Allegra has spent the last decade growing in her craft and learning to trust her own instincts. Signed at just 14 years old, Allegra is now entering another chapter with Unreleased EP arriving on the 21st of August, a collection of songs that didn’t quite find their place on her previous record, Red.

Over the past decade, the London-based singer has made a significant impact on the pop and dance scene with singles “Love You Right Back” featuring DJ Alok and “Round and Round” featuring the DJ giant Tiësto, amassing nearly 6 million streams. Both singles topped the Music Week Commercial Pop Charts in 2023 and 2024. Allegra opens up about her experience working with renowned artists, explaining, “So the fact that they wanted to work with me just showed faith, and it gave me that extra boost and confidence.” Looking back, she says the biggest difference between her younger self and the artist she is today is knowing what she wants and feeling confident to say it.

Speaking with Allegra, her blossoming confidence was clear. Comfortable amusing herself, she talks about dancing between takes, purposefully singing ABBA off-key in the solitude of her home and finding ways to have fun while maintaining a positive mindset. That sense of play isn’t separate from her work; in fact, it’s part of how she keeps the energy alive when creating. At the heart of Unreleased EP is the same thing Allegra hopes to give listeners: confidence. She wants her music to make people feel less pressured, release some tension and, above all, feel good in themselves.

In conversation with 1883 Magazine, Allegra discusses her new EP Unreleased, a dream collaboration, and how she keeps herself grounded.

Hi, Allegra, thank you so much for your time.

Thanks for coming all the way down here.

How was the shoot?

It was really good. It was super fun. We went for a grungy look with dark makeup.

The makeup does look really nice.

Thanks. I have a party later on, so I was like, I’ll keep the makeup.

I can imagine you get your makeup done so many times to perfection. You probably just don’t want to take it off.

No, after a big shoot, if I don’t have anything planned, it’s actually the first thing I take off. I just want to get in the shower and wash my hair. I was talking about it today on set. The first thing I usually do is go home, have a girl-everything shower and get into my PJs.

Unreleased EP brings together songs that didn’t quite fit Red. Was there one track that you always hoped would eventually find its moment?

That’s so tough. They’re all my children. I can’t have a favourite. I was obsessed with “Kiss Some Other Girl” when I first wrote it. It was a while ago, and I was just like, “I want it out now. I want everyone to hear it.” Secretly, at one point, I was like, “I’m just going to release it myself and leak it.” I just wanted someone to hear it!

But I think “Kiss Some Other Girl” is such a fun track, and it’s personal to me.

Jumpsuit The Dolls House Shoes Gianvito Rossi

Looking back now, what do you think the 24-year-old Allegra understands about herself as an artist that 14-year-old Allegra couldn’t have known?

I think at 14, you’re very young and you’re learning a lot. That’s why I’m really grateful to my team for developing me, and for giving me the opportunity to work with different producers and learn how to dance. As much as I wanted to go headstrong and go guns blazing at 14, I’m actually quite thankful that I didn’t, because I’ve learned so much since then.

I feel like I know myself more now as well. As a 14-year-old girl, your hormones are changing, you’re experiencing so many different things, and people aren’t necessarily going to take you as seriously as they would now. I definitely know what I want and what I want to achieve. I’m just grateful to have been doing this for so long, to be honest.

You’ve also collaborated with a couple of DJs and producers — Alok, R3hab and Tiësto. What have you learned from working alongside them? And has any of their advice stayed with you?

It’s just incredible to have been able to work with those DJs and producers. I think it shows faith when other successful artists want to work with you, because it’s so competitive out there. A lot of these people don’t have to work with you, so the fact that they wanted to work with me showed faith and gave me that extra boost of confidence.

I was very grateful to work with Tiësto, who’s huge in the DJ world. He invited me to one of his shows in France, which was just insane, and he said, “Just keep doing what you love and just do you.” That’s something I’ve always stuck to.

I describe it like a path. There are going to be so many different people who might want me to curve one way or the other, but it’s important to stay on your side and do what you want to do. There’s so much out there that you can get overwhelmed, and then you just lose yourself in it all. So I think it’s about staying true and staying on your path.

Have you found it challenging dealing with knowing that it’s competitive and things are constantly changing? Have you ever felt overwhelmed by it all? And how have you managed that?

Definitely, I have moments where it just gets a bit much. I think nowadays with social media and TikTok, people just want things instantly and quickly. And it doesn’t work like that. When I create a new song and I show a family member, they’re like, when’s it out? Expecting it to be out next week. But there’s a whole process behind the scenes, with the team and everyone involved. I think there are moments where I do get overwhelmed because I’m just comparing myself to so many other people. It’s so easy to do. We all do it. I think sometimes you do find yourself saying, am I good enough? Can I do this? And to be honest, I do have those conversations with my team sometimes, and they have to kind of boost me up, saying, no, come on, look what you’ve done. I always want to go higher and higher and higher. So you just have to take it slow and tell yourself you’re doing well. But I think social media has been a huge game changer in that.

If you look back in the day, people released an album, and then they could take two years off. Now you release an EP, and it’s like, OK, when’s the next one out? And I’m like, wow, I’ve worked on this EP for three years. You just have to remind yourself you love it. You love what you do. That’s why you just keep going.

Is there a particular artist, producer or DJ that you would love to collaborate with next? And what do you think they could bring to your sound?

It would be insane. I would love to work with Rita Ora. Just because I imagine the fun we’d have on set together. I love her fashion. I love her vibe and I obviously love her music. I think she’s just such a cool girl and such an incredible artist.

Your social media is full of dancing. I remember seeing a video, and there are a few behind-the-scenes moments. How important is movement and having fun to your creative process?

Oh my gosh, I think it’s very important to have fun. Because otherwise, why are you doing it? I think it’s always been a very important part when I first started doing music and did my first music video. I loved showing behind the scenes because I felt like you can connect to people like that. I remember when I was younger, I’d watch a Beyoncé music video and the first thing I’d do is watch the behind the scenes to see what it’s like and see the process. I always felt like it’s very important to show that side. But also, I think it’s good to keep the energy flowing, whatever you’re doing. If I’m on a music video set, I want to have fun with it. My manager sees me twerking from time to time. It’s become my move! I can’t really twerk, which is why I do it. I love having good music playing in the background, having a laugh and just enjoying the process.

Last week I had to do a video to quite a big song. But it was lunchtime, and it was a nightclub kind of vibe. And I had to get my managers involved and the photographer and the makeup artist — behind the camera — to pump it up just because I needed some hype. So, I think that’s how we create our fun. And it’s important to have. So, I always laugh and connect with the crew and people I’m working with.

I do really admire that concept of creating your own fun. I feel like it’s such a simple thing to think about, but I can imagine it can also feel quite tiring sometimes.

It was so funny because I woke up early this morning to go to the gym before the shoot. I obviously showered in between, and I was just singing in the shower. I knew I was home alone because I have a flatmate. And I sang really loud, but off-key as a joke. I don’t know why I was doing that. I don’t even know why I’m saying this. But I was just laughing to myself. And I’m literally amusing myself. I was just like, I crack myself up sometimes.

But it’s important to enjoy your own company.

That’s what I was doing this morning, singing ABBA off-key.

I feel like it’s important to understand the value of enjoying your own company, no matter how simplistic or stupid it looks or feels sometimes. Just laugh at yourself in a humorous way — it’s a good way to connect with yourself.

No, exactly. Yeah. 100% agree with that.

You’re very involved in writing your own music. When you’re writing, do the lyrics usually arrive first or does the melody lead the emotion?

It depends. I think sometimes you can have a track, the production and the song, and then you build around the kind of vibe you’re going for, creating the melody and then the lyrics. But you obviously have a feeling as well. Sometimes I’ll walk into the studio, and think “I’m so angry today. This boy has irritated me, and I want to write about that.” And then you create from there.

Music for me, it’s therapy. So, it’s whatever I’m feeling that week, that month or whatever I’m going through. I think, annoyingly, there isn’t one answer to that. The first question, whenever you’re in a writing session, whether it’s with other people or a producer, is, “What’s the mood today?” And I think that’s where it starts. What’s been going on in your life? And then the therapy session begins for three hours, and you start writing. There are no set rules. Sometimes you write the song, build the track and put a little guide down, then come back a few weeks later to record it properly. Everyone’s different.

Is there something you’ve become better at protecting as your career has grown? Maybe your time, your confidence, your creativity or something else?

Starting at 14 and now being 24, I think your confidence comes more and more with time. If I’m not comfortable with something, I’ll voice it. I think Amy will vouch for this — fashion. I hated fashion at the start. As an artist, you’re put into some interesting things sometimes. You show up at a shoot and you’re like, “What is this?” I’m a trackies girl. Why are you putting me in this clown suit or whatever?

No, but sometimes they’re these outfits that are a bit out there. Fashion is something I’ve actually grown to love, which has been quite fun, and my confidence has grown with it. If I don’t like something, I’m not going to wear it. I’m not going to be forced to do something if I don’t feel comfortable, because I’m just not going to be happy with the result. And no one’s going to like seeing it as much as I didn’t like doing it.

To be honest, I didn’t even think about this shoot this morning. I just rocked up and was like, “Yeah, whatever you want me to do.” I don’t like to overthink things because I feel like that can stress you out more. I like to come in, calmly discuss it and then just go with the flow.

You seem to have a positive stance about how you go about things — you’re, as you said, easy-going, able to have fun with yourself, joke around and open to discussing things surrounding projects. Do you think that’s something that you’ve always had in your career, or do you think you’ve had to learn to be more that way inclined?

I’ve become more positive and have always been a positive person; I’ve always been that happy, bubbly person. I come from a big family, and I’m that person who’s got the music blasting, and they’re like, yep, Allegra’s home. I like to make people happy. I like to see smiles because I think we all go through stuff, and once upon a time I wasn’t as happy. I think because I’ve learned that, I just like to be positive and I like to smile.

We all have those days where it’s like, “Okay, I don’t want to get out of bed,” and then you sulk about it. But you’re not going to get anything out of that. You’re just going to have a sulky day. You might as well turn it around and think, “Okay, I wasn’t feeling my best, but the smaller things, like getting a pastry from the bakery, made me smile. That was my smile of the day.”

I do like to be positive because I think sometimes there are worse things in life. So, you’ve got to try and smile through it.

If you could perform Unreleased EP anywhere in the world, where would it be? Is there a particular venue or festival that’s at the top of your bucket list?

Glastonbury would be so fun. I’ve always said, obviously, that in my home country, it would have to be somewhere in England. But I think about going to a festival and having all my friends come along. Glastonbury would be such a cool place to perform; you could be in your Wellies or whatever, you know? I think that would be an insane place to be.

So, if I had to pick, it would have to be Glastonbury, Wembley or the O2. It just has to be one of those three.

What about if it was in another country?

Oof, that’s tough. I feel like maybe somewhere cool in LA, but not an obvious one. There are some really cool venues there. Or maybe somewhere in Asia. That would be cool. I’ll be calling my managers after this like, “Guys, Asia. Let’s go!”

Pilates seems to be one of the ways you reset outside of music. When life gets particularly busy, what keeps you feeling grounded?

Pilates. I’m literally in my outfit now. I haven’t always been a Pilates girl, and I’d like to say I was actually doing Pilates before the whole Pilates girl thing became a thing. So that’s my claim to fame, guys!

But I’ve always been quite into fitness. I’ve done running, swimming, CrossFit, and I think Pilates is the one that feels like meditation, but it’s not. It still makes you feel strong. It’s my one hour a day where I go into a room and just think about nothing else, and that really helps me. If I don’t do my Pilates, I actually get quite upset.

Really?

Yeah. Sometimes you don’t do it every day. But if I do have my one hour… It’s like breath work, you know? It’s about the flow. It’s not yoga. People ask me if I like yoga. I’m like, no.

Is it too meditative?

I like to feel strong and to feel the burn. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I wish I was a yoga person. I’m not. I do say to my team that I’ve never felt stronger doing Pilates and being consistent at it.

There is hot yoga, though.

There is. And there’s hot Pilates.

Is there? That’s dangerous, ha-ha.

I know.

Have you done it before?

Yeah, of course. I do it all the time. Actually… I’m not going to lie, Rita Ora goes to the same place I go to.

Shut up! Oh, my God. What are the odds?

I know. I’m just going to go up to her and be like, hey. I brought my boyfriend once, and he never came again.

Well, I mean… I don’t blame him, man. It’s hot in there. Does the room feel like a sauna?

Yeah, it goes to, like, 36 degrees.

And you’ve never felt like fainting?

Sometimes, yeah. I’m half German, so I’m quite militant. I’ve got to do it. I show up to set quite early too. I’m not someone who’s late. Sometimes we have time, and I’m ten minutes early.

I’m a little jealous. I can be on time, but I’ll admit punctuality isn’t always my strong suit.

Yeah, it stresses me out being late. I tell people an earlier time now because they won’t be there on time, ha-ha.

When listeners finish Unreleased EP, what’s the one feeling or message you hope they take away from it?

I just want people to feel confident within themselves. As we’ve spoken about in this interview, it’s so easy to doubt yourself, and I think it’s important to feel silly sometimes, too. When I’m listening to my own music, I like to test it out in the gym, in the park or wherever. If I’m feeling a track, I’m going to dance to it. People might laugh at me, but I don’t care. I’m having fun. I’m never going to see this person again, so I might as well enjoy myself. I hope they smile back at me.

I want people to feel less pressured and more confident, and to feel like they’ve released some tension when they’re listening to a track. Just be happy to be on Earth, on this planet, and smile, you know?

You say you test your own music — do you play it out loud?

Yes. Sometimes I get a speaker out; the shower test is my thing. I like to put the music up really loud, and I’ve actually had my neighbour knock on my door once and be like, “Is that your music?” I’m like, “No.” If I don’t feel the vibe in the shower, I’m like, “No, something’s wrong with it.” I’m very particular.

Sometimes my managers will send me a video or a track and ask, “Okay, are you happy? All good?” And I’ll come back with notes like, “At 00:03, I don’t like this,” or, “At 00:25, I don’t like that.” I’m very specific. The gym is a good test too. If you’re running, you need some motivation, so you can tell pretty quickly whether a track is going to give you that.

That’s a good point. It’s a good way of finding out whether the music works in different listening environments.

Even on planes. It sounds weird, but when you’re taking off or about to land, sometimes I’m like, “Does something sound odd to you?” I’ll listen to it on a laptop, through a speaker, or with my AirPods. It’s important to try different systems because they all sound different. At the end of the day, I want people to feel confident and happy when they listen to my EP. That’s the main message.

Well, I think they will. I think they’ll see the work ethic behind it and they’ll really feel that.

We only shot the visualisers last week. It was a lot of fun. We did them all in one day, which was a lot, but it was super fun. We got them back recently, and each one has its own personality. We were talking about them this morning, and it’s really nice to see. They each have their own story.

I also played them to my boyfriend yesterday, which is another good test if you have one, ha-ha!

I love that, but thank you so much, Allegra.

No, thank you so much for coming. I quite like in-person interviews.

Unreleased EP is out now, follow via @allegraworld

Interview Nancy Anekwe

Photography Jack Alexander

Styling Natalie Fajer Wood

Hair and Make Up Kristina Pavlov