After being discovered by music industry heavyweight Jay-Z British singer-songwriter Rita Ora has shot to the top of the UK charts with her debut album Ora and her hit single “How We Do”, now the 21-year-old spitfire is ready to take on the rest of the world. Find out more about her in her Kidzworld Bio.
Kosovo Kid
Rita Ora was born in Pristina, Yugoslavia (now known as Kosovo) and her cultural background is Albanian-Kosovar, but she moved the same year she was born to England and grew up in West London. A natural performer from a young age, Rita attended the Sylvia Young Theater school and although she was always a talented singer, she landed her first role on screen in 2004 in the British film Spivs. She also auditioned to be on the BBC's Eurovision: Your Country Needs You to be a part of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009, however feeling like she wasn’t ready yet she dropped out after just a few episodes.
Jay-Z Discovery
After school Rita began performing around London to hone her musical skills, and she first appeared on R&B crooner Craig David’s song “Awkward.” After performing for a while at local West London venues independently Rita was spotted by a Roc Nation representative who convinced musical tastemaker Jay-Z that he needed to see this singing ingénue – Rita was flown out to NYC where she knocked the socks off the Roc Nation president. After she was signed Rita appeared on the Jay-Z track “Young Forever” and on Drake’s “Over.”
Hot Right Now
During 2011 Rita released viral vids of herself working on her debut album and by the end of the year she and DJ Fresh had produced the hit track “Hot Right Now” which caught on like wildfire and went straight to the top of the UK charts followed by “How We Do” and “R.I.P” feat. Tinie Tempah. Ora was released at the end of August 2012.
Rita says she attributes a lot of her personal style to Gwen Stefani, and greatly admires Beyonce. She’s also good friends with Harry Styles of One Direction and was rumored to be dating Rob Kardashian, but has denied anything more than friendship with both.
Have Your Say
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