Rita Ora feared for life during record label legal battle

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Rita Ora was "fearful" of her life during her legal battle with Jay Z's record label.

The 'RIP' hitmaker was locked in a bitter court dispute with RocNation - who signed her in 2008 as an "unknown artist" - in 2015 after she accused them of neglecting her career and failing to support her in the gritty music industry.

The row meant that the 28-year-old singer was unable to release any new tracks while music bosses worked out a way for Rita to leave Jay Z's company and sign a new deal elsewhere - which she later did with Atlantic Records - and the whole situation left her terrified that she'd never be able to sing again in public.

Speaking to the Daily Star Online, Rita said: "It was so hard. It was very, very lonely. My music was always my blanket. I was stuck. But that made this album ['Phoenix'] being released so much more worth while. I am happy to have the strength to be able to talk about it and come out from the other side. I was going through s***. I definitely had a bit of worry and yeah, I was fearful of my life because, this is my life. My music is all I know so for me I was definitely scared. I don't know if depressed is the right word but I was definitely scared."

That wasn't the only setback Rita faced around that time as her split from DJ Calvin Harris meant that he banned her from performing her hit single 'I Will Never Let You Down' at the 2014 Teen Choice Awards as he produced the track for her.

Rita explained: "There are a lot of artists who go through the same s*** all of the time and just don't speak about it because they are scared or they are not allowed or contractually they can't. I just think times are changing - if you are going through s*** then just speak about it."