The Guardian: Kosovo, too small for I want Lips' ambitions

Simon Hattenstone, the veteran writer and journalist of The Guardian, has interviewed the world-renowned Albanian singer I want Lipa. The singer has shown how a humiliating “ ” that threatened to obscure her record success reached the top of the global music scene.

I want Lipa, at the age of 28, is already huge. Its latest album, Futurre Nostalgia, was the third most sold album in the United Kingdom in 2020 and the world's 10th largest album that year with 3.3 million sales. She created the four best songs in the United Kingdom -- Don't Start Now, Physical, Levitating and Break My Heart. She has won seven Brit and three Grammy awards, and has 88.6 million followers in the Instagram.

But now the pop star, the songwriter, the producer is on the verge of something even bigger, writes The Guardian.

It's a big year for you, I say, says journalist to the 61-year-old Albanian singer.

“Yes, it's massive” says I do, which says I can't believe this is happening in life.

“What can't you believe?” asks the journalist.

“just how far I've reached”, responding I want.

It's a classic Lipla safe, persistent and a little protective. “

The Guardian writes that I want Lipa was born in London by Kosovo Albanian parents who left Kosovo in 1992, shortly after Yugoslavia was disbanded and at a time of increased discrimination against Albanians. Her mother, Anes, the child of a Kosovo father and Bosnian mother, was trained as a lawyer. Her father, Dukaagjini, is the son of Seth Lipa, a respected historian and former leader of the Kosovo Institute of History. In the 1980s, Dukaagjini was a member of the Kosovo rock-group Oda before qualifying as a dentist. In England, their qualifications were in vain, writes the great British medium.

I want, the oldest of three children, to be a singer. She attended the Sylvia Young theatre school in London until the family returned to Kosovo after the country declared independence in 2008, when she was 11 years old. Until then, Dukagini was studying for mass communication at the Kosovo Institute of Journalism and Communication. Had his group been successful? “Yes”, she says. “even now, is like a cult group”.

With its population of 1.87 million, Kosovo was too small to maintain Lip's ambitions. At the age of 15, she begged her parents to allow her to return to London herself to pursue a career in music. Is it true you gave them a presentation at PowerPoint? “So how did you convince them? I just had a conversation with them. I had to go back and finish G CSE if I wanted to go to college in London. That was my main argument for everyone. And as my father likes to say, I'm a very difficult person to say no to”.

Why? I've always been very determined. I've always known what I wanted” Lipa won the argument, but she did not end up going to college, writes Guardian.

In London, she shared a residence with a family friend and finished G CSE and Levels A. She uploaded her songs on YouTube, joined a modeling agency and designed for Topshop. In 2013, at the age of 17, she signed a contract with Tap Management and, a year later, secured a record agreement with Warner Bros.