Rita Ora stopped by to chat about her newest single” Ask & You Shall Receive.” She elaborates on how her upcoming album will be drastically different from her previous album ‘You & I,’ how she prepared herself to play the Queen of Hearts in ‘Descendants: The Rise of Red,’ working with Brandy and more!
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00:00He for fun made like a music video in AI where like you just sit and type in what you want with
00:05your favorite song and he was like why do you guys spend so much money on music videos you can
00:09just do this now. I'm like don't. Hey I'm Rita Ora and you're watching Billboard News.
00:14We've got to talk about asking you shall receive. Yes the best mantra in my opinion. It really is
00:31I love that mantra tell me a bit about how you kind of came up with that and where you wanted
00:36to go with it. Well the mantra has been around for a long time the song I got it sent to me
00:41in my email from Ray he was a great friend of mine she's also another British pop sensation and
00:46I love her. I've known her for a very long time as a songwriter and as an artist and she
00:52came on tour with me back in 2017 sent me the song and I loved it it's sometimes sometimes it's
00:58not that deep. My third record you and I was very deep emotional it was about my like personal life
01:04changing I got married and I really wanted to share my story with the world well with this one
01:09I was like you know what let's just put out great things that feel good you know and the sun is out
01:14I'm always about the sunshine everything with my music has been super positive if you've followed
01:19me for a decade plus like I've always tried to integrate like a community and my fan base and
01:24everyone comes to the show and just like has a good time so that's what this record is. Yeah and
01:29I think we can all use that kind of uplifting message right now I feel like there's a lot going
01:34on and I just yeah it's fun to just hear someone have fun and say ask and you shall receive life
01:40will come to you. Yeah with a bit of cheekiness and not too much like thought behind it but yeah
01:45that's definitely where my head is at as well with the music so you know on you and I you were
01:56really focusing on love and the more emotional element but I think with this song it shows that
02:02love is still fun like you can be married and still be flirty and have fun I mean your husband
02:06was even in the music video like you have fun with it. I love him so much but I'm sick of singing
02:12about him you know so this record is really just about my girls my vibes everyone feeling good
02:18and so with the music video and all the visuals I really wanted to create a world that felt a bit
02:23sort of uncomfortably comfortable that's kind of like my motto that I'm going with this record
02:28and I just wanted to try and challenge myself and do things a bit more experimental with the
02:33music and the beats and everything that I'm making with my team feels just a bit more sort of like
02:39which is kind of the reaction I want. And then where do you keep the comfortable in that like
02:43by experimenting how do you get it to be uncomfortably comfortable? I think it's the
02:47commitment you know everything the world you create the visuals kind of feeling confident
02:51in that too so you know if you don't believe it no one else will you know the aura verse is a real
02:56thing it really is and we're here to just unite come together and collect they are community you
03:04guys are bourbon toy and we are growing honey constantly growing yeah I love that and I mean
03:12you also are so creative I think with your music and your ideas and your visuals and the music
03:17video for asking you shall receive it's so fun so creative how involved are you in the process of
03:22making these like visual elements to go along with your music? Oh my gosh so involved everything
03:28from like where we shoot it to how I look having meetings with the team and the glam squad and
03:35seeing just going on like making mood boards it's just so important and I have them all up when I
03:40record you know in the studio and I'm a very visual person you see. Is it hard to stay inspired
03:46I guess because you've been doing this for so long and keep coming up with concepts like where do you
03:51look to keep inspired? I look at the best like all of my favorite idols growing up were people that
03:57not necessarily changed their look but just evolved musically you know like the shares
04:03the Shakiras and Jennifer Lopez like all these women I think have so many lives you know and I
04:09love that I think that there's no limit to music or age and you see that nowadays more than ever
04:15yeah and I'm really here for it you know I'm really here for it. There's like a beauty in this
04:20authenticity and those people that you mentioned like Cher specifically comes to mind to me that
04:25she's grown so much she's changed so much but she's always been Cher like she's never changed
04:29for anybody. Well consistency is key you know and I think that all the icons that we love have been
04:34so consistent with like their beliefs and their looks and their worlds and their point of view
