Dua Lipa is music’s new superstar. Her self-titled debut album is the most streamed album by a female artist in Spotify history. The video for her breakout global No. 1 hit ‘New Rules’ made her the youngest female solo artist to reach one billion views on YouTube, while the track became the first to spend a record 45 weeks on the Billboard Pop Songs Chart.

The follow-up album, Future Nostalgia, went straight to No. 1 in the UK and broke three separate records on Spotify: the most streamed album in a day (or first day) by a British female artist globally; the most streamed album in a day (or first day) by a British female artist in the UK; and the most streamed album in a day (or first day) by a British female artist in the US.

Dua also covers Attitude magazine’s December issue, opening up about her love for her LGBTQ fans, her collaborations with Madonna and Miley, plus misogyny in the music industry.

Dua Lipa on whether she has earned her rainbow stripes as a gay icon:

“It’s really hard to refer to myself as that. But I’m trying to channel that energy… It’s entirely a right to be able to love who you want, not just because I have friends in the LGBTQ community, but because we’re all human and we deserve it. It’s something that I feel very connected to and will continue to fight for.”

Dua Lipa on the challenges young LGBTQ people face in the pandemic when forced into lockdown with trans/homo/bi-phobic families:

“It really breaks my heart. It’s hard to put into words how that makes me feel, somebody not being able to continue with their life because of what’s going on around them. That makes it difficult to digest. I can only imagine what that must feel like. To be able to use my platform to spread awareness, show support, talk about it, to make people feel seen, heard and safe, [to] communicate with charities and try to do my part as much as I can… I see that as my duty.”

On working with Madonna:

“I said to my manager, ‘I know this is super-crazy... do you think we could reach out and see if Madonna’s into it?’ He was, like, ‘The worst they can say is, no.’ All right, fuck it, let’s see. Madonna got back to us and she was into the idea, she loved it — and then she called me on the phone - I was nervous, but she was really nice. We had a 20-minute conversation and we spoke about the song, we spoke about men, we spoke about everything that was happening in the world; the Black Lives Matter protests were happening in London, I’d just gone to one, and she was going the next day. You know, there was a lot to talk about, but she was fun and bubbly, everything you could imagine her [to be].”

On her friendship and collaborating with Miley:

“We started becoming really close because we were constantly texting and talking, and [the collaboration] just happened... it’s the perfect mix of both of us; it’s got a lot of attitude, and it’s playful, sexy and cute. We had a blast doing it and shooting the video.”

Dua Lipa on misogyny in the music industry:

“You’re on a music video and the director goes, ‘I definitely think you need to wear a skirt’ – because someone wants to see, you know, UK’s pop star in a cute outfit. I’m like, ‘Well, I’m going to wear trousers because it’s fucking freezing.’ I know how to stand my ground and hold it down. There are all these little things, but I think that’s maybe where we’re going wrong. For so long we’re so used to pushing it away and saying something to just turn it off and be, like, this isn’t a big deal. I’ve always been someone to check [a person] straight away. If someone’s saying something [that I don’t agree with], ‘Well, I’m not going to do that, I’m going to do this.’ It creates maybe a weird energy, but it’s something that has to be said and addressed.”

Listen to & stream Dua Lipa here now.