Rita Ora on whether she’d compete at Eurovision, collaborating with husband Taika Waititi and her promise to 'always be here' for the LGBTQ+ community
Rita Ora is back with a “more personal” third album You & I, five years after banger-filled record Phoenix was put out into the world.
It’s hard to believe this is only the 32-year-old’s third album, considering she’s been around for, in her own words, “a bit of a minute”.
But we’re actually already very close to getting a fourth, she promises during our chat. But, for now, we’ll focus on her “reintroduction” into the world via You & I.
“I’m very excited. I am very emotional,” Rita shares with Attitude hours before the album’s release. “It’s been a long time coming in the best way.”
“It just feels like a really cool reintroduction to me, really”
The ‘Let You Love Me’ singer tells us how she was able to “rejig” her position in the interim. She’s changed record labels to BMG, which now allows her to own all her future masters too.
This seems to have allowed her to make her artistic intentions with You & I very clear from the off, telling me: “It just feels like a really cool reintroduction to me, really. I have been doing this for a bit of a minute.
“I’m feeling very excited to look at this as a reintroduction, which is kind of what this is, with where I’m at right now and really digging into my songwriting. I’m having a good time!”
She’s already released three tracks off the album, including ‘Praising You’ ft Fatboy Slim (who she recently performed with at Glastonbury), ‘You Only Love Me’, and ‘Don’t Think Twice’.
As well as the legendary Brighton DJ, another collaborator on the album is her husband, the film director Taika Waititi. He directed the accompanying music video to ‘Don’t Think Twice’, shot in his native New Zealand.
She seems reassuringly unfazed by the attention the pair receive, sharing: “We deal with it really well, we just put our heads down and just put it into the work to be honest.
“It’s been super nice to have his support, and we just have this really great connection like musically, as well as creatively. He’s got such great taste in music and we teach each other a lot. He teaches me about filmmaking, movies and great references,” she says, adding that she’s “constantly inspired” by her other half.
“I really wanted to just hide away and say it in my own words”
“It’s really organic. I guess it’s safe,” she continues. “It’s organic, and it’s natural, it made sense that we were to do something like a music video and hopefully we can do more things. It was really great working with him.”
The pair tied the knot in an intimate ceremony last August, however, kept managed to keep their happy news under wraps until January this year, fighting through much media speculation. Rita admitted she enjoyed playing with this, and shared how it factored into her writing for album three in a perhaps, unsurprisingly, big way.
“This is definitely a different album for me, it’s way more personal. It’s not so production driven, in my opinion,” she says. “It’s not super overshadowed by big bold productions or big features, it’s really vulnerable and there’s way more storytelling.
“That’s because of the effort I made with the things I’m saying and understanding that the majority of the world, at the time when I was writing, was questioning, is she married, or not married? I know I’m in the press a lot. I really wanted to just hide away and say it in my own words,” she explains.
Rita has long been loved by LGBTQ+ fans and says the community means “everything” to her. She donned a bright Barbie pink outfit at Pride in London earlier this month, which she dubbed the “best Pride ever”.
“[The LGBTQ+ community is] everything, and more. I actually was super selfish with this album, because I made it really personal. I understandably wanted to do that, because it was a challenge for me as a songwriter, too. But really, whenever I do make music, I’m always thinking about the community.”
“If that song can bring somebody joy and acceptance, then my job is done”
She explains the nostalgia-fuelled reasons why: “When I was about 16/17 years old, and going to underground raves, was when I first heard ‘Praise You’ by Fatboy Slim, it was in a queer club. I was really, really incredibly welcomed, and also, I felt super safe and like I could be myself.
“I learnt about fashion, saw all the incredible outfits, all the makeup, the life, the socialising, and being able to communicate by going out in those scenes in London. That was something I’ll never forget.
Rita made her constant support for the queer community clear too: “I’m here for it whenever you need me, whenever you guys want, you call me. I’m right here.”
The star also reflected on the backlash she received back in 2018 for song ‘Girls’, which featured Cardi B, Bebe Rexha & Charli XCX.
At the time, the song was criticised for lyrics such as “Sometimes, I just wanna kiss girls, girls, girls/Red wine, I just wanna kiss girls, girls, girls”, which some felt belittled the experiences of bisexual people.
In response, Rita addressed her own sexuality shortly afterwards, confirming she’d had “romantic relationships with women and men”.
She said: “This is my personal journey. I am sorry [if] how I expressed myself in my song has hurt anyone. “I would never intentionally cause harm to other LGBTQ+ people or anyone.” She also thanked fans for “teaching me to love myself no matter what”.
Addressing the criticism five years on, she explains: “I’ve always approached my music honestly and I’ve always come from a place of truth and from my personal experiences. That is something not to shy away from.”
“I’ve always approached my music honestly and I’ve always come from a place of truth”
Rita explained she was “simply speaking on experiences I’ve had in my lifetime,” and added: “I’m really proud I did that.
“I had really amazing support from three other really strong women and they all saw the future goal and the future message. If that song can bring somebody joy and acceptance, then my job is done,” she noted.
The pop sensation was one of many who made the trip up to Liverpool earlier this year for Eurovision. The city hosted the contest on behalf of Ukraine, who were unable to due to the war. Rita was on-hand to deliver a sensational medley of tracks performed during the semifinals.
On whether this pointed towards her being a massive Eurovision fan, she cheekily replied: “Who says that?! Of course, I love Eurovision. I think growing up in London, and it’s always on in Europe, especially with being European myself. It was just something that was always in our household.
She called the performance a “huge achievement”, acting as quite the full circle moment. She came close to competing in the contest for the UK aged 16, but withdrew from the selection process as “did not feel ready” and thought “that challenge” wasn’t for her.
“My plan would be to tour both of those albums next year”
“I was so close to doing it when I was 16 and it was nice to go back and close that chapter. It just was a celebration of my music of being amongst the rest of Europe seeing all the talent and like enjoying it because we can all say Eurovision is very entertaining.”
But would she ever go back and compete herself? She far from rules it out. “It’s all about the timing and the song,” she notes.
“I’m a massive supporter. I mean, I never close doors. So I don’t know what will happen. You never know…”
And fans definitely won’t have to wait quite so long for album four. Rita teases “more music with surprise featured artists” to come before the summer is out.
“I’m also planning on hopefully getting back in the studio straight away because I want to do another album next year,” she reveals. “My plan would be to tour both of those albums next year. That’s the plan!”
A bumper tour? Sounds like a lot of fun, I tell her. “Yeah, really cool. There’s no rules nowadays,” she reminds me.
Source: attitude.co.uk
Photos: Ed Cooke
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