Rita Ora: “Thank you for everything I have. I dreamed about it since I was six years old

On November 26, British singer Rita Ora celebrates her next birthday. “I don’t want people to know me only through novels,” the singer once said. However, despite the quite hit (but so far the only album), the general public really knows Rita from collaborations with fashion brands and from her numerous and vivid novels. ELLE is about the main men in the singer's life.

In 2012, Rita unexpectedly admitted that at one time she had been dating for two years. It was at the very beginning of her career, in 2009, when the artist had just signed a contract with Jay Z's label Roc Nation. “Bruno was also just starting out, and he was hired to write songs for me ... The time spent with him was wonderful,” Rita recalled, explaining that their separation happened after their business went uphill. “But we remained close to each other people. And when we were together, we were very happy,” says Ora.

The singer's new love was the representative of the Kardashian clan - Rob. The affair lasted a year and ended in a noisy scandal - Kardashian posted several candid tweets in which he blamed his ex-girlfriend for campaigning to the left.

“While we were together, she cheated on me with twenty guys. How is this even possible? A woman who is busy with her career finds time for relationships with so many men, while she does not have time for stable relationships. It's disgusting." Posts hung on Rob's blog for less than an hour, then he deleted them, but the word, as you know, is not a sparrow. Indeed, the official reason for their separation is employment and the impossibility of frequent meetings. How it really happened is a mystery shrouded in darkness, but the fact that at one of the shows Rob's sister Kim refused to sit next to Ora is a fact.

“Kim went into the hall and saw that she was sitting not far from Rita. Not wanting the noise, she asked to find another place for her. She didn’t act capriciously, no, she just didn’t want to communicate with Rita, ”the source said then, adding that“ Kim is angry with Rita for fooling Rob for a whole year.

Rita Ora's main media romance, and what seems to be a really big love affair, is with a Scottish DJ. This relationship became public knowledge in the spring of 2013. Passion was enough for less than six months, in January 2014, Rita and Calvin fled, but did not last long. After a couple of weeks, everything resumed, but until June. At the beginning of the summer, there was talk of another major quarrel, and soon Harris himself dotted the “and”.

“To avoid rumors and gossip, I inform you that Rita and I broke up. She is a beautiful and talented girl and I wish her all the best,” he wrote on the social network. On this, however, the case was not closed. Ora herself soon spoke out.

“There is a reason why we broke up. While we were together, I was sure that Calvin was always on my side, that he could not do something bad. But then we released I Will Never Let You Down, and everything went wrong,” the singer said vaguely. And later she accused the ex-boyfriend of deceit when he disrupted her performance at the Teen Choice Awards, at the last moment forbidding her to sing the same I Will Never Let You Down. The fans, of course, were very indignant and took the side of the offended, and Harris had to explain himself. True, in general terms.

“You only know one side of the Teen Choice Awards story, because I'm not going to tell the public about all the moments of my personal life. I just assure you that I had a good reason for taking such a step.”

The relationship between Rita and the son of the legendary designer began in the summer of 2014. It took the singer a month to recover from her breakup with Calvin Harris, and now - a new romance. Ricky, who prefers to be called Ricky Hill, made a career as a rap artist, which eventually backfired on Rita - when they broke up a year later, Hill recorded a track in which he frankly spoke about the intimate, so to speak, talents of his ex-girlfriend.

First, the couple broke up after six months of relationship, then got back together, only to part completely after another six months. Interestingly, a few weeks before the final, the media reported on Rita's preparation for the wedding. It didn't work out. Apparently, the singer's relatives and friends breathed a sigh of relief - Rick's reputation was, to put it mildly, not very good. "He's a bad guy and very different from the positive Calvin Harris. He does not hide the fact that he uses drugs, and even dedicates songs to a drug dealer, ”said a source surrounded by a star.

