It’s a very motivating thing to watch, to see another woman at the top of her game.

Your new single Raining Diamonds speaks about declaring a "war on love" - what does this mean to you?
It's all about not settling for less than what you're worth. So many times in life it's easier to just let a bad situation continue because it might be hard to confront. Raining Diamonds is all about getting to that point where you don't back out of confronting difficult things in your life, instead you actually confront them and move forward. And in doing that you set a standard in your life - where you don't settle for negativity and you don't settle for people bringing you down. So it's quite an empowering song I think.

So would you say this is an anthem for single girls?
It's not necessarily just about love, it's about life. It could be about friends, family, loved ones or people you work with. It's really an anthem for anyone who's ever had negative influences in their life. And that's the great thing about it - people can draw from it whatever it is that they like.

What is your best piece of relationship advice for young women?
I think honesty is the key in any relationship. Also trust - you've got to trust the person you're with and I guess that comes from honesty to begin with. You have to listen to yourself and trust your gut and if you feel like something isn't right, speak up about it. So many girls bottle things up and don't speak up when something is upsetting them - men aren't mind-readers either!

Your new video clip is very futuristic and you dance in it too - what inspired this?
I think the themes in the Raining Diamonds lyrics were the inspiration for the clip. It's all about fighting for what you believe in and battling for what you believe you're worth. I had this idea of a military/warrior/woman-in-charge theme when we were playing around with ideas but the military theme has been done - so I kind of wanted to do something different. It's that perfect world where everything is right. That's kind of what the video is all about - it's that futuristic world and that looking forward, and that world that you could be living in, where you are in charge!

Who are your top three musical influences?
I would definitely say Michael Jackson is my number one, he is a genius. He's truly a once in a lifetime artist - there's no one that's ever been like him and there will never be anyone like him. He inspires me so much to make music my career and my life. Next would be Beyonce - she's such an icon now and she seems so down to earth and so real. She's so driven, she pushes herself to the limits and she's achieved so much but she's always looking for what that next thing is and how she can improve from what she's done in the past. She's really setting the benchmark for female artists and I think she kind of is the Michael Jackson of this generation. Thirdly, as a singer I listen to a lot of Whitney Houston (back when she was on the rails!) [laughs] I used to lock myself in my bedroom and sing all of her songs! That's kind of how I learnt to sing - I wouldn't move on to another song until I got every single note!