Jessie J Glad She Kept Rihanna Song for Herself

Jessie J is quickly making a name for herself with her breakout single “Do It Like a Dude.” The video has already been watched over six million times on YouTube and the song is rising up the U.K. charts, but it wasn’t originally intended for her. The 22-year-old singer-songwriter wrote the clever tune with another pop star in mind.

“I wrote it with [Rihanna] in mind because ‘Rude Boy’ was out at the time and that’s kinda what inspired me to [write] the song,” the big-voiced Brit tells staging-rapup.kinsta.cloud. “At first I never really saw myself doing something like it, but I knew I could. I sent it to my label and I was like, ‘I’m just sending you this before I send it to Rihanna’s camp to see if you guys like it.’ And they were like, ‘This is your first single. It’s amazing.'”

Jessie, whose debut album Who You Are is due March 22 in the U.K., was hesitant about releasing the testosterone-charged “Do It Like a Dude” at first. “I was a bit scared that people would judge me, but I think I need to remember that I’m 22 and it’s actually a really fun song that’s kinda tongue-in-cheek and I’m always taking the mickey out of myself.”

But she doesn’t regret her decision to hold onto the in-your-face track for herself. “I’m glad I kept it,” she says, adding, “I guess [Rihanna’s] heard it now, I hope.”

Jessie, who went into the studio this week to write for Britney Spears’ new album, hopes to pen a song for RiRi in the future. “I would love to write for Rihanna. She’s one of my idols. I met her when I was touring with Chris Brown briefly, but I wasn’t really as established then as I am now. I’d love to meet her again though.”

Watch the video for the song that Rihanna inspired below.