Rita Ora

Rita Ora

Rita Ora loves the "freedom" of 'The Voice'.

The 'I Will Never Let You Down' hitmaker - who is taking a seat on the talent show's judging panel this series - has revealed that she "respects" the format of the show.

She said: "People are so fixated on numbers and having a Christmas No1. I respected 'The Voice's format and how I musically connected to it ...

"I watched 'The Voice' a lot and I love the freedom. We got to do what we wanted. I am only one record in (career-wise), but it takes a lot of brains to create a structure and a brand.

"You can be a movement now. That is what this tool is. It's a record deal but also exposure and branding."

The 24-year-old singer - who stars alongside will.i.am, Sir Tom Jones and Kaiser Chiefs' Ricky Wilson on the BBC show - has certainly struck a chord with the Black Eyed Peas rapper who praised her commercial successes away from the music industry.

He told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: "I am so happy Rita is on this season, as she represents a whole new level of how you quantify success.

"Does Rita have ten No1s right now? No, but Rita accomplished things that artists who have had 120 No1s haven't. People might have crazy amounts of No1s but they don't have the deals that Rita has."

He added: "When I walk through the supermarket and see Rita on a magazine and see her products in there, I say this girl has got some crazy stuff and I think these artists, they need to see the new dynamic to quantify success."