04:40you know I think it all comes to play and that's what I'm about you know I've always been really
04:46true to who I am and what I am and what I represent being a little immigrant from from
04:51Kosovo moving to the UK you know we're not out here faking it we're just out here just living it
04:56that's the difference. Who is the Rita that you want to introduce with this next musical era? I
05:00think it's about being fearless feeling really kind of comfortable in your own skin I think I'm
05:05really in the place where musically there's no limits you know I'm experimenting with such
05:11incredible producers I was in New Zealand for a long time because that's where my husband's from
05:15and I worked with such crazy amazing producers and I just got really inspired and I think travel
05:21and going globally and seeing the world and like incorporating that into my music is something that
05:27I don't think I've ever done before and I'm also Albanian and so like everything that I think I
05:33know I want to now just pour into my music. Yeah I'm just so hungry I think it's just how I grew
05:38up I just was raised just like let's go what are we doing and I mean like that kind of gets me so
05:42excited and then I have a nice holiday and I'm like what have I just done? Is Ask and You Shall
05:49Receive indicative of what maybe we can expect for an album perhaps on the way? Yeah this album is
05:56something I'm actually really excited about I'm spending the rest of the year making it I'm feeling
06:01super super inspired creatively just having that essence of feeling a bit like not everything is
06:07perfect which was kind of my that's my motive with this record everything's just a bit left
06:13I like that you know when a dog goes hmm like that's kind of where I'm at I love that you know
06:19sonically feeling a bit darker a bit more spicy a bit more aggressive just getting in my like
06:25uncomfortable era is where I'm at. How do you translate that then into a live show like what
06:37are the steps that you're like how do I properly represent this to the fan? So I always think like
06:42with my music is it going to work in a live show? Is it going to work at a festival? Is it going to
06:46work at a house party? Like are all my drunk friends going to be like oh my god Aretha play
06:50that one song because that's for me is winning you know and if it's not then I'm like okay we're
06:56going to need to figure this out so with this album and I've been on a summer festival tour this
07:01summer and I've been testing things and doing remixes and I've missed it so much like doing
07:07festivals is like my favorite thing in the world I live for festivals Glastonbury Coachella like
07:13I'm here for it all so and I like the lifestyle like I love the people so that's my favorite part
07:18of the job is like doing the live shows so I get real passionate about the band and the screens and
07:24the dancers and involving the audience like pointing at them and like dragging them up on
07:29stage like that's what we do. Yeah the energy exchange. I love it. Well acting like you've never
07:33seen a coup before. This is crazy. Someday you'll thank me. You're in the new Descendants movie. Yes
07:39The Rise of Red. There she is the queen of hearts herself here. Yeah. I mean what a fun franchise to
07:46step into tell me a bit about what was like stepping into this role. It was it's amazing I
07:51mean it's been crazy like the trailer dropped it got like 89 million views in like a week I was
07:56thinking whoa I mean I knew the Descendants is such a big franchise for Disney and for the world
08:02and we've grown up loving these characters and obviously I grew up loving the Descendants and
08:06being a part of this I just felt like oh my goodness why wouldn't I do this the queen of
08:10hearts it's such an iconic role. Yeah. I've watched so many versions of the queen of hearts you know
08:16Helena Bonkata and all of these incredible actors and I just thought how can I make this my own
08:21yeah and I just decided to just be myself get on there Disney were really happy with me kind of
08:27being this regal more royal you know I was really inspired by RuPaul's Drag Race not
08:32yeah I'm just gonna put it out there and I was just giving all the power giving queen all the
08:37strength yeah yeah giving no sympathy I you know I was just kind of everything was super subtle but
08:43strong yeah and I think fashion and RuPaul really just helped me find my my vibe. Have you ever done
08:49Drag Race? I've done it I did RuPaul's one year I did an episode as a guest judge and I couldn't
08:54believe it I was I was actually starstruck yeah and I was like and RuPaul was like can you get it
08:59together yeah it's one of my favorite shows so I get a lot of inspo from that show and also you
09:04worked with Brandy and Brandy are you kidding I mean what was that like it makes me cry oh she's
09:11amazing she's like so incredible I get so giddy when I talk about her because I can't believe
09:17like she's my friend you know what I mean I literally grew up listening to Brandy went to
09:23her show back in 2013 in Japan I was doing a tour on my first album back in 2013 she was there and I
