DANCE memes of Dua Lipa went viral in 2018, but that hasn’t stopped the Levitating singer from becoming a global, music sensation.
Let’s take a look at the history behind the meme.
What was the Dua Lipa dance meme?
While performing her hit song, One Kiss, in 2018, Dua Lipa was seen twisting her hips repeatedly on the stage to the beat of the music for quite some time.
After the concert, the dance – dubbed ‘the pencil sharpener’ – became a viral meme.
Trolls labeled the dance ‘strange’ and ‘lazy’ and went on to turn the clip into GIFs and memes.
The dance continues to roam around social media into the year 2024.
What has Dua Lipa said about the meme?
During a January 16, 2024, Rolling Stone interview, Dua Lipa touched on the memes saying: “I did find that really hurtful, and I found it really painful because I was like, ‘I’m finally getting to do something that I love to do, and I’m being shut down, that I just can’t seem to do anything right.
“It’s always so easy with social media to get caught up in a negative spiral or people being mean, telling you what they think about you without really knowing you at all.
“For me, I think it’s just important to be able to take things with a pinch of salt.”
In April 2022, Dua previously addressed the lasting effects the meme had during an interview with NPR: “There was this one little dance routine that I did when I was performing, and people took that one little snippet and decided to base my whole stage presence and who I was as a performer on stage,” Dua told the outlet.
“I think at that point, there [were] moments of self-doubt, even though it was kind of unfair because a lot of the people that had sent in those messages or were saying things online actually hadn’t been to a show.
“Social media is kind of run on this toxic currency of ‘who can make people laugh at the expense of others.’”
The New Rules singer opened up about how the meme even pushed her to ‘take herself off’ X, formerly known as Twitter to protect her mental health.
Does Dua Lipa still perform the dance on stage?
Since the clip flooded the internet in 2018, Dua has taken it upon herself to recreate the dance on her Future Nostalgia Tour in 2022.
On Thursday, March 3, 2022, Dua made an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and addressed the reason behind the dance’s revival:
“You know, today when I look back on it – and the reason I guess why we’re talking about it – is ’cause I’ve brought it back,” she told Fallon.
“I’m doing it on my tour… -I’m reclaiming it because there was a moment where, actually, it caused me a lot of grief. Like, I was being bullied online. It wasn’t very nice.
“But now I’m, like, you know, I can look at it from a different perspective… ’cause it helped me grow into the artist I wanted to become.
“It made me, like, work harder. I went in, I did more rehearsal. I just wanted to become a real performer, and I think that was kind of the thing that I needed,” she added.
Dua Lipa has recreated her 2018 dance meme during her Future Nostalgia Tour in 2022
What is Dua Lipa’s net worth?
Dua’s net worth is estimated to be nearly $35 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Dua Lipa was born in London but moved to Kosovo with her family in 2008, before returning to the UK at the age of 16.
She comes from a musical background since her father, Dukagjin Lipa, is a former Kosovar-Albanian rock singer.
Her singing career skyrocketed in 2015 with her breakthrough song, Be The One.
