Pop sensation Rita Ora dished on her duet with Liam Payne, the final 50 Shades movie and more in this exclusive interview with Us Weekly.
The “Black Widow” songstress, 27, whose duet “For You” with Payne, 24, is topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart, admits that while she hasn’t released new music in recent years — the star does not consider this a comeback moment. “I don’t feel like I’ve kind of gone anywhere or taken a break. I definitely put my fingers in a lot of pies before I put music back out with the TV shows and things like that. I just think that this is just a great time because I was super excited but so nervous to put out new music,” Ora, who parted ways with Jay Z’s label Roc Nation in 2016, explained to Us. “There were times when I felt like am I gonna actually be able to put out music that I loved again, ever again? There were really dark times in my life.”
The blonde beauty, who is excited to embark on her upcoming, sold-out tour later this year added: “It’s so lovely to see the [fans] still sticking with me. And I’ve made some new ones, you know, along the way. So, [I] can’t wait to just go out there and just see everybody and get on the road and sleep in a tour bus, and perform like a brand new band. It’s going to be so fun.”
Adding to the fun, the former America’s Next Top Model host opened up about working with the One Directioner. “We got to record [“For You’] in the same studio, which unfortunately doesn’t happen in today’s age of music. Everything is sent through an email or Dropbox, so it’s really cool that we got to record it together,” the former X Factor personality said of the chart-topping single included on the soundtrack for the upcoming film Fifty Shades Freed featuring Ora as Mia Grey.
Of the film’s plot, the star told Us: “It’s definitely a little bit more scary because I get kidnapped and Dakota Johnston’s [character] goes out on a mission to save me.”
She added: “I was really sad filming the last scene, It’s done so well [and] I’m excited for it to come out.”
Meanwhile, Ora, who is a refugee from Kosovo (her family was forced to flee the country when she was one to the U.K.), partnered with Absolut to work on The Open Mic Project – “a platform for amplifying and uniting the voices of people across the nation to spark a much-needed change in today’s conversation.”
“I have an amazing personal experience with acceptance. Being able to achieve my dream — doing my dream job and loving every minute of it, I wanted to find another way to relate to my fans,” the fashion icon told Us.
The songwriter, who credits fan submissions with helping her write “Proud” added: “[The partnership] was definitely an amazing way to connect with my fans. It was a perfect time for me to just give something back to other platforms for people that may not have one.”
With reporting by Marc Lupo