09:30like had to go see her and I gave her a teddy bear she remembered it and now I'm like in a movie with
09:35her so I was thinking this is wow I mean I guess ask and you shall receive literally I will never
09:41kneel to a tyrant off with her and I had the best time and she was so patient with me and generous
09:49with her time and gave me a lot of advice because she also juggles a music career and an acting
09:55career so I'm always inspired by people that have sort of a hundred faces in the game in the
10:00industry what is it like doing music for a movie like singing you know something that's maybe not
10:05necessarily the most personal to you but do you get into the character and feel their energy and
10:10take it from there or what's that like no it was just amazing for me because I really immersed
10:15myself in someone else you know like the queen of hearts it's so not me as a person and with music
10:22you kind of are yourself you know but with film you're just like not so I had a lot of fun just
10:28disassociating myself from being Rita and being the queen of hearts yeah and when that song came
10:33in it was actually perfect because it was so the queen of hearts and she's super evil and like a
10:39villain and I like playing a villain you know I say villains are more fun to play every time you
10:45know a villain always has layers because they're all about kind of like what's happened to them
10:49that's turned them into this person yeah um and you see that in the film of why I am the way I am
10:55but I had so much fun just being super spicy and getting in my villain energy and it made me think
11:03wow maybe I need to sort of like do this in my life I like that I can't I like having a chat
11:09one person's like hi how are you and I'm like hi um but yes queen of hearts is not that person
11:16at all maybe it's more an onstage moment a little wicked wicked queen of hearts on stage yeah
11:22exactly I've had yeah it's been amazing I hope I get to do more because I love film so
11:27yeah and I mean one thing about Brandy she said that she would do a collaboration with you
11:32yep I pulled her up on it at the premiere actually and she was like yeah and I was like oh my god
11:38what do you think that would look like well again I'd take a lot of advice from her you know I think
11:43would be in the studio now and I'd say okay how do we do this you know she's the best with harmonies
11:48and ad-libs and everything like there's no one better so it'd be just a fun voice mash-up of
11:54just like two husky girls just like getting in their smoky life oh I love I mean that could be
12:01a villainous track that could be everything you're trying to do something for the movie
12:05but it just didn't make sense storyline wise right with the characters yeah
12:15I love that you have all these like friends in the music industry because you've been around
12:21for so long yeah I think I'm really lucky you know is that like a a pinch me moment that you
12:25can just turn to these iconic you know artists and actors and people like that and reach out
12:31to them for help and guidance as you move along in your career it's incredible yeah
12:35you know I think over the years I'm really lucky I made some great friends like real ones too you
12:40know you know I think it's so hard to find them in this industry and we also get pitted so much
12:46against each other that I'm all for just giving people their time to shine and also timing is
12:52everything too because creative people need time to express themselves and figure out what they
12:56want to do next and asking for help as well there's nothing wrong with that and for advice
13:01I've always been really kind of vocal and I communicate a lot I'm like yo I'm gonna need
13:05some help with this what do you think I should do and that's what it's about um anyway but I'm
13:10really lucky I've got some great friends yeah throughout the course of your career obviously
13:15you have seen so many different layers of the music industry and so many eras of the music
13:20industry especially as a female in like the pop space like what in what ways have you seen
13:26like a growth or maybe anything like changes the biggest changes I guess in the in the music world
13:31oh well something I'm really excited about is when I was putting music out in 2012 you know
13:36you follow the whole routine of a record deal and everything like that and nowadays it's like you
13:42don't really even need to do that anymore and you know you've got people like Shaboosie who are like
13:47number one on billboard and literally are an independent artist and like it's just so exciting
13:53to know that of course we need labels and of course if we can that's fantastic everyone's
13:58situation is different but then you can also do things like that so I'm super excited about all
14:04the options that artists have nowadays especially upcoming artists that read this or are watching
14:10me or reading billboard like it's just there is no limits anymore and that's great and my
14:15deal is really great I own all my masters and I think that I've got a very great setup where I
14:22have the support when needed but there's sort of no pressure and when I'm ready I'm ready and you
