Tulisa thinks fame is "bulls**t".

Tulisa

Tulisa

The 28-year-old singer admits her outlook on what it means to be famous has changed after a difficult period in which a sex tape was leaked, she was convicted of drink driving and assault in two separate cased, and charged with supplying drugs in a case that was later dismissed, and she sometimes "struggles" with the pressure of being in the public eye.

She said: "[Being famous is a] double-edged sword.

"I'm very emotional when it comes to fame, and I do struggle with it.

Sometimes, I'll be on a red carpet, and people will be taking my picture, and I'm just cracking a smile and thinking 'This is f***ing bulls**t. It's not important, it's all a façade.'

"We're made to think that we don't have any purpose or relevance unless we have fame.

"But I'm on the right path; my heart's good, my intentions are good, so as long as I'm aware of the bulls**t that surrounds fame, then it's OK to give myself a break sometimes.

"And it does have it's perks obviously; no one's going to deny that."

After the 'Sweet Like Chocolate' hitmaker was charged over the drugs allegations, she immediately began writing a book so she still had a means of making money if the worst happened and she was sent to prison.

She told Vice's music channel Noisey: "I physically wrote a book, no ghost writer or anything.

"I'd been blacklisted from everywhere, I couldn't f***ing do music, I just had to ride it out. But I couldn't just sit there and do nothing, so I thought I'll use this time to write, and then even if I go to prison, I can still make money out of a book.

"So I'm in this predicament thinking, 'I'm going to find a way to pay the mortgage - give me a pen and paper!

"It was an achievement, honestly! I've always wanted to write a book but I never thought I'd get round to doing it, especially not a 260-f***ing-thousand word novel."

And Tulisa jokingly compared her writing to classic TV show 'Sex and the City'.

Asked what the book is about, she said: "The ups and downs, the sitting in court, how I'm feeling behind the dock, to the moment I find out that the case has been bust, to me sitting and waiting to get a call from the label.

"It's kind of like Sex and the City on a drugs charge."