Dua Lipa gets UK success with Hotter Than Hell

Many music fans may wonder if Dua Lipa is a band. But it is actually the real name of an English singer, songwriter and musician who is currently enjoying a big UK hit with her fourth single, Hotter Than Hell.
“I’m so pleased to have such a successful single in Britain,” smiled 20-year-old Dua. “My second single, Be The One, did really well across much of the world. It even topped the chart in Belgium. I got platinum discs from Belgium, Italy and Australia. But I’ve always wanted a big hit in my home country.”
London-born Dua spent the first 13 years of her life in England. Her unusual name stems from having Albanian parents. Dua means ‘love’ in Albanian.
“I’ve always liked my name. I definitely didn’t want to change it for my music career. I always felt it expressed how my parents felt about having me right from the moment I was born.”
Her parents had moved to England in the early 1990s.
“They lived in the Kosovan capital of Pristina. The problems which eventually led to the Kosovan war had begun in the late 1980s. People of Albanian ethnicity were particularly targeted so my parents felt their best option was to leave.”
Dua enjoyed a comfortable and happy childhood. She inherited her musician / singer father’s talent and took up her first instrument in primary school. It was an unusual choice.
“I wanted to play the cello. I was only a little kid and there I was trying to carry this massive cello. I used to put it on my back and it would either whack me on my head or my legs. It all got too much so I gave it up.”
She loved singing but was refused a place in the school choir.
“I’ve always had a low singing voice and was told I couldn’t be in the choir because I couldn’t reach the high notes. This only changed after my parents took me to the Sylvia Young Theatre School.”
Dua’s weekend tuition at the Sylvia Young ended when her family returned to Pristina.
“The war was over. My parents wanted to go home and my dad’s work took them back. But London was my home. I stuck it out for two years before persuading my parents to let me move back to London when I was 15. I knew my parents were worried but I was staying with friends and I was responsible enough to go to school and complete my basic education.”
Higher education was not for Dua. At 16, she began earning her living as a model. She also worked in a restaurant and as a nightclub hostess.
“I’d started putting my cover versions of various songs on YouTube when I was 14 and began uploading my own original songs to SoundCloud in 2012. Everything I did, the modelling and hostessing, was aimed at making contacts who could help me fulfil my musical ambitions. As it turned out, my management signed me after hearing my songs on SoundCloud.”
Her time as a nightclub hostess did prove useful in terms of writing song lyrics.
“For every film star I walked to a table, there were dozens of people from the darker side of London nightlife. I have used some of the things I saw and heard as the basis for a number of songs.”
Her management showed enormous faith in Dua’s ability. She spent two years writing and recording with hot shot songwriters and producers in America, Canada, Germany, Sweden and back home in England.
“I wrote about 130 songs but was only really excited by 25. Of these, I’ve put 12 on my album which will be out later this year.”
Be The One is the only track Dua did not write.
“I wanted to write everything myself but I couldn’t turn down that song. It was written by Lucy Taylor, who music fans will know better as Pawws, and I just thought it was fabulous.”
The industry response to her first two singles saw Dua nominated for the BBC Sound of 2016 poll.
“I didn’t make the final five but being nominated was a real confidence boost. The right people knew about me and obviously believed my music was worth their time and attention.”
Her UK chart success now with Hotter Than Hell has justified all the faith shown in Dua. Like so many hit songs, it was written about a failed relationship.
“Things really went off the rails. I felt like it wasn’t worthwhile yet I was heartbroken. I know people like Adele and Taylor Swift have had huge success with songs which came out of broken relationships so I hope the same thing can happen for me.”

IN BRIEF
Taylor Swift / Kanye West

There is yet more conflict between Taylor Swift and Kanye West over lyrics in the latter’s song, Famous.
Not content with being criticised by most observers, including President Obama, Kanye revisited his interruption of Taylor’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. The song lyrics say it was Kanye’s actions at the ceremony which made Taylor famous.
He claims she gave her approval of the lyrics during a phone conversation. Kanye’s wife, Kim Kardashian, has now released a recording of this phone call in which Taylor not only gives her approval but expresses her appreciation as she would never have expected Kanye to tell her about a line in his song.
The problem is that Kanye said nothing about the lyrics referring to Taylor as “that bitch.” She would certainly not have been approving or appreciative of this.
“You don’t get to control someone’s emotional response to being called ‘that bitch’ in front of the entire world,” Taylor stated. “I wanted to like the song. I wanted to believe Kanye when he told me I would love the song. I wanted us to have a friendly relationship. He promised to play the song for me, but he never did.
“While I wanted to be supportive of Kanye on the phone call, you cannot ‘approve’ a song you haven’t heard. Being falsely presented as a liar when I was never given the full story or played any part of the song is character assassination. I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative, one that I have never asked to be part of, since 2009.”

Katy Perry

Katy Perry has released a new song, Rise, which will be used as the accompanying anthem for NBC Television’s coverage of the Rio Olympics.
The track is Katy’s first new material since her 2013 album, Prism.
“This is a song which has been brewing inside me for years,” Katy stated. “I was inspired to finish it now, rather than save it for my next album, because now more than ever, there is a need for our world to unite.
“I know that together we can rise above the fear, in America and around the world. I can’t think of a better example than the Olympic athletes to remind us how we can all come together with the resolve to be the best we can be. I hope this song can inspire us to heal, unite and rise together.”
There is no official music video for Rise but the song can be heard in full on NBC’s Olympics promo which is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFIIMEe2Ht0

Ardyn

Twin siblings Katy and Rob Pearson originally named themselves Kitten and Bear. When their music career didn’t seem to be working out too well, they took the new name of Ardyn.
From the Latin word for enthusiastic, the name certainly matches Katy and Rob’s boundless enthusiasm for their recordings and live performances.
They debuted last year with the four-song EP, Universe. This can be heard in full at (no www.) soundcloud.com/ardynband
Four more songs are also posted here. These include their latest single, The Valley. The accompanying video is available to view at www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEQrTe1tbV0
Three more Ardyn song videos can be found at www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Vt0z1jYLOIEjAOdd9VSOA
Two of these, The Garden and Help Me On My Way, are from the Universe EP. The other, Over The River, is a newer song posted two months ago.