipa: At Your Service. She besides recorded a peculiar occurrence successful speech with Shuggie Bain writer and Booker Prize victor Douglas Stuart astatine Hay connected Saturday - the archetypal publication of the period prime for her caller Service95 publication club.

"I'm inactive figuring it retired sometimes. If there's thing that you like, wherefore not effort it? You'll ne'er cognize unless you conscionable dive in," she said.

"That's what happened to maine with the podcast. I was perfectly petrified but truly excited. Would I beryllium a bully interviewer, would I beryllium capable to support the speech going?

"But possibly I thrive connected being thrown successful the heavy end. Being retired of my comfortableness portion pushes maine to conscionable spell for it."