*“K.C. Undercover” star Zendaya Coleman graces the cover of NEW YOU magazine, in which she talks about excessive Photoshopping, her biggest fears and using her star power to lead and inspire her generation. In a world obsessed with youth and beauty, the socially conscious 19-year-old wants other young people to know that it’s alright to embrace your flaws because “there is no such thing as ugly people.”
Coleman is working on the follow-up to her self-titled debut album, and she’s given fans a taste of what’s to come with her new single, “Something New,” featuring Chris Brown. The track features the horn hook from TLC’s hit “Creep,” Billboard notes. It was also co-produced by Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, who worked with TLC.
Peep highlights from the NEW YOU interview below:
ON EXCESSIVE PHOTOSHOPPING: “There is no such thing as ugly. That’s a word that doesn’t really enter my vocabulary. If there’s any definition to being perfect, you’re perfect at being yourself. No other person can be you 100 percent; no one has your fingerprint; no one has your DNA. You are you 120 percent, through and through. Whether it is through my social media or whatever, I want anyone who looks up to me to know that I go through the same problems. I have to be confident in who I am. When I learn things about myself, I like to share that journey with people because I know there are a lot of people going through the same thing.”
ON HOW SHE WANTS THE YOUTH TO BECOME “THE NEW COOL”: I want to promote to young people that it’s okay to be a good citizen. It’s okay to learn. It’s cool to be knowledgeable, to know what’s going on in your country and your world. To form opinions and to talk about it, have discussions and be respectful. I’m trying to make that the new cool.”
HER BIGGEST FEARS: “Everyone is scared of something. For me, I’m a Virgo so I’m a perfectionist and I am afraid of not being perfect; of things failing or not doing as well as I think I should. That’s a constant battle that I have with myself because I hold myself to really high standards and I want to be so good. Sometimes I’m like dude, you’re only 19! Relax, stop overdoing it, and just breathe for a second. You’re doing really good, you’re on a roll here, stop stressing yourself out!”
WHERE SHE WANTS TO BE IN 10 YEARS: “Ten years from now I see myself doing what I love to do and doing great stuff for humanity. When I say doing what I love to do, if I decide in five years that I don’t want to sing, dance, or act another day in my life and that it does not make me happy anymore, I’m going to do something else. Maybe I’ll go to school for something else and live my life that way. I just want to be happy and I want to be able to [be happy] where I can help people.”
You can read more of Zendaya’s interview here. The issue hits newsstands Feb. 9.