In October, the press reported on the singer's new passion - Blink-182 musician Travis Barker. Ora and Barker met back at the 106 All-Star Game in Los Angeles. Rita liked Barker so much that she took the first step by giving her phone number. According to sources, the stars were so passionate about each other that they met daily. However, this is what led to a quick ending: three weeks after the start of the novel, Rita and Travis broke up.

The Ora returned to London together. More precisely, they pretended that they flew separately, and also left the airport in turn, but this naive conspiracy did not convince anyone.

Rita Ora is a vivid example of how a simple girl, the daughter of Albanian refugees, thanks to her talent, perseverance and hard work, was able to achieve fantastic success in show business, cinema and the fashion industry and build a dizzying career by the age of thirty.

Childhood and youth

Rita was born in the Yugoslav town of Pristina, which is now the capital of the Republic of Kosovo. In the early 90s, the country was torn apart by ethnic conflicts, so Rita's parents, Muslims by religion, were forced to leave their homes and move to London.

For several weeks, one-year-old Rita and her older sister were in a children's boarding school while their parents applied for refugee status. These were difficult times, but gradually life improved and returned to its usual track. Father opened his own pub, mother got a job as a psychiatrist, and soon there was an addition to the family - Rita and Elena had a brother, Don.

Rita grew up as an artistic girl, from early childhood she loved to sing and demonstrate her abilities in public. In elementary school, she performed in a school ensemble, then enrolled in the theater studio of Sylvia Young. On weekends, she helped her father in the pub and arranged impromptu concerts for visitors.

Musical career

At the age of sixteen, the girl had her own manager, Martin Terefe, who introduced her to the popular British musician Craig David. Together they recorded the singles "Awkward" and "Where's Your Love", and Rita also appeared in one of the musician's videos.

In 2008, the girl announced her desire to take part in Eurovision 2009, but by the end of the qualifying round she abandoned her intention and left the race. A few months later, the singer's manager contacted a representative of the American record company Roc Nation, who arranged for her to meet with rapper Jay-Z, the founder of the label. In December 2009, Rita flew to New York and, after some negotiations, signed an agreement on mutual cooperation.

At first, she participated in the recording of singles by Jay-Z and rapper Drake as a backing vocalist, and at the end of 2011 a video for the song "Hot Right Now" was released - the result of the singer's collaboration with DJ Fresh. The video literally blew up YouTube, having collected more than fifty million views in record time, and provided the single, released in February, with the top lines in the British charts.

DJ Fresh ft. Rita Ora

In the spring of 2012, Rita, along with Jay-Z, appeared live on the Z100 radio station, where she presented her solo track How We Do. And a few months later, her debut collection ORA was released, which included both the singer's solo compositions and collaborations with Drake, Kanye West and other popular performers. The album was positively received by critics and listeners, and the singles "How We Do" and "R.I.P." several months confidently topped the world charts. At the end of 2012, the singer was nominated for several prestigious awards at once, and from that moment on she firmly entrenched herself at the top of the musical Olympus.

Film career

Ora has achieved great success not only in the musical field, but also in big cinema. For the first time on the screen, she appeared as a teenager, performing a cameo role in the film "Spives". In 2013, Rita starred in the sixth part of the action movie The Fast and the Furious, then appeared as a cameo in the TV series Beverly Hills 90210: The Next Generation.

In 2015, the singer was invited to play the role of the protagonist's sister in the erotic drama 50 Shades of Grey, which made no less noise than 9 and a half weeks at the time. Ora took part in the second and third parts of the trilogy, which were released worldwide in 2017-18.

Rita is a frequent guest on television, was a jury member in the British versions of the Voice and X-Factor projects, and since 2016 she has been hosting the reality show America's Next Top Model.

Success in the fashion industry

It is impossible not to note the success of Rita in the modeling business. Her spectacular appearance and natural grace were highly appreciated by Karl Lagerfeld himself, who invited the girl as a guest of honor to a charity ball in Monte Carlo, annually arranged in support of the Grace Kelly Foundation. Rita has successfully collaborated with such global brands as DKNY, Rimmel, Roberto Cavalli, and in 2019 became the face of the new advertising campaign of the Escada fashion house.

