By Michelle Dumas
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Dua Lipa (/ˈduːə ˈliːpə/ DOO-ə LEE-pə, Albanian: [ˈdua ˈlipa]; born 22 August 1995) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Her accolades include seven Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. Time magazine included her in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2024.
Lipa worked as a model before signing a recording contract with Warner Bros. in 2014. She rose to prominence with her eponymous debut album in 2017, which peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and spawned the singles “Be the One“, “IDGAF“, and the UK number-one single “New Rules“. Lipa was honoured with the Brit Awards for British Female Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act. Her second number-one single, “One Kiss” with Calvin Harris, was the best-selling song of 2018 in the UK and won the Brit Award for Song of the Year. In 2019, she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and for Best Dance Recording for “Electricity“, her collaborative single with Silk City.
Lipa’s second album, Future Nostalgia (2020), became her first UK number-one album, and won the Brit Award for British Album of the Year and the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. Its lead single, “Don’t Start Now“, scored the longest top-ten stay for a British female artist on the UK Singles Chart and ranked in the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart of 2020. The album’s success continued with the follow-up singles “Physical“, “Break My Heart“, and “Levitating“, the last of which topped the Billboard year-end Hot 100 chart of 2021 and was certified Diamond in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Lipa subsequently scored her third and fourth UK number-one singles with the 2021 Elton John duet “Cold Heart (Pnau remix)” and “Dance the Night” from the soundtrack of the film Barbie (2023), wherein she also made her acting debut.
In 2024, Lipa released her third studio album, Radical Optimism, which debuted atop the UK Albums Chart and was preceded by the UK top-ten singles “Houdini“, “Training Season“, and “Illusion“. She also had a supporting role in the spy film Argylle. Lipa, as one of the wealthiest people in the UK, was included in the Sunday Times Rich List for 2024, with an estimated net worth of £90 million.
EARLY LIFE
Lipa was born in London, the eldest child of Kosovo Albanian parents Anesa (née Rexha) and Dukagjin Lipa from Pristina, FR Yugoslavia (present-day Kosovo). Her maternal grandmother is of Bosniak descent.
Lipa’s ancestry can be traced back to the city of Peja, Kosovo. Both of her grandfathers were historians. She has a sister, Rina, and a brother, Gjin. Lipa was musically influenced by her father, who was the lead singer and guitarist of the Kosovan rock band Oda. Her father continued to play music at home, including his own compositions and songs of artists such as David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Sting, the Police, and Stereophonics. Dua Lipa began singing at the age of five.
Lipa grew up in West Hampstead, London.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
What is the distribution of religions in the United States?
According to a 2020 survey by the Public Religion Research Institute, it’s estimated that about 70 percent of Americans describe themselves as Christian, 1.4 percent as Jewish, 0.8 percent as Muslim, 0.8 percent as Buddhist, and about 4 percent as belonging to other religions. The remaining 23 percent say that they have no religious affiliation.
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Died
- Richard III of England –
- Calvin E. Stowe (professor of biblical studies) –
- Kate Chopin (author) –
Born
- Claude Debussy (composer) –
- John Lee Hooker (singer) –
- Ray Bradbury (science fiction author) –
- Norman Schwarzkopf (Army general) –
- Carl Yastrzemski (baseball player) –
- Cindy Williams (actress) –
- Tori Amos (musician) –
- Ty Burrell (actor) –
- Kristen Wiig (actress) –
- James Corden (actor, tv host) –
- Dua Lipa (singer) –
Events
- Ann Franklin, sister-in-law of Benjamin, became the first female editor for an American newspaper, the Newport, R.I., Mercury following her husband’s death.–
- The schooner, America, won an international race sponsored by the Royal Yacht Society in England. This became a traditional international event known as the America’s Cup race–
- William Sheppard patented a liquid soap (Patent #49561)–
- U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt became the first president to ride in an automobile–
- Steven C. Rockefeller married Anne Marie Rasmussen–
- The Beatles arrived in New York City on their last U.S. tour–
- Okanagan Mountain Park wildfire strengthened, Kelowna, British Columbia–
- Masked thieves burst into the Oslo museum and snatched a version of the Edvard Munch masterpiece The Scream and a second Munch painting from the walls as visitors watched in shock–
- Several earthquakes struck southern Colorado; the largest measuring magnitude-5.3–
Weather
- Damaging frosts from New England to North Carolina–
- Tornado wound through Middlesex County, MA–
- Frost damaged crops in the Midwest–
- Severe frost hit Fort Custer, Montana–
- A record four hurricanes were observed at one time in the North Atlantic. One of these storms hit the U.S. coast days later, killing 1,000-2,000 people in Georgia and South Carolina.–
- 1.25” hail fell in Castle Rock, Colorado–
COURTESY www.almanac.com
