Pop star Dua Lipa has revealed the singers who inspired her to pick up the Girl Power baton.
She heaped praise on Janet Jackson and said she was wowed by the American star at Glastonbury last year.
Dua, 24, was at Worthy Farm as a fan and lapped up 54-year-old Janet’s performance on the Pyramid Stage.
The New Rules singer said: “It is about solidarity and us being strong together. Pink, Alicia Keys, Nelly Furtado, Madonna, Janet Jackson.
“Janet wasn’t somebody I really listened to growing up, but after Glastonbury, just listening to the lyrics, it was so empowering and strong, taking control of her sexuality and not being afraid.
“I thought we have [had] strong women at the forefront for so long [but] for some reason it feels like feminism in music is a new thing.
“We have been built on the backs of giants and there have been strong influential women since I was very little that are women and role models in the music industry to look up to, that have made me feel I can be the female alpha in the industry.
“We should be free to talk about things we wish for women. For me it was me trying to push the boundary a little further.
"A woman is meant to be seen as polite and quiet and we don’t really talk about sex and all that stuff. Why is it men don’t get looked upon differently if they talk about their experience?”
Dua battled crippling self-doubt before realising that her voice was as important as producers and co-writers.
The singer, who is at No4 in the album charts with Future Nostalgia, told fans on US radio service Sirius: “I have realised that if I wasn’t there to assert myself and talk about things I was really passionate about, then I wasn’t going to get to places where I wanted to be.”
