Dua Lipa has been legally certified as an Albanian citizen, with the news becoming official in an oath-taking ceremony between herself and the country’s president, Bajram Begaj.
Though the ceremony itself was undertaken in the Albanian language, Billboard reports that Begaj granted Lipa citizenship because of her efforts to elevate the status of Albania in music internationally. The decision was made ahead of the 110th anniversary of Albania’s independence from the Ottoman Empire, which is formally celebrated today (November 28).
Lipa shared the news of her citizenship on Instagram, where she posted a clip of the ceremony alongside photos of herself posing with her papers – including an application for an identity card and passport, the photo for which she took after taking her oath – at Tirana City Hall. She captioned the post: “Thank you President Bajram Begaj and Mayor [Erion Veliaj] for this honor – got my Albanian citizenship!! Thank you, I am feeling very proud.”
According to Billboard, Lipa said prior to the ceremony that she “will be an Albanian with papers too”. After taking her oath, she reportedly said: “It is an indescribable great joy with such acceptance, love and everything.”
Though she was born and raised in England, Lipa’s parents are of Kosovo Albanian descent, and Albanian is her first language. In 2016, she and her father – Dukagjin Lipa, who performed in the Kosovan rock band Oda – launched the Sunny Hill Foundation, through which they hold concerts in their native city to raise funds for locals facing financial hardship.
Back in 2018, too, Lipa was honoured with the first-ever key to the Kosovan capital of Pristina.
Over the weekend, Lipa was spotted in a recording studio with Mick Jagger (of The Rolling Stones fame). She’s currently working on her third album, which will follow up on her smash-hit 2020 record ‘Future Nostalgia’. The album was first teased by Lipa back in January, and in March, she said it was “50 per cent done” and “starting to take shape”.
In September, she spoke more about her plans for the album, saying in an interview that as far as it goes with her songwriting, she feels more in “control” than ever before.
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