WHEN it comes to her performances on stage and in front of the camera, singer Dua Lipa is never afraid of showing off both her sexuality and her femininity.

Now the New Rules singer wants other women to have the confidence to do the same and be proud.

Dua said: ‘We have been pushed down for too long to truly feel who we really are and explore the sexual and feminine side of ourselves’Credit: Getty
British-Albanian Dua, 27, said: “As women, we have been oppressed on how you are supposed to look or be.

“We have been pushed down for too long to truly feel who we really are and explore the sexual and feminine side of ourselves.”

Dua, who has just completed a world tour and has worked with, among others, Miley Cyrus, rapper Sean Paul and Kylie Minogue, believes women have for decades not had the recognition they deserve.

She has three UK No1 singles and a No1 album under her belt as well as Grammy, Brits, Billboard and MTV awards, but said of women’s place in the music industry: “Maybe it has been looked down on.

“We are building our own castles but not necessarily getting the recognition we deserve.”

Yet after seeing her brother Gjin, 16, and sister Rina, 21, who is a dancer, model and Instagram personality, Dua believes things are changing for the better.

Speaking on her Dua Lipa: At Your Service podcast she said: “Younger generations have a really interesting look on life.

The way they think is so much more evolved.

“My brother is 16. He is so much more interested in the way things work in the world. The same with my sister.

“Maybe it is the internet or the way we’ve evolved as people . . . it is really interesting and refreshing — and inspiring as well.”

The Hotter Than Hell singer has managed to stay confident despite things not always going her way earlier in life.

Dua, who was born in London in 1995 to Kosovar-Albanian parents and briefly returned to the region as a teenager, was this week granted Albanian citizenship for promoting the country through her music and fame.

But she has now revealed the rejection she suffered as a youngster.

Telling for the first time about being turned down by a London stage school, the now award-winning singer, who started performing at age five, said: “I enrolled in a singing and drama school in London.

“I got turned down, and I appealed, and I got turned down again. I was like, ‘Oh my God, why is this happening to me?’

“I just wanted to sing. I was like, ‘I can play the cello, I can do this . . . ’

They still didn’t want me. I was like, ‘F***, maybe this isn’t for me’.”

Aged nine she began weekend singing lessons at London’s Sylvia Young Theatre School — which over the years has trained stars including actors Billie Piper and Daniel Kaluuya as well as Spice Girl Emma Bunton.

But Dua, who grew up in London’s West Hampstead except for the brief time in Albania, was not accepted for the school choir at Fitzjohn’s Primary School and told she “could not sing”.

She finally found fame after posting songs on YouTube, encouraged by dad Dukagjin, 53.

She insists that early tastes of rejection made her stronger in the long run.

‘FAILURE IS PART OF THE JOURNEY’
Dua has said: “Those moments of getting turned down push you to make the leap.

“No one else is believing in me so I have to believe in me and put myself out there and do something I am really, really passionate about.

“Failure is a part of the journey. If we are constantly striving for perfection, we are never going to get there.”

Dua completed her Future Nostalgia world tour in Albanian capital Tirana this week after performing a mighty 92 sold-out shows.

Hard work, yet what she really loves to do when she has time off is kick back at her £7million mansion in West London and see pals.

She said: “I love to just lay on my sofa and invite my friends to have dinner, drink wine . . . sleep in.

“When I get a little bit of time off, I’m like, ‘What can I do? Where can I go? Who can I see?’”

The pop princess is renovating her home to feature a music studio, pool, gym and cinema.

Occasionally she gives fans a glimpse inside the pad, posting online snaps which reveal a gorgeous open-plan kitchen and a bathroom with loads of marble.

The fashionista also appears to have a room dedicated just to storing and displaying her famously elaborate and colourful outfits.

As well as a stellar singing career, Dua has just made her acting debut in spy movie Argylle, alongside an A-list cast that includes Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston and Samuel L Jackson.

She said: “It was really exciting. But for me it is baby steps.

“That’s the best way to discover yourself as well, rather than throwing yourself in the deep end with something you can’t completely tackle head on.

“My biggest fear would be taking on a really big role and to be like, ‘Now I have to be an actor and feel all these emotions on camera’.

“Where I haven’t brought myself up to that point yet.”

The singer was rumoured to have turned down Harry Styles after the singer pursued her for a date.

But she has sparked romance rumours recently after being spotted kissing US Daily Show host Trevor Noah, 38, in New York following what onlookers described as an “intimate” dinner.

Dua’s last-known relationship was with American model Anwar Hadid, 23, who she dated for two years before they split last December.

‘IMPOSTER SYNDROME’
They finally went their separate ways after trying everything from crisis talks to taking a break.

Before Anwar, she had dated Brit chef Isaac Carew, now 36, for five years.

But she reckons heartbreak can be the making of great songs.

Dua, who has been candid about her life in her Dua Lipa At Your Service podcast and her iHeartRadio podcast, said: “A lot of the time I get so inspired by artists that have quite a lot of self-doubt or darkness. I’m like, ‘Oh my God, do I have to feel this much pain to be good at what I do?’

“That is sometimes what I think, sometimes imposter syndrome can get the better of me. Especially when I’m writing.”

Also important to her, when working on songs, is to shut out social media feeds.

She adds of music: “While you are creating it, have fun with it.

“It only gets scary when it is time for release and you’re like, ‘Oh f, are people going to love it?’

“That’s how I feel about my music. While I’m making it it’s all great and I am in my own world, making something I am proud of.

“You want to do something that you haven’t done before and you want to challenge yourself, explore this different range. I can shut out the social media. I’m doing it for me, I’m making something I love.”

Dua’s singer-songwriter dad has taken on a management role during her career — an arrangement she thrives on.

She said: “It’s funny with parents, no matter how old you get, if you could move back in with them, they would be so happy to have you.

“My dad has taken on more of a management role with me now. And I absolutely love it.