Dua Lipa is making New Rules for herself with a major career pivot.
The three-time Grammy Award-winning artist revealed she’s stepping into the role of lifestyle guru and content creator with the launch of her lifestyle hub, Service95.
“Service95 is a free weekly newsletter that will cover everything from little-known hotspots to up-and-coming artists and travel tips,” Dua announced on Twitter. “Service95 will serve up a considered curation of lists, recommendations, stories, information, thoughts, perspectives, and conversations you won’t hear, see, or read anywhere else.”
The platform will also feature articles, opinion pieces, and “the important work of activists” to help bring light to social and political world issues.
Of the name, Dua says that it combines her birth year, 1995, with a quality she feels she brings to her audience, service. “I have always seen myself as someone who’s of service to my fans and my followers,” she explains.
In addition to the newsletter’s curated editorial, subscribers will receive a “personal letter” from the singer herself “reporting from wherever it is in the world she happens to be”.
I’ve been wanting to tell you about this for the longest time, and now that it's ready I hope you'll let me guide you through some of my favourite things I've discovered around the world over the years.https://t.co/mQQo8TaVxf pic.twitter.com/rYfU0HFpq0
— DUA LIPA (@DUALIPA) November 23, 2021
Speaking with Vogue UK, the Levitating singer further explains her inspiration for the platform. “It’s a massive hobby of mine – I’ve always compulsively made lists of everything: my favourite places to eat, my favourite places to stay,” she says.
“All my friends and family, wherever they travel in the world – even if they’re just there for one night – they’ll text me to ask what they should do,” she tells the outlet. “I’m their go-to person for recommendations.”
Service95 will also include a podcast, At Your Service, where the 26-year-old will interview a mix of grassroots activists, change-makers, and her A-list friends.
Dua’s project is the latest in a long list of celebrity content hubs that have emerged in recent years— think: Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop, Kourtney Kardashian’s Poosh, and Selena Gomez’s Wondermind.
Though celebrities often launch these platforms under the guise of wanting to share information and help their fans and followers achieve some idealistic A-list dream life, they’re arguably just another way for celebrities to exploit their parasocial relationship with fans, pushing unattainable ideas of beauty, lifestyle, and wellness for profit.
This seems particularly relevant given the rise of the creator economy and Gen Z’s affinity towards online personalities. Once the beacons of aspirational living for Millennials, traditional celebrities serve a different purpose for Gen Z, who follow Hollywood figures primarily for entertainment purposes. Instead, Gen Z seek lifestyle advice and inspiration from people they can relate to like content creators and influencers— so it only makes sense that celebrities, especially those with young fanbases, are trying to adapt to that.
While there is nothing inherently wrong with an A-lister like Dua sharing more about her lifestyle with fans, these projects can easily veer from aspirational content to tone-deaf recommendations.
At the end of the day, Service95 may teach us about Dua Lipa’s favourite European hotels, but can the average fan really afford to stay there?