Jorja Smith doesn’t want Rihanna levels of fame.
The 21-year-old star – whose debut alum ‘Lost & Found’ charted at number three and number 41 in the UK and the US respectively last year – has dismissed the idea she’s a celebrity, and insisted she is more focused on simply making a good living from her music.
She told The Observer: “Don’t want to be famous. I’m not famous. People know about me.
“No, do you know what? I don’t have goals or bucket lists because I don’t like being disappointed. But famous? Famous is like Rihanna. I’m not Rihanna. I’ve got a lot of work to do. I’d like to be successful. That’s what I’d like. And happy.”
Despite her first LP’s success, Jorja said she isn’t focused on “sales”, and explained the most important thing is being able to care for her pet dog while keeping a roof over her head.
She added: “No, I don’t look at sales. As long as no one tells me I’m in red, no one tells me I’m in debt, and I can still pay my rent and feed my dog, then I’m fine. And feed myself, of course. I’m good with my money so I’m not really worried about that.”
The singer is also more interested in longevity and artistic integrity, and she has hit back at critics claiming she doesn’t match the “upbeat” sound of the contemporary pop charts.
She said: “People mention how my songs are quite slow. Well, cool. If you don’t want to listen to slow songs, don’t listen to me. I’ve been asked, ‘If you hear music in the charts, it’s upbeat, why don’t you want to write music like that?’
“But I write something that I think’s good. With this album, I wanted to make something classic. Something that doesn’t just get played once and then left in your music library.”