14:26know owning your music is was just really important for me yeah so yeah there's so many different ways
14:32of doing it now which is great I mean and what an accomplishment for you to be able to now own
14:36your masters I mean what was that journey like being able to you know own your art and you know
14:43what you've worked so hard on it was great it was definitely a decision I decided to make as a
14:48businesswoman and seeing and like you said I've seen so many errors and triumphs in the business
14:53that I kind of know now like who my people are or like where I want to go and where I feel like I
14:58can make the best music but again that comes with experience you know like when you start out you
15:04don't know what you're doing you just want help you just want to be ready to fly you know and
15:09that's kind of you have to sometimes learn the hard way you know yeah but you know us women we
15:13just don't give up no ever we got lives for days I mean I love it and you are so in control of your
15:22career and your path and how you you know present yourself to the world what advice do you have
15:30for younger artists who might be inspired by how confident you are in your journey
15:36oh thanks well I'm confident but I also have insecure days you know I think it's not about
15:42kind of pretending like everything's all right I wake up sometimes thinking oh my goodness I
15:46can't do this today like I have so much on and I'm feeling super overwhelmed and then that's when
15:51you count on your team and your family to kind of be like okay let's figure this out and then
15:55some days I'm like ready to go but I think my advice would be to just really not look at other
16:00people you know I think that is just so poisonous for your creativity when you're sort of looking at
16:05what you don't have and again we are all victims of it it's natural it's human nature it's just
16:10more about catching yourself and trying to just stay focused and like for me you know working out
16:16has really helped me like just changing my mindset yeah and prioritizing yourself so you're in the
16:23best place to deliver the best music for your people it's also like on social media like you're
16:27seeing so many people it's just about it's life and that's fine because you can get inspired and
16:32motivated that's like one thing but just as long as you're keeping on your path is you know all the
16:37advice I can give what do you think about AI in music now is it a good thing I'm living for it
16:43you love it I'm living for it I love that I was just actually talking about this with my husband
16:47because he's actually more fascinated it's crazy what you can do you know and it's crazy what you
16:52can discover and he for fun made like a music video on AI where like you just sit and type in
16:59what you want with your favorite song and he was like why do you guys spend so much money on music
17:03videos you can just do this now I'm like don't you even start right because where I grew up and
17:09how I grew up music videos were like our way of expression to show people our world everything
17:16that we're about right now how we look how we dress like our acting skills yeah like do not
17:21come for us that was our only platform but I'm here for it I do really find it useful in some
17:26parts but you know it's a thing it's a way of living it's how people want to it's a choice I
17:31guess you know yeah you're in fashion you're in music you're in acting you've done so so much
17:37what are your next steps what are your next five ten years what do you want to achieve
17:41I would love to do a few more films you know I'm so inspired by what I just did with Disney
17:47and a couple other films and really understanding a character and building a character I just love
17:53that process so much so I'm like going to school for this you know I live for it I want to be a
17:59student for it and that's really exciting to me making another album and going on tour I feel
18:05like that those three things that's not too much to ask is it no definitely not certainly not for
18:11you I mean you are non-stop it's not my team's looking at me like they're like all right writing
18:15down no they're like let's do it no I think that's a great aim for the next five years and
18:21yeah trying to enjoy life too seeing the world um and making memories I love that and lastly
18:28with a message to your fans and this new musical journey what do you hope they gather from this
18:34moment thank you for holding on right we are in this together I love you guys and hold on tight
18:43because we're making a brand new record a new Auraverse more films content entertainment
18:51booked and busyness and I want everyone to be along for the ride um but I really appreciate
18:57the patience and um don't worry because you're all going to be entertained and I'm here for you
19:02and thank you and I love you I love that well thank you so much Rita I mean I'm so excited to
19:07see where this Auraverse expands from here it is endlessly expansive thank you so excited and
19:13congratulations on everything I mean you're just doing so great no one deserves it more oh thanks
19:17Billboard I love you guys thank you