Dua Lipa Opens Up About Finding Self-Confidence Within Her Music

Dua Lipa graces the pages of FASHION‘s February 2018 issue, out on newsstands on January 16.

Here’s what the 22-year-old “New Rules” singer had to say:

On how lacking confidence has inspired many of her songs, including ‘Hotter Than Hell’: “Getting up and performing my songs, I do feel very confident. But a lot of the songs come from a place that lacks that. Something I always wanted was a way to portray confidence in my music�”trying to make myself feel better in certain situations. Like after someone didn’t think I was good enough, I wrote ‘Hotter Than Hell,’ which made it seem like he couldn’t get enough of me. I guess that makes me feel empowered.”

On why she’s an honest songwriter: “I realized that the only person who was going to get a real honest song out of me was me. So I thought: ‘F–k it. I’m going to speak my mind. I’m just going to do it for the sake of the music and the sake of me trying to get the best out of myself.’”

On finding meaning and inspiration in just about anything: “It always starts with the words. It always starts with the stories and what I want to say…you can write about anything, really. It can be about someone you dated for six months or even someone you just spoke to at the bar who came across as such an a–hole [that] you didn’t really want to speak with him. One thing can inspire a completely-made-up scenario.”

For more from Dua, visit FashionMagazine.com.