Rita Ora on Tour
Rita Ora will not be held back. The Yugoslavian-born British singer has faced major hurdles in her career, and yet her pristine pop music sounds no worse for wear. If anything, the experience of being tied up in contractual morass with her first record label gave Ora the time and motivation to hone what she has — a sultry voice, a confident delivery and access to the greatest songwriters of her time — into a diamond-sharp set of songs released in 2018. The appropriately named Phoenix is full of shout-along anthems to escapism ("Anywhere"), ear-worming inspirational hooks (the Ed Sheeran-penned "Your Song") and searing sober reflections ("Soul Survivor").
But that turning point wouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone paying attention. In a way, she was born for all this: named after beguiling mid-century actress Rita Hayworth, and raised by Albanian parents who fled Yugoslavia for fear of persecution when Ora was just one year old. She was a survivor, and she idolized independent female artists like Beyoncé and Gwen Stefani while growing up in London. She began singing at her father's pub at a young age, and landed her first acting gig at 13. A few years later, one of Jay Z's talent scouts saw her at an open mike and a deal was stuck: Roc Nation would release her debut album, 2012's Ora. Her distinctly British take on pop — steeped in the dance strains that would later infiltrate American Top 40 — kept Ora on top of the U.K. charts, and landed her on tours with Drake and Coldplay.
Her versatility was clear as she worked with EDM giant Calvin Harris ("I Will Never Let You Down"), rap upstart Iggy Azalea ("Black Widow") and pop ballad guru Diane Warren (2015's Oscar-nominated "Grateful," from Beyond the Lights) to churn out yet more hits. Ora's talent seemed to seep from her every pore as she appeared as Mia Grey in the Fifty Shades films, became a judge on The X Factor and replaced Tyra Banks for a season of America's Next Top Model — all this despite the contract dispute keeping her from releasing a second album. By the time she dropped Phoenix, the world was ready for Ora, as evidenced by the sing-alongs that accompany her powerful, band-backed, choreography-rich concerts.
