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Albania’s president has granted citizenship to British pop star Dua Lipa of Albanian descent, as he says the artist spreads Albanian fame internationally through her music.
President Bajram Begaj said Lipa was granted citizenship ahead of the 110th anniversary of Albania’s independence from the Ottoman Empire. Mr. Begaj said he considered it an honor to do so because Lipa has made Albanians famous around the world.
“I will also become a documented Albanian,” Lipa said before taking the oath of citizenship at Tirana’s city hall.
Lipa was born in London in 1995 to Anesa and Dukagjin Lipa, Albanian immigrants from Kosovo.
Lipa began singing at the age of five, and was musically influenced by her father, a former rock band singer and guitarist.
She started posting her own songs on YouTube when she was 14 years old. Her debut studio album was released in 2017. In 2019, she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
In 2016, she co-founded the Sunny Hill Foundation with her father to help people experiencing financial hardship by raising funds through annual concerts in their hometown of Kosovo.
“The acceptance, the love and all, is a tremendous joy that cannot be described,” Lipa said. The singer then had a passport photo taken, fingerprinted and signed an ID and passport application form.
Lipa will wrap up her annual concert tour in Tirana’s main Skanderbeg Square on Monday to mark Independence Day.
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