In 2014, Ora, together with the Adidas brand, launched her own clothing line, which is successfully sold in stores in Europe and America.

Rita Ora's personal life

Rita's personal life is as bright and eventful as her professional activities. An American singer was in her arms

Fans are accustomed to the eccentric antics of the British performer.

However, this time Rita Ora exceeded all expectations. It became known that the popular blonde presented a new track called "Girls". The 27-year-old pop diva dedicated the single not only to all the fair sex, but also to the activists of the LGBT movement. By the way, the performer has repeatedly participated in actions dedicated to supporting and fighting for the rights of people with a non-traditional orientation. Recall that Rita Ora worked on the single not alone, but in the company of no less popular colleagues. Now fans will be able to enjoy the voices of rap star Cardi B, Charli XCX and Albanian celebrity Bibi Rexha.

As writes, appreciated pop music praised the new track. In addition, the British launched a new flash mob on social networks. Many girls thanked the singers for such an honest text, as well as an active position. Recall that Rita Ora herself became the author of the lyrics. The famous blonde made a splash by supplementing the song with the lines: “I just want to kiss girls. And I'm not ashamed of my orientation. I am who I am. And I'm proud that I like women." By the way, a British woman of Albanian origin also has sympathy for the fair sex. However, the blonde does not have a single romance with a girl.

By the way, just a few days ago, the pop star officially broke up with her boyfriend. Fans suspect that Rita has fallen in love with one of her colleagues. After all, the singer was repeatedly noticed in the company of the fair sex. However, while the TV star does not confirm the status of their relationship. In addition, Ora is still dating ex-lover, trying to maintain friendship. It is worth noting that you can enjoy the new track for free on the official YouTube channel of the artist.

Your career in music has developed so quickly - it seems that everything happened in one day. Do you have such a great sense of musical trends? Maybe you yourself tried to find an explanation for this?

Yes, and everything is going very smoothly. But there must have been many funny and awkward cases that accompanied your path to fame.

There were so many things! Remember only my outfits! They weren't always amazing. I was very upset because of some of my images, although in general I don’t regret anything in my life. But sometimes I look back at who I was and think, “Maybe… I shouldn’t have worn this?” All comes with experience. I started performing live when I was 18 years old. I turn 24 in November, and thanks to the experience gained over the years, I learned how to behave on stage, I understood how I should interact with my team. This is an industry where you get better with experience. So you need to have patience. Perhaps I was patient enough at the beginning of my career.

What other challenges did you have to deal with in the beginning?

You know, like all girls, I feel insecure, aware of the risks. But when I go on stage, nothing else matters to me. As some love to read, others love to design clothes, you journalists love to write, I love being on stage. Nothing matters here anymore, here I feel most comfortable. I would feel more shy in the bedroom than on stage!

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How did you come to the image that has become familiar to you both on stage and in life? Did any of your industry mentors help you develop it?

Fortunately, I have always been able to choose what to wear. I have always had a lot of freedom in terms of my image. Sometimes it turns out some kind of crazy outfit, sometimes not. But I feel very comfortable in every way. I take some pride in what I put on my body. You may have noticed that I am very supportive of designers, and all because it takes so much effort from them in order to create a collection! And this is a very big responsibility, because they allow people to choose what to wear. They make people feel sexy, beautiful, make them feel comfortable, make them feel good about themselves. It's the same with music - you want people to feel good. I like designers who let me feel it. And I also respect the designers who express support for me. The fashion industry treats me with warmth, and I am very grateful to the people from it for that. So there is a balance - you support them, they support you. Music and fashion have never been as close as they are now. Musicians become faces of brands. I was the face of Roberto Cavalli, Donna Karan, DKNY, Miley Cyrus was the face of Marc Jacobs, Lady Gaga was the face of Versace. As you can see, music and fashion began to converge. It's great!

