From a SXSW unknown to ACL headliner: Flashback to Dua Lipa's first Austin appearance

London-born superstar Dua Lipa lit up the American Express stage last Saturday at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Her headline set included hot vocals and masterful choreography akin to a Las Vegas residency.

The singer is uber-recognizable today, but back in 2016, she hit the streets of Austin during the South by Southwest Music Festival as a relative unknown. She reminisced about those early performances onstage at ACL Fest. That year, Dua had a single daytime set at the Hype Hotel, where she was just another foreign face in an influx of artists during the annual festival.

Just another foreign face in the 2016 SXSW crowd

Interviewed for “Ones To Watch,” the young English-Albanian artist shared her culture shock at Austin’s bustling festival scene, where every doorway blasts live music. Eight years ago, Dua stood in our shoes as the fan, starstruck by celebrity shows, sharing her excitement at seeing rapper Future headline the same stage that she performed on earlier the same day.

The “Levitating” singer gushed about her new music as she was on the precipice of releasing her debut self-titled album “Dua Lipa” (2017) through Warner Bros. Records.

“My next single coming out is called 'Hotter Than Hell,'" Lipa said. “It was one of the first songs I’ve written where things started making sense and we started building everything against that song. I’ve been in the studio for a long time now working on ('Dua Lipa'), so it's fun to start getting music out.”

Fame followed fast from her self-titled debut album "Dua Lipa" (2017)

A year after this interview, her first album peaked at number three on the UK charts in 2017. The next year, Lipa scored five Brit Awards nominations. She took home prizes for “British Female Solo Artist” and “British Breakthrough Act.” Shortly after, she garnered worldwide attention with her Calvin Harris collaboration on “One Kiss” in 2018.

“Never give up on what you believe in. I know it sounds cliche, but it is the truth,” Lipa said back in 2016. “If there’s something you believe in… you consistently have to keep pushing for it. At the end of the day, this project is mine. I want it to be out there for everyone to hear and come 100% from me. It’s a lot about sticking to my guns.”

A badass from hell 'who nobody (expletive) with'

Standing on the biggest stage at Austin’s largest festival, the show stopping performer has come a long way since she was a little fish in the “Live Music Capital of the World.”

Nevertheless, the way she described herself all those years ago still rings true: “Dua lipa is a badass bitch from hell who nobody (expletive) with.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: From a SXSW unknown to ACL headliner: Flashback to Dua Lipa's first Austin appearance