Rita Ora: I’m done with fantasy

Rita Ora's split from Calvin Harris made her forget about the "love fantasy" she'd clung to.

The 24-year-old singer dated the Scottish DJ for a little over a year before they broke up in June 2014. The separation was acrimonious, with Calvin refusing to let her perform some tracks they'd made together or reportedly use some on her second studio album.

"I had a breakup, or whatever, and it really made me realise what I was trying to do. I had been fixated on this love fantasy, but really it wasn't like that, and I had to take myself back," she told Nylon magazine. "For me, this was my moment where I had to be real and tell the truth and be honest. I love my pop songs, and I'm still gonna be pop, but this has just got a lot more depth to it."

Although that was a hard time in her life, Rita prefers to focus on the positives. That means she believes in praising other female artists who are doing well, something she has in common with many of her friends. She cites Charli XCX, Katy Perry, Cara Delevingne and Iggy Azalea as examples of women who really get girl power.

"[Katy Perry is] an amazing person inside and out and so talented, the biggest star in the world. She's always been the same, and she's just so funny and fun and loud and really cool. I'm like, 'Yeah! That's what I wanna be like! I wanna stay that way!' You've gotta really be sacred with these friendships, 'cause people can corrupt them," Rita explained.

The star added she'd like to see more women in the public eye taking a stand and really being themselves. In particular she thinks fashion needs more edge, insisting it would be ideal if another trendsetter like Madonna came to the fore.

"Where's that punk energy? That fun, crazy, respected but still like, 'S**t, she's just doing her thing' person? That's who I am!" she said.