What about collaborations with other artists? Do you like duets as much as solo performances?

Yes, I really like to sing a duet. There is nothing better than two musicians working together. They connect pieces of different worlds, which they are. It brings amazing feelings.

How do you choose the projects you want to work on in music, fashion and other fields?

I have an excellent team. My sister works with me as a manager, so the family is also involved in everything that happens to me. I am confident in my opinion, I trust my team. These people have been with me since the beginning. We make decisions together, we think what suits us.

My main source of inspiration is bold people, people with character, people who are not afraid of risks. When I was growing up, my role models were women like Beyoncé, Diana Ross, Cher, Tina Turner, Madonna, Gwen Stefani. I love divas. They had so many things they wanted to say to the world. They are very proud of what they stand for. Someone supported the LGBT community, someone supports the fashion industry, someone supports the world of music. They spoke their minds as loudly as they could. And when you are in the center of attention, when people are listening to you, when you know that this will not pass by your ears, you should try to use it to the maximum. They did it. I have always respected my idols for this. I also forgot to name Freddie Mercury from Queen. These people stand out to me from the rest.

What do you stand for yourself? What are you ready to convince people who listen and hear you?

Of course, first of all, I support music and those who go through life with it. I am for live performances. I would do anything to encourage people to be physically present at the performances, because nothing can compare to this! Now for us artists, there is nothing better than seeing crowds of people who come to concerts. Plus, I'm very supportive of philanthropy. My mother had breast cancer, and now, in Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I support initiatives related to it. I've been doing this for many years now. In general, every person has a voice, and you should try to use it in a positive way.

What kind of music can be found in your playlist in everyday life? Certainly not only pop.

Yes! In fact, I like all kinds of music. I love music in general. I always really liked country music, for example, these songs could spin endlessly in my player. Who have I been listening to recently? It was Jessie Ware, she recently released a new album. Jessie is very good. In general, I listen to what makes me feel good. Remember James Brown's famous quote: "Do you like it? Then what the hell is the difference!

What music inspired you at the beginning of your career?

The first CD I bought was the Spice Girls album. My sister and I loved them very much. I also grew up on the songs of No Doubt, which was then becoming more and more popular and was very important to me personally. Then I started to love hip-hop - Mary J. Blige, Jay Z and others. I was very lucky - my parents let me listen to this kind of music.

Now you have already achieved a lot. Can you imagine what would be the pinnacle of success for you?

I feel like I'll be one of those artists who will never realize that they've reached the top. I think one day my friends will tell me: “Sit down. Rita, you're really old already. It's time to stop." However, I hope that I will have friends who will be by my side and will be able to say that I should leave this occupation. But there are people like Madonna. She is still passionate about music. It really doesn't matter how old you are. Madonna is now 56 and is preparing to release a new album. Luckily, I don't think there is a time limit. You can sing and perform for as long as you can physically stand.

Do you think you will change the direction of your development in music in the future?

Yes, I think I'll change something later. I don't want to be half-naked on stage when I'm 60. Let's see what I can do then!

It depends on how you will look.

Yes, it all depends, Madonna can perform like that! I probably can too if I'm in the same shape. Let's see! Ask me when I will be 60.

Let's ask! But back to today. How do you like this life on the road? Do you love touring? How do you prepare for performances in front of audiences in different countries?

I love live performances. The reason why I began to sing is precisely because nothing brings me such pleasure as being on stage. That's why I take my shows very seriously. Now I am rehearsing performances for new songs, in the Moscow show I will just sing one that has not yet been presented to anyone. And I will definitely come back to Russia when I go on a world tour!

Where else would you like to give a concert?

I have never been to India, I would like to see what it's like to perform there. I have never given concerts in Mexico, except that I once vacationed there. I want to go everywhere! I want to see a lot, learn a lot about different cultures. By the way, I really like Russian culture, it is very interesting.

Have you seen anything here in Moscow yet?

