One of the bigger bummers about living in New York is that when Song of the Summer Season (also known as summer) rolls around, you’re stuck without a car to blast it in and cruise aimlessly with your friends. Last time someone I know danced her way through a subway station, she got stopped by a grizzled old man who told her, “Stop doing that with your body.” Still, I might just have to risk it with Rita Ora‘s “I Will Never Let You Down.”
I mean, it would take a lot of willpower to ignore the call set forth by the track’s infectious, ’80s-throwback chorus, where Rita repeatedly coos the titular lyrics over an explosive, Whitney Houston-esque instrumental. As someone who just lost a stare down with a bite-size Butterfinger, I don’t have that willpower.
Anyway, I got to meet up with the girl behind the Ora and chat about her new single, plus that sophomore album that’s on its way. (Oh, and ripping off Zac Efron’s shirt at the 2014 MTV Movie Awards.) As it turns out, the Whitney vibes were totally intentional!
“I love the feeling of ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody‘ and ‘How Will I Know,’” Rita shared. “[Whitney Houston] was a queen at doing love songs you could dance to,” which is something the U.K. pop singer aimed to achieve with her own summer-jam hopeful.
By the way, “I Will Never Let You Down” was written and produced by boyfriend/mega-famous DJ Calvin Harris. When asked what it was like to work together, Rita revealed that: “I love how clear his vision is. I love how he thinks, and I love how he knows what he wants. It’s very attractive in a man.”
Though, I’m sure all of his shirtless Instagram photos clock in at a close second. Maybe they’ll be the subject matter of one of their three other collaborations on Rita’s second album? BRB, getting my hopes up.
Speaking of which, Rita shared that her sophomore set will also feature tracks produced by DJ Mustard and Diplo, along with featured guest spots by Macklemore (“Young Dreamers”) and Prince, which Ms. Ora had already teased in a recent Paper interview.
While we’ve still got a few months to go until the LP’s expected September release, Rita did say that she’ll be popping over to tour our “20-million-thousand states” in July. Maybe join me for a lazy subway ride around then if you’re in New York, Rita? I swear I’ll spring for one with A/C.
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