Star’s night to remember
RITA ORA AT NEWCASTLE ACADEMY BY SIMON DUKE
IT’S hard to believe it’s been six years since Rita Ora exploded onto the music scene.
Since making her chart bow with the lines of Hot Right Now and RIP, she’s been a judge on both The Voice and The X Factor and been on the big screen in 50 Shades of Grey.
But on Sunday night the blonde bombshell let her music do the talking with a rather short but very sweet set in front of a sell-out crowd in Newcastle.
While in the past six years Rita still only has one album to her name, she’s had her fair share of chart smashes and her Academy set was like a greatest hits.
Arriving on stage in a eyecatching outfit that looked like the outrageous lovechild of Christina Aguilera’s Dirrty chaps and Cher’s If I Could Turn Back Time get-up, Rita showed her vocal chops on slower tracks like Poison and Body On Me Before seriously bringing the party. The second half was banger after banger after banger.
The likes of Doin’ It, Hot Right Now and Black Widow had arms and phones aloft as the full house lapped up the songs and the sass from the evening’s main attraction.
And there was also a rather understated but fitting tribute to the late and great DJ and producer Avicii as Rita performed Lonely Together, her collaboration with the man who died aged just 28 last month.
New single Girls got a great reaction with Rita’s fans already knowing it well enough two days after its release to sing it back to her.
And the end of the song brought an unexpected cameo, as groups of girls were invited over the barrier and onto the stage to throw some shapes with Rita.
She is a slick and polished performer while still having a raw edge which she definitely uses to her advantage. Vocally en pointe, looking fierce and bringing a real commanding presence to the stage that instantly demanded attention, Rita certainly heated up a day of the week that’s typically all about chilling out.
Final two songs For You and Anywhere – with its earwormingly addictive chorus – ensured proceedings were brought to a rousing crescendo and Rita left the stage to a rapturous reception from the thousands who’d swapped a night in front of the telly to let their hair down with her.
The gig was like one big party and the lady herself looked like she was having an absolute ball.