Award-winning singer Dua Lipa delighted audience members on Sunday at the Hay Festival as she opened up about how "perssistence" had led to her success.
She told the audience, "I always wanted to be a pop star, but it never seemed like it would be possible.
She claimed that her ability to adapt, as a result of her upbringing in both London and her parents' native Kosovo, was beneficial.
She told the renowned literary festival, "I've always been a new girl.
Her audience was diverse, but a sizable contingent of patient parents waiting in line with their teenage daughters at the humid Baillie Gifford stage were scrolling through Dua's Instagram account while they waited to be seated.
It's no secret that the One Kiss singer enjoys reading. At the Booker Prize ceremony last year, she gave a speech about the importance of literature.
Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses (which she described as "a first step into understanding racism and classism" when she was ten) and Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being, two books that became landmarks at critical junctures in her life, were discussed in more detail here.
At the age of 11, she returned to Kosovo with her parents after being born in London, where they had fled the war in the former Yugoslavia. When she was 15, she returned to the UK to finish her GCSEs and pursue a career in music.
She said, "There was always this idea of being from two places simultaneously. "Even as a young child, I was aware of my heritage's dualities. People would frequently ask where my name originated.
"I was really proud of it, but when I was younger, I wished my name was something 'normal,' like Hannah - something English. ".
The singer added that "making up dance routines in the school playground" was just one aspect of her life, adding "reading was also such a big part of my life.".
She came across The Castle/The Siege, written by Albanian author Ismail Kadare and set in a 15th-century conflict, when she moved to Kosovo.
"I recall reading it and finding it to be very challenging; it's a big book, but it opened a door to my Albanian roots. It was similar to another significant event in my life that significantly changed things for me. ".
At age 15, she returned to London alone and shared a flat with a friend's family friend from Kosovo. For most young teenagers, that would be quite intimidating.
I was very determined," Dua admitted. "I didn't think I had the same opportunities in music as I did in London," the author said. I had ambition. I'm very difficult to reject, according to my dad.
She started working toward breaking into the music business after completing her studies.
"I was incredibly tenacious. I recently began writing a lot and collaborating with a producer. I was 17. I was given the opportunity to accept a publishing deal, but [producer] Felix advised me to consult a lawyer before signing the contract, who then assisted me in entering the recording studio. ".
As she went along, she encountered a "difficult, early relationship in my life," she recalled, adding, "I guess I was in a relationship with someone who had a very different idea of fidelity than I had. ".
She found comfort in Kundera's timeless 1994 novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
"[The main character] Tomas has an extremely unapologetic view of relationships and monogamy. My outlook has not changed. But books help you comprehend human emotion and other people's feelings, she said.
On her podcast Dua Lipa: At Your Service, Hanya Yanagihara, author of A Little Life, was one of the famous authors Dua has interviewed. At Hay on Saturday, she also taped a special episode in which she spoke with Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain and winner of the Booker Prize. This was the first book she chose for her new Service95 book club.
I occasionally still don't understand it. You'll never know unless you just jump in," she advised, encouraging people to try things they might like.
"With the podcast, that is what happened to me. I was both incredibly terrified and incredibly excited. Would I be able to maintain the conversation and be a good interviewer?
"However, perhaps I thrive when thrown into the deep end. I'm motivated to take risks when I'm outside of my comfort zone.
. "
