Lipa took the stage in a large, robe-like pink gown in front of a surreal, purple cloud background to perform “Levitating” solo. DaBaby took the stage soon after to perform his verse from the single’s remix surrounded by dancers. Lipa rejoined the stage later in front of the signature moon featured on the covers of various editions of Future Nostalgia. Following a brief dance break, she launched into the LP’s first single “Don’t Start Now.”
Dua Lipa is nominated for six Grammys this year, including three for “Don’t Start Now” (Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance). She also received a Best Pop Duo/Group Performance nomination for “Un Dia (One Day)” (shared with J Balvin, Bad Bunny, and Tainy), and a Best Pop Vocal Album nomination for Future Nostalgia, which was also nominated for Album of the Year.
The pop artist appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone‘s February issue, in which she discussed her refusal to be complacent toward sexism in the music industry. In her 2019 Grammys acceptance speech for Best New Artist, she called out Recording Academy President Neil Portnow’s 2018 comment that female performers needed to “step up” by saying: “I guess this year we really stepped up.” A year later, she was criticized for attending Lizzo’s 2020 Grammys afterparty at the Crazy Girls strip club in Los Angeles.
“I just feel like, if you’re a feminist, you have to also support women in all fields of work,” she said. “We have to support sex workers, we have to believe that that [work] is their choice and their right. It seems quite hypocritical, I think, people picking and choosing as to how they want to support women and when it suits them. That’s another form of misogyny, which really derives from the male gaze.”
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