"I started to really question my strength."
Rita Ora's new album 'You & I' is the singer's most revealing and empowering work yet, but it took a lot to get to this point.
After feeling lost in the music industry a few years ago, Rita Ora explained in an interview with People that a new record deal that puts her in the driver's seat of her career motivated her to create her new album.
“This album is much more important to me than I thought. It's become a big journal of self-awareness,” the 32-year-old singer said of “You & I,” which is inspired by her marriage to Oscar-winning director Taika Waititi.
Rita Ora signed her first record deal with Roc Nation at the age of 16 and rose to global fame in the early 2010s with several UK No.1 hits including 'Hot Right Now' featuring DJ Fresh and "How We Do (Party)".
2012 saw the release of her debut album 'Ora', which similarly dominated the UK No.1.
Rita Ora went on to enjoy hits with songs like "Black Widow" with Iggy Azalea and "I Will Never Let You Down," but in 2015, she sued Roc Nation claiming her contract was unenforceable. The company countersued for breach of contract, and the two parties settled the following year.
Rita Ora then signed to Atlantic Records to release her second album, 'Phoenix' in 2018, from which several songs reached the UK Top 10.
However, Rita Ora felt that the record company was reaping the benefits as her songs belonged to the company.
Despite loving the album and its songs, she eventually felt exhausted and unsure of her desire to make another album.
"I was like, 'OK, now I want to be able to do this again with ownership of my music,' and that battle was uphill. I was just thinking, “Is it worth it? I do not know". I guess I started to really question my strength," Rita Ora recalled.
Early last year, Rita Ora accepted an offer from BMG Rights Management for a new record deal that would allow her to own every song she creates.
"They just came and said, 'Listen, whatever you want. We would love to be a part of your journey," the singer described, noting that the proposal sounded "like music to her ears."
Between her new contract and her relationship with Taika Waititi, whom she married in August 2022, Rita Ora felt inspired to create 'You & I'.
“Good old Rita is back on her feet. I reconnected with everything that needed to be fulfilled in my life and that's when my third album started," he noted.
As her romance with Taika Waititi blossomed, Rita Ora began keeping a diary and turned many of its pages into songs for her new album, which includes an audio message from her husband on the single 'You Only Love Me' and unknown stories about their relationship.
Rita Ora also touches on her new album 'You & I' about her childhood as an immigrant from Kosovo, as well as her struggles to find the confidence and hopes she once held for love.
“On this album it wasn't about what would top the charts. I just wanted to share with people what I was living," he emphasized.
After more than a decade in the music industry, Rita Ora has reached her peak in many ways – and she has no intention of stopping.
"I am really happy. I can still do what I love and I want to do it for another 20 years,” he said.