Not yet. My mother studied here for five years. So she speaks Russian fluently, as a child I heard like I didn’t understand anything. She even swore at me in Russian. I grew up and thought: “You are scolding me in Russian! How so?!” But it sounded scary.

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The first visit of the young ward of Jay-Z to Russia, as well as talk about music, film roles and the Russian language.

On October 27, one of the most interesting musical events of the capital took place - for the first time in Russia came the star of the British charts, fashionista and beauty Rita Ora. The concert, organized with the support of HP and Universal Music Russia, was held on the stage of the Moscow GlavClub. By the way, not everyone could get to the event, but only those who bought the brand's equipment within the specified time frame (from September 1 to October 26) or participated in one of the official competitions.

Before the concert, Rita spoke at a press conference with the participation of Alexei Voronkov, Vice President, Director of the Personal Systems and Printing Devices Group at HP in Russia, and Dmitry Konnov, General Director of Universal Music Russia. Well, since Rita does not speak Russian, her interpreter was Ilya Buts, former editor-in-chief of the Russian edition of Billboard magazine, and now director of new business at Universal Music Russia, TV presenter Europe plus TV. The singer spoke about her participation in the Eurovision selection round for the UK, as well as how her musical career began. Interestingly, Rita is a native of Yugoslavia, but almost immediately after her birth, her family moved to the British capital. And Rita's mother, having lived in Moscow for 5 years, speaks excellent Russian. "So when my parents swear, they do it in Russian", the singer jokes. Ora also talked about her collaborations with the Adidas brand, with artists, and shed some light on the mystery behind her new film: “I can’t tell you yet what this movie is and what it’s called. But it's not 50 Shades of Grey, no Rita laughs. “This is a movie about a boxer. And it will be a big surprise for everyone.”

At the moment, the singer is working on a new album, which, according to her, should show what she really is made of, and also takes part in the British show "the Voice".

By the way, Rita's artistic life is indeed very eventful. And in Russia, long before the concert, a real hype was created around the visit of the singer. Therefore, on the day of the concert itself, the hall was packed to capacity, and while DJ Simon warmed up the hall, middle school students squealed with happiness under the stage, and journalists from the most relevant and fashionable media hung out in the VIP zone: GQ, YES!, TimeOut Moscow, etc. The concert was also attended by the stars of Russian show business: Yana Churikova, Victoria Daineko, Dzhigan, Mitya Fomin, Alexandra Balakireva, Yulianna Karaulova, Elvira T and others.

The performance itself lasted a little over an hour, but during this time the fans heard all their favorite songs, among which were "Black Widow", "Shine Ya Light", "Hot Right Now" and of course "I will never you down". Even during the press conference, Rita was asked about her attitude to the fact that the sexual subtext in the songs is becoming more and more vivid, to which the singer replied that "it's a private matter for everyone whether to show their ass to the public or not". Although, I must admit, Rita has it - what you need. In general, it is worth noting that all her comparisons with Rihanna and Beyonce appeared for a reason. Dark skin, appetizing forms, a beautiful, pleasant voice and incredible confidence in one's own sexuality - high-quality commercial pop, within which a certain format seems to have already lined up. But Rita is still not the second Rihanna and not the third Beyoncé. Rita Ora is Rita Ora, if only because she is British of Albanian origin. She definitely has her own personality, which helped her successfully stand between American beauties and take her place in the music world.

Here in Russia, Rita has an incredible army of young fans who will grow up with her. Which will wait for her second album, and third, and fourth. He will like or dislike her musical experiments, will copy her style and manner of dressing, and also look forward to her next visit to the country with a full-fledged show program.

It is worth noting that this is far from the first such concert organized by HP, which annually invites the most popular artists according to HP Connected Music platform users to the capital. Last year, for example, Americans from the Far East Movement visited Moscow. Well, now another star takes over from Rita Ora, whose name is still kept secret ...

Julia Antonova, especially for MUSECUBE