Rita Ora Talks About Acceptance & Gets Personal at Jingle Ball Warm Up Show

Rita Ora

A few days before the iconic Jingle Ball at New York City's Madison Square Garden, Rita Ora shared her incredible talent with fans during the Official Jingle Ball Warm Up Show presented by Absolut® Vodka. 

Rita recently partnered with Absolut on its new initiative, Open Mic Project, through which she is writing a song inspired by fan-submitted stories of acceptance. Rita is spending December and January writing and finalizing this special song, and fans will get to hear the finished track when it's released during GRAMMY Week 2018.

During the show, Rita opened up a lot about Open Mic Project, including what it personally means to her to be a part of it, her own story of acceptance and more. She explains of being a part of the campaign, "When I was told about the Open Mic Project, I was extremely struck by just how sincere the point of this whole campaign is, which is giving people voices that have had such incredible experiences. Whether they went through something, or whether they don't feel accepted in society, this is a campaign that is all about being OK, and you are welcome into our squad."

Rita also shared that Open Mic Project is personal for her, as she relates to the project in many ways. She told the crowd, "It's so important for me, because I relate to it very personally on so many levels. Just as a female in this music industry, but also as a refugee from Kosovo that moved to the UK for a life with my family, to being able to make music for everybody globally. The journey is kind of a hard one. This is a platform for people to really express themselves and be proud of their stories and of who they are."

Rita Ora

While Rita may be living her dream now, she's come a long way. The 27-year-old recording artist shared her own story of acceptance:

"I moved from Kosovo to London when I was one. It was kind of amazing, because there were so many different cultures in my school. In my class, there were so many different ethnicities and foods, and days where you had to bring in your family stories. And I would just bring in all my food, like 'hey, this is food from my country.'" She added, "My parents were super, super, super accepting of me and my crazy dreams and aspirations that nobody at the age of twelve thinks is possible. So, I would go to church, and choirs, and sing my heart out. For me, it was really nice to have that support, and I know that not everybody gets that, but it was one of those situations where I wanted to just use whatever voice I had to bring light onto people that usually don't get it."

As Rita is taking these next two months to write this new powerful song, she talked about what it was like to read all of the stories that fans have submitted. She explained that some were just "two sentences short" and some were "seven pages long." And while Ora calls the process "intense," she also says it's been very inspiring. She explains, "For me, my fans, and the growth I've had with them, I think it's been a long, patient journey. And I feel like the stories that they've given me, it's almost like I'm talking to them without having to meet them. So, the pressure's on to make sure that everyone's messages come across in this three minute song."

Rita Ora

During Rita Ora's Official Jingle Ball Warm Up Show presented by Absolut Vodka, the pop star also performed many of her biggest hits, including her new song "Anywhere," her Ed Sheeran collab "Your Song," her Avicii collab "Lonely Together," "Black Widow," and finished the concert with a "Prince-inspired version" of "I Will Never Let You Down." 

Watch her perform "Your Song," "Lonely Together," and "Anywhere" below!

"You're Song"

Rita Ora - "Your Song"

"Lonely Together"

Rita Ora - "Lonely Together"

"Anywhere"

Rita Ora - "Anywhere"

Rita also opened up about her long-awaited debut album and the journey she has taken in her music career. She said, "My album is all about just me and [going] back home. I went home for about two years, because I had a bit of an amazing experience. I was signed out of the [United] States, and then I went back home, and really did my deal, and now I'm in an amazing place in my career and in my life, and I've never been more proud and confident of the fight that I did to get here."

She added later on in the night, "This has been a long time coming for me. This album is all about where I'm from, and being a 27-year-old woman now from when I first kind of signed, which was when I was 18. And now I get to talk about my love life, talk about my friends, and this was all inspired by my frustration from when I couldn't put out music for a few years, to kind of the blessing that I couldn't put out music for a few years. Because then I found myself, I got to learn [about] myself, I started to get in with my emotions, and I am an Albanian woman, so for me, I have an ego. And it takes me a while to get my feelings out, but when I do, it's game over. It's like I crumble down to the floor. But, hey, you got to do what you got to do."

Rita Ora

Here are 4 other facts we learned during the Official Jingle Ball Warm Up Show featuring Rita Ora presented by Absolut: 

1. Rita and Ed Sheeran go way back, and after they finished working on "Your Song," they celebrated by going to the pub.

"He's the best person in this industry, for me, as a normal human being. He's so super chill, so talented, and I've known him, actually, since I was 16. We had the same management, and then he kind of went his own way, and then I went my own way, but we just stayed friends, and we just really built our own careers. And then one thing led to another, and I asked him [to] be a part of this project for me. And it's really important, because it's my first-ever global release, so I'm super, super excited about it. It took me a while to get here. I know I've been here for a while, but for me, it's a brand spanking new emotion. And he said 'yeah,' sent [the song] to me through e-mail, and the next day I recorded it. It took us, like, two hours, and then we went to the pub! It was super chill."

2. Here is the inspiration behind her new single "Anywhere":

"I was in Los Angeles, and I was making the record and in a state of kind of like, I miss the city, I miss London. LA, for me, is very, very holiday looking. It's sunny, the palm trees. And I love New York, because it reminds of London, I'm a city girl, I need things to go move, move, move. So, I was like, I need to go somewhere. Take me anywhere, please, just not here, I just feel too relaxed, it's freaking me out. So I had this idea with my writers that are so talented, and was like, let's just write a song that could take us anywhere out of where we were. And I wanted to always go on a road trip, I've never been on one in my life, and so that is my dream song that I'd like to play on a road trip, if anyone wants to take me on one."

Rita Ora

3. There's a 50 Shades surprise coming from Rita in January.

"A few years ago, I was like 'Hey man I don't know if this is going to work for you guys but like here, here's some like songs [or] whatever,' and then the director was like, 'You know, why don't you audition?' So I did, and then it was a tiny little part, and then it kind of grew and grew, and then now on this last one, it's really interesting because it's unfortunately the last one, but it was for me, [it's] my biggest moment in the movie. So it's kind of like a double standard, but it's exciting because I've heard some of the tracks from the soundtrack, they're awesome. There's a cool little surprise that I've got coming out in January that I think [fans] are gonna love. I can't say anything yet but it's gonna be crazy!"

4. She describes her own concerts as "comedy skits with a little bit of songs in them" ... and her album will be out next spring.

"You notice my shows are literally like comedy skits with a little bit of songs in them. I just love to be like 'so guys, what's going on?' My album comes out over there in March, and that's the plan, and I go on tour in the whole Europe in May. Then I'm coming over here. But there's gonna be stuff hitting [US] airwaves before then obviously. It's really really exciting. I've never been prouder or more looking forward to anything in my life."

The Official iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Warm Up Show Featuring Rita Ora - Thumbnail Image

The Official iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Warm Up Show Featuring Rita Ora

Photos: Rachel Kaplan & Katherine Tyler


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