Dua Lipa is All About Making Room for Joy and Having Fun
Staunchly set in her new era, the "Houdini" singer is embracing her reputation as the "Vacanza Queen" and disco club icon.
Pop star Dua Lipa has garnered a reputation for her party girl persona, passion for club culture, and penchant for travel. Following the wrap of her 2022 Future Nostalgia tour, Lipa took off on another world tour, but this time, the pop star spent her days on the beach, sailing in the Mediterranean, and indulging in Instagram-worthy dinners with family and friends.
Based on her social media activity and paparazzi photos, it seemed to fans that Lipa was on holiday every other week, earning her the title "Vacanza Queen." After it was coined on social media, the joke quickly spread to all corners of the Internet and became a core part of the pop star's public persona.
Even in 2024, Dua Lipa's name is synonymous with her love of travel and vacationing—and her hugely influential music career, of course. While fans often forget that their favorite celebrities are aware of their reputations and online presence, Lipa recently revealed she's in on the joke, and she's embraced the "Vacanza Queen" title.
“I’ve been busy for almost 10 years,” she said in an ELLE interview. “Every single day, I’ve had some bit of work to do. But people are going to say something anyway. People say a lot of mean things about a lot of people.” Lipa continued, and said that if the "Vacanza Queen" title “is what I'm getting, then I’ll take it. Whether I’m performing or going out, if it’s not fun, I don’t want it,” she said. “You have to make room for joy. The world can be burning down, but goddamn…if you didn’t spend any of your life trying to be happy, I don't know what you’ve done.”
In the same interview, Lipa took a stroll down memory lane and reminisced on the long, difficult road she took to arrive at global pop stardom. The "Training Season" singer recognized her passion for music early on in life, and at 15, Lipa moved to London to begin pursuing a career in the industry. Reflecting on her early days alone in the city, Lipa expressed shock at the faith her parents evidently had in her. “I said to my parents: ‘I don’t know how you let me do that." Lipa continued and said: “But I knew that I didn’t have the same opportunities that I would have in Kosovo. I was so determined. I think my parents saw parts of themselves in me, and that allowed for them to be so open-hearted and generous with that trust.”
As an artist who's been in the industry and the public eye for over a decade, Dua Lipa has developed a strong sense of her identity as a singer, and more importantly, as a person. Lipa traced her love of dancing and partying back to her family. “We celebrate everything and anything, and we just love a party,” Lipa said. “When I go to my aunt’s house, it all starts off pretty tame....Then the music comes on, and we’re all dancing in the house. And that’s a Tuesday!”
Although she's always been in favor of having fun, with the creative process of her upcoming album, Radical Optimism, Lipa has recognized that the only way to live life is happy, free, and fulfilled, and who can fault the "Vacanza Queen" for that?
