On BBC Radio 2’s The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show, Dua Lipa was a guest - along with Sheridan Smith, Stephen Muhern and David Baddiel.
Speaking about Pink
Dua: Misunderstood was a really big album for me, it just completely changed my life. It was that record, it was the Whoa, Nelly! by Nelly Furtado, it was Alicia Keys Songs in A Minor. I think it’s about these really strong women taking such ownership of their own story, who they were, of their own individuality- I just loved that, I resonated with it so much. And that song in particular, and the music video to Get This Party Started? It was just sooo badass! It was just so strong, and she had such a strong vision and image, she was just so cool. And when you’re a little girl, that’s just the most amazing thing to see on TV. You’re just like, “Oh, you can be whoever you want to be and express yourself in the way you want to.” So, yeah… I love love love love Pink!
Zoe: How do you feel about the fact that you are now somebody’s Pink? That there’s little girls and boys the world over seeing what you do and feeling that they can express themselves and be who they want and they can own their own story?
Dua: It’s amazing! It’s an amazing feeling. And it makes me want to do better and be better. I think about those things. I also think about those things because I have ‘older sister syndrome’ anyway! Like, I always think about trying to be there for my little brother and sister and what they think, and how I can be there to support them. So doing this, I think I have big sister energy overall, maybe in my music as well!
Zoe: Do you have any sibling rivalry? Is there good play and banter? Do you wind each other up?
Dua: Oh we definitely wind each other up! But I have quite a big age gap actually- me and my sister we are about five years and a half and my brother is ten years. So, although now our age gap doesn’t feel so big the older we get – I always just see them as my little babies, regardless! But we have really interesting conversations and I love to just see the way they think and what they like and it’s lovely. I like how the dynamic changes over time, you know? Before things were just so much more separate, different friends and different activities we liked to do, and now everything is merging together which is so nice.
Speaking about her new red hair
Dua: When I was working on my new album, a lot of the songs I just saw in the colour red- there was just a feeling I had. And I was like “Oh I think I could do that change.” And also I felt like it wouldn’t be as horrible on my hair as the blonde was! That was a little bit traumatic for me, the bleach, it was all just flizzling away. This is a little bit more manageable and I feel like it’s a change, and I like it because I feel like I can play a different character sometimes, especially for music videos or whatever, it just gives you like a little bit of something different- and a fresh start.
Zoe: A night out with you and your friends- what time does that start, what time does that end, what do you do, where do you go? I mean, can you go out and about?
Dua: Oh definitely. For me it’s very easy to move no matter where I am. And for me a night out always tends to start with a good dinner, (you’ve got to fuel up - you’ve got so much dancing to look forward to!) and then drinks, and then it’s got to be lots of dancing. That’s my favourite kind of night- to the point where you completely lose yourself in the moment. I’ve had so many fun dance parties where we just kind of dance until the early morning and the next day you wake up and you’re like “what happened?”
On Joni Mitchell’s 80th birthday. Zoe: You got to meet Joni, how was that?
Dua: It was absolutely amazing! Quite unexpected, it was backstage at the Dodger’s Stadium when I went on to perform with Elton. […] He was like “come here and sit down” and it was Joni Mitchell and Kiki Dee and Brandi Carlile and we were all just on a sofa and I was like ‘I have no idea what I’m doing here’! Honestly, it felt like such a dream and she [Joni] was amazing. She was like, “you have to come down”, she does these Joni Jams at her house, and she has lots of people come down and sing. And I was like, you know what? That’s something I would love […] I haven’t had the opportunity to yet but that’s definitely going to be a bucket list evening for me.
Zoe: You recently found your old scrapbook?
Dua: It was the 21st century classroom... I was going through my scrapbook and finding, a school trip to the Isle of Wight, or little pictures that I had folded in. I used to keep everything from the trip to the ice rink, to the cinema tickets, to everything and I would write about it. And I remember just going oh my gosh if someone had told me then, come from the future, and told me that I’d be working with BBC on my podcast and I’d be working so closely with all of you and coming down to the offices, I just wouldn’t have believed it. To be here and to get to talk about my music, all these things just felt so farfetched so to be here, to think back at that time and how exciting that year six trip was to be here now as a 28 year old is just… life is bizarre! Completely mad and just so cool!
Zoe: One word- Glastonbury!
