Rita Ora unveils husband Taika Waititi's role in shaping 'You & I' album

Rita Ora has shared that her husband, Taika Waititi, played a pivotal role in shaping her latest album titled "You & I."

In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald over the weekend, the 32-year-old British pop sensation disclosed that her spouse, a New Zealand film director, acted as a catalyst for her creativity and motivated her to take a more active role in the songwriting process.

The overarching theme of the album centered around the journey of discovering love, but it delved even deeper than that. 

According to Ora, "I wanted to tell a story of finding love, but it went deeper than that, because to find love, you have to find who you are, what makes you happy. You're really focusing on your emotions instead of just throwing them under the rug, which is what I usually do."

Such was her dedication to the project that Ora found herself back in the studio the morning after her wedding. She recalled a session with the producer Cirkut, explaining that despite her wedding fatigue, she was committed to the session and even ended up co-writing a song about her recent nuptials. The slight mental haze from the previous day's festivities actually worked in her favor, providing an uninhibited creative space.

The outcome of this session was the album's titular track, "You & I," which drew inspiration from the music that graced their wedding ceremony. 

Songs like "Eternal Flame," "I Wanna Dance with Somebody," "Wonderful World," "Everlasting Love," "Sweet Caroline," "Stand by Me," and "The Way You Look Tonight" contributed to the eclectic mix.

Ora mentioned, "Basically it's our wedding playlist." Further weaving their personal life into her art, Ora incorporated intimate moments from their private wedding ceremony into the music video for the single "You & I," which premiered recently.

The couple's wedding, which occurred in August 2022, took place at Rita's residence in Los Angeles.