R&B’s newest sensation Tinashe is making moves in the music and fashion world, and is racking up magazine spreads and covers left and right. Now the ‘All Hands On Deck’ vixen is gracing the May 2015 Music Issue of Teen Vogue.

With photos shot by Giampaolo Sgura, the singer opens up between the pages on her rise to fame, and how the breakup up her girl group led to her solo career. Check out a few of the excerpts and behind the scenes footage of the shoot below.

GOING SOLO
Like so many performers, Tinashe began her independent singing career because of a breakup—but not the kind you might be thinking of. “The split of The Stunners is what pushed me to create my own material,” she says of the former girl group who is best remembered as the opening act during Justin Bieber’s first ever concert.

MAKING MOVES
The star’s silky voice and fresh West Coast sound caught the attention of RCA, who signed the songstress after she submitted two mix tapes that were recorded in her home studio. “That’s where I feel like I can get really personal,” Tinashe explains.

AQUARIUS RISING
Tinashe proved she was more than just a pretty face with the top 40 debut of her single “2 On” which sent waves through the contemporary R&B community. “It’s very different from the pop stuff I was doing with the group; it was nice that I was able to create my own material.”

BEAUTY AND THE BEAT
The success of the single led her first studio album with the label. “They weren’t just interested in me for being a cute girl,” she says of her reason for signing. So what inspired this new voice to become a recording artist in the first place? “No one ever told me I couldn’t.”

You can peep the rest of the interview in the new issue of Teen Vogue on newsstands now