Dua Lipa, World-Famous and Grammy-Winning Singer, Reveals She Was Once Cut from the School Choir

Need proof that where you start isn’t always (if ever) an indicator of how far you can go? Let’s turn to the story of world-famous singer Dua Lipa, who shared on Trixie Mattel’s YouTube channel this week that she once was cut from the school choir.

“The music teacher was like—it was an assembly—‘Alright, who wants to sing and try out for the choir?’” Lipa said, per Us Weekly. “I went, ‘Y’know what? I’d like to actually do that.’ So, I decided to stand up for the whole school, and he started playing on the piano. It was in this crazy high note, and nothing came out—just air. And the whole school started laughing.” 

She continued, “And he was like, ‘You know what? Better luck next time.’ That was it.” But the story does have a happy ending (other than, you know, her massive success as a singer): “Later on, I was part of the choir,” she said, “but I was in the lower range.”

It wasn’t that teacher (wonder how they feel now) but another outside of school that helped her find her voice, she said: “I went to singing lessons in a theater school every Saturday in London and it was the teacher there that helped me build up my confidence,” Lipa said.

Even though he was “the scariest teacher,” she said, Lipa said he recognized her talent and pushed her to become the singer she is today. 

Lipa’s next album, Radical Optimism, is her third, and it drops May 3. This record is “different” than her prior releases, she told T Magazine.

“It’s still pop, but it’s different sonically, and there’s more of a lyrical theme,” she said, adding that the new sound won’t “alienate” her many fans.

It’s hard not to let one’s mind wander to what that choir teacher must think of Lipa’s three Grammy Awards and numerous top 10 records. It’s proof that, when around the right people, you really can become all that you’re supposed to be.