It wasn't really a sneer that British pop star Rita Ora shot me as I wandered into a plush hotel suite in Auckland where she was holed up doing interviews. But it was a look that had a hint of, "I wonder what original questions this guy's going to ask me?"
Don't get me wrong, I liked her, and despite an initial bit of attitude, where she was getting lippy about the gangsta rap significance of two teardrop jewels stuck decoratively on her cheeks ("I've killed two people. The two journalists that were in here before you"), we had a great chat about everything from why the Brits are more musically adventurous than her American counterparts, to how she's changed since becoming famous.
Anyway, you can hardly blame the 22-year-old up-and-coming pop star, who was in New Zealand last week for a show, for being bored silly. She had been plonked on the couch all afternoon as local media were trotted in and out to talk to her. In between interviews she was preened and pampered by makeup artists to make her look constantly pretty. Actually, she's more beautiful than pretty with her strong Eastern European features (she was born in Kosovo and raised in London) making her striking. Now then, I've always been of the belief that being a pop star is a job - and a bloody great one too if you can control the amount of booze and other stuff you guzzle. But behind all that glitz, glamour and rubbing shoulders with Jay-Z and Beyonce sort of stuff (which Ora does), it's a tough life, with plenty of late nights followed by the drudgery of early morning radio interviews for example.
The thing that struck me about Ora was the fact she wasn't very well. She was lucky to be performing here at all after cancelling a number of performances in Australia the previous week because of a throat infection.
During TimeOut's brief meeting with her she was careful not to talk too loud before and after the interview, but once I told her "Rita, you're on", her faced snapped into a smile and she was chatty for our camera.