Dua: It’s my favourite festival, I’ll probably go to hang out.
Speaking about Pink
Dua: Misunderstood was a really big album for me, it just completely changed my life. It was that record, it was the Whoa, Nelly! by Nelly Furtado, it was Alicia Keys Songs in A Minor. I think it’s about these really strong women taking such ownership of their own story, who they were, of their own individuality- I just loved that, I resonated with it so much. And that song in particular, and the music video to Get This Party Started? It was just sooo badass! It was just so strong, and she had such a strong vision and image, she was just so cool. And when you’re a little girl, that’s just the most amazing thing to see on TV. You’re just like, “Oh, you can be whoever you want to be and express yourself in the way you want to.” So, yeah… I love love love love Pink!
Zoe: How do you feel about the fact that you are now somebody’s Pink? That there’s little girls and boys the world over seeing what you do and feeling that they can express themselves and be who they want and they can own their own story?
Dua: It’s amazing! It’s an amazing feeling. And it makes me want to do better and be better. I think about those things. I also think about those things because I have ‘older sister syndrome’ anyway! Like, I always think about trying to be there for my little brother and sister and what they think, and how I can be there to support them. So doing this, I think I have big sister energy overall, maybe in my music as well!
Zoe: Do you have any sibling rivalry? Is there good play and banter? Do you wind each other up?
Dua: Oh we definitely wind each other up! But I have quite a big age gap actually- me and my sister we are about five years and a half and my brother is ten years. So, although now our age gap doesn’t feel so big the older we get – I always just see them as my little babies, regardless! But we have really interesting conversations and I love to just see the way they think and what they like and it’s lovely. I like how the dynamic changes over time, you know? Before things were just so much more separate, different friends and different activities we liked to do, and now everything is merging together which is so nice.
Speaking about her new red hair
Dua: When I was working on my new album, a lot of the songs I just saw in the colour red- there was just a feeling I had. And I was like “Oh I think I could do that change.” And also I felt like it wouldn’t be as horrible on my hair as the blonde was! That was a little bit traumatic for me, the bleach, it was all just flizzling away. This is a little bit more manageable and I feel like it’s a change, and I like it because I feel like I can play a different character sometimes, especially for music videos or whatever, it just gives you like a little bit of something different- and a fresh start.
Zoe: A night out with you and your friends- what time does that start, what time does that end, what do you do, where do you go? I mean, can you go out and about?
Dua: Oh definitely. For me it’s very easy to move no matter where I am. And for me a night out always tends to start with a good dinner, (you’ve got to fuel up - you’ve got so much dancing to look forward to!) and then drinks, and then it’s got to be lots of dancing. That’s my favourite kind of night- to the point where you completely lose yourself in the moment. I’ve had so many fun dance parties where we just kind of dance until the early morning and the next day you wake up and you’re like “what happened?”
On Joni Mitchell’s 80th birthday. Zoe: You got to meet Joni, how was that?
Dua: It was absolutely amazing! Quite unexpected, it was backstage at the Dodger’s Stadium when I went on to perform with Elton. […] He was like “come here and sit down” and it was Joni Mitchell and Kiki Dee and Brandi Carlile and we were all just on a sofa and I was like ‘I have no idea what I’m doing here’! Honestly, it felt like such a dream and she [Joni] was amazing. She was like, “you have to come down”, she does these Joni Jams at her house, and she has lots of people come down and sing. And I was like, you know what? That’s something I would love […] I haven’t had the opportunity to yet but that’s definitely going to be a bucket list evening for me.
Zoe: You recently found your old scrapbook?
Dua: It was the 21st century classroom... I was going through my scrapbook and finding, a school trip to the Isle of Wight, or little pictures that I had folded in. I used to keep everything from the trip to the ice rink, to the cinema tickets, to everything and I would write about it. And I remember just going oh my gosh if someone had told me then, come from the future, and told me that I’d be working with BBC on my podcast and I’d be working so closely with all of you and coming down to the offices, I just wouldn’t have believed it. To be here and to get to talk about my music, all these things just felt so farfetched so to be here, to think back at that time and how exciting that year six trip was to be here now as a 28 year old is just… life is bizarre! Completely mad and just so cool!
Zoe: One word- Glastonbury!
Dua: It’s my favourite festival, I’ll probably go to hang out.
