It’s been a long road for Dua Lipa, but on Sunday night, she was awarded the coveted Best New Artist award at the Grammys.
Dua faced stiff competition from artists like H.E.R., Bebe Rexha, Chloe x Halle and fellow Brit Jorja Smith, and was visibly emotional as she made her way onto the stage.
However, even in her overwhelmed state, she still managed to throw a bit of shade at Grammys boss Neil Portnow, after his comments about female artists, in the wake of last year’s male-heavy show.
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Dua Lipa at the Grammys
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“Oh my goodness, thank you so much,” Dua said. “I guess where I want to begin is by saying how honoured I am to be nominated alongside so many incredible female artists, I guess this year we’ve really stepped up.”
As you may recall, Neil Portnow faced a huge backlash last year, when he commented that if women wanted recognition at the Grammys, all they needed to do was “step up”.
He said: “Women who have the creativity in their hearts and souls, who want to be musicians, who want to be engineers, producers, and want to be part of the industry on the executive level… [they need] to step up because I think they would be welcome.”
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Grammys chief Neil Portnow
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It was a big night for Dua, who also took home Best Dance Recording for Electricity, her collaboration with Diplo and Mark Ronson.
Moments before her win, she also performed live with singer/songwriter St Vincent, swapping between her song Masseduction and the chart-topping One Kiss, also throwing in a few lines of Respect as a tribute to Aretha Franklin.
Later this month, Dua is also expected to appear at the Brit Awards, where she’s among this year’s most nominated stars.