Rita Ora is determined to prove her parents "wrong".
Rita Ora
The 27-year-old singer-songwriter was born in in Kosovo, but her family subsequently fled the disputed territory to move to London, where Rita attended the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School.
She explained: "When I left school I definitely wanted to try this music thing. My mum and dad are very educated and have degrees, so they found it really scary that their daughter wanted to be a singer. I really tried to prove them wrong.
"My parents worked really hard to get me into that school and I hope I'm paying them back now."
Rita released her debut album, 'Ora' - which features the hits 'How We Do (Party)' and 'R.I.P.' - in 2012.
Her long-awaited follow-up effort - which has been delayed by a dispute with her old record label - is set for release later this year and Rita has revealed it will be "quite personal".
Speaking to the South China Morning Post newspaper, Rita shared: "I've written a lot about my journey and the experiences I've had with people while getting to where I am today, being able to be free with my music."
Rita has been frustrated by the delay in launching her second album.
However, the break has afforded her the opportunity to try her hand at other things, including acting and TV work.
She explained: "The most fun for me was being able to venture out into lots of different parts of entertainment.
"I love to entertain and acting and movies - so I was very happy to get that started."
In fact, Rita claimed she's always had ambitions to branch out with her career.
The British star - who has appeared in two 'Fifty Shades of Grey' films - said: "I don't think I'm exploring.
"I think I'm making the decisions on purpose, which is what I've always envisioned."
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