Dua Lipa and Madonna bonded over men before working together on ‘Levitating’ remix
"She was fun and bubbly, everything you could imagine her [to be].", says Dua in the Attitude December issue.
If Dua Lipa needed further confirmation that she is ‘Hotter Than Hell’ right now, it came when she received the royal stamp of approval from the Queen of Pop herself.
In the Attitude December issue – out now to download and to order globally – Dua recalls how Madonna jumped at the chance to appear alongside Missy Elliott and DJ Blessed Madonna on a star-studded version of her track ‘Levitating’ – it really did float Madge’s boat – from remix album Club Future Nostalgia.
“I said to my manager, ‘I know this is super-crazy… do you think you could reach out and see if Madonna’s into it?’ He was like, ‘The worst they can say is, no.’ All right, f*** it, let’s see. Madonna got back to us and she was into the idea, she loved it.”
Dua wears body suit and trousers by David Koma, chain belt by Laura Lombardi, pendant necklace by MOUNSER, chunky chain necklace and bracelet by Laura Lombardi, ear cuff by Tom Wood (Photography: Jonas Bresnan)
Catching up on the phone, Dua says they bonded over men and that Madonna was a little, ahem, ‘Hung Up’ over her other half during lockdown.
“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,” she says.
“You know, there was a lot to talk about, but she was fun and bubbly, everything you could imagine her [to be].”
Dua continues: “We were talking about time zones and being away from – or rather, her being away from her other half. I didn’t have that problem, I was kind of in lockdown with my boyfriend, so I was being sympathetic.”
The singer-songwriter – currently dating American model Anwar ‘brother of Gigi and Bella’ Hadid – is keeping the A-list collaborations coming after making sweet music on an upcoming song with Miley Cyrus, who previously performed at Dua’s Sunny Hill music festival in Kosovo, named after the hometown where her Kosovar Albanian parents grew up.
“We started becoming really close because we were constantly texting and talking and it just happened, [the song] is 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,” she teases.
Dua Lipa talks sexism in the music industry and fighting for LGBTQ freedom in the Attitude December issue, out now (Photography: Jonas Bresnan)
Dua is also a fervent fan of Miley’s glam rock-meets-Tiger King mullet.
“I’m obsessed with it,” she laughs. “I had the bleached hair for a bit and my ends started breaking off and I was like, ‘This is a traumatic experience.’
“We [Miley and I] had a full heart-to-heart about how my bleached ends are just not doing it. She said, ‘Babes, you’re going to end up with a mullet like this.’ I was like, ‘But you make it look really cute, if I had a mullet, it just wouldn’t work.’”
After being forced to postpone her tour in January and February, Dua will next call the shots in an online extravaganza, Studio 2054, on 27 November. Tickets are available now at dualipa.com.
Read the full interview in the Attitude December issue – available to download and to order globally now – which comes with a FREE Attitude 2021 calendar with all print copies.
Subscribe in print and get your first three issues for just £3, or digitally for just £1.54 per issue.
