Dua Lipa always thought writing happy songs wasn't ''very cool''.

The 24-year-old singer - who is dating model Anwar Hadid - found with her new album, 'Future Nostalgia', that the best thing to do was to be ''honest'' in her lyrics and understand that there didn't always need to be a ''sadder meaning'' behind her words.

Asked what she learned while making the album, she said: ''Not to be afraid of my own emotions.

''This album is a lot happier than the first.

''For so long, I felt like I could only write music that was sad, or had a sadder meaning behind it.

''I thought writing a happy pop song wouldn't be very cool.

''I had to get out of that mindset and make something that was honest but made me happy.

''And I think getting out of my comfort zone and talking about very personal things did make me happy.''

Though Dua finds it ''scary'' writing such honest lyrics, she's grown to think of her openness as a ''strength'' she should be proud of.

She said: ''I write very much from personal experiences and sometimes it's scary putting your personal experiences out there but I've learnt that I shouldn't be afraid to feel and share my emotions or my vulnerability.

''That doesn't make me weak. I see it as more of a strength.''

The 'New Rules' hitmaker typically writes a song in a day but one track on her new album took her much longer than usual.

She explained to GQ magazine: ''Normally I pretty much write a song a day but 'Love Again' took the longest in terms of going back and re-writing and adding parts. Everything else, we did a song a day, with ongoing production tweak.''