Rita Ora: I push my collaborators

Rita Ora says collaborations require the pushing of boundaries.

The British singer is no stranger to teaming up with other musicians, among them Iggy Azalea, Charli XCX and her ex-boyfriend Calvin Harris.

While it's exciting to find out how other people work, the 24-year-old admits every pairing comes with its obstacles.

"Every person is so amazing in their own creative space," she explained to Nylon magazine.

"You have to be careful with how you approach their creativeness. To collaborate, you have to push boundaries with each other to make something great come out - where you're like, 'Come on, dude, I know you've never done this before. Have a go!'"

Fans of Rita's are hotly anticipating her new album, a currently untitled record that is due out this year. Her last was 2012's Ora and this offering will be pretty different.

For one, it's "darker and sexier" in the words of Rita herself.

"It's like, 'Yeah, I grew up and I looked at my a**e, and it got a bit bigger and I'm sexier now.' Might as well flaunt it! I feel more womanly," she conceded.

She's also been through changes in her personal relationships, ending her romance with DJ Calvin last year and moving on with new beau Ricky Hil. This really reflects in the new music she's been recording, with the star moving away from "love fantasies".

Generally, she's just embraced being braver.

"I wasn't free on my first record because I was younger," she mused.

"And now I've got more balls. I feel like I've found my balls [laughs]... I'm just really grateful that people like me."