Here's a review I did for my site of the NYC show:
REVIEW: RITA ORA ROCS NYC WITH VEVO
Last night VEVO and Roc Nation/Columbia put together a showcase for Rita Ora in New York City at the Gramercy Theater. You know that I had to be there to show support to Roc Nation’s newest and brightest London princess while she was over here in the States. The 21 year old singer recently scored two number 1 singles in the UK with the DJ Fresh single, “Hot Right Now” and her Drake penned debut UK single, “R.I.P.” featuring fellow UK artist Tinie Tempah. Now she is ready to ROC the rest of the world!
The Gramercy Theater was transformed into Rita’s personal intimate playground with the walls covered with promo photos of the beautiful Albanian singer/songwriter, two bars tagged with Rita’s name, a stage fit for any rock star, and Rita’s logo proudly hanging over the venue. The VEVO camera crew was heavy to film the pop star’s every move for their VEVO Lift series which Rita Ora is apart of.
At 8:30 pm (Yes the show started right on time right after a dope set by DJ Mos), the Dubstep Infused Delta Heavy remix of “R.I.P.” played as Rita’s band made their final adjustments before she came to Party & ******** with us. Rita emerged from the rear of the venue to her Gwen Stefani inspired “Facemelt” in her signature blonde curls, a shiny gold jacket and skirt with a Party & ******** tank underneath. With a drum driven beat and an infectious hook Rita should soon be melting faces everywhere with this crazