La Roux has “really struggled” with the success of Bulletproof.
The track debuted at number one when it was released in 2009, but the 38-year-old singer – whose real name is Elly Jackson – admitted she felt “like a fraud” singing the song because it has never represented who she is as a person.
She told the Sunday Times Style magazine: “It’s the track that least represents who I am. I’ve really struggled with that.
“I mean, it’s a petty thing to struggle with, considering the success I’ve had from it.
“‘Been there, done that, messed around.’ Like, what? I was in love with my best friend. I was really insecure. I didn’t understand my sexuality. I hadn’t been anywhere. I hadn’t done anything. I felt like a fraud singing it. I wasn’t bulletproof. I’m only probably becoming remotely bulletproof now.”
The In For the Kill hitmaker – who was initially part of La Roux with Ben Langmaid before he departed in 2012 – is also frustrated by the hundreds of remixes of the track because many of them are “cheesy” or have given Bulletproof an EDM take, which is her “least favourite” genre.
She said: “It gets insanely cheesy. It goes into EDM [electronic dance music] territory. No offence but I can’t stand EDM. It’s probably one of my least favourite genres of all time, if not my least favourite. I literally hate it.
“The problem is that there are so many f***ing remixes of it that have done so well that now people actually think I make EDM. I don’t want anything to do with it! In fact, I’d love this interview to be the point where I say, ‘Please, if you’re an EDM DJ, don’t bother getting in touch with me ever again.’”
After overhauling her image and her sound, La Roux now feels more comfortable with herself than ever.
She said: “I feel freer than I’ve ever felt, like I’m starting again from a new, happier space.”
Speaking about the boy band-style choreography for her upcoming single Night Vision, she said: “My girlfriend was like, ‘All right, High School Musical!’
“I’m really connecting with an early version of myself. However much I’d played with androgyny in the past, I hadn’t done this yet. People call it a mask. They say it’s a bit trans, a bit masc, a bit Sapphic, whatever. I don’t give a f*** about any of those terms. Right now, it feels more like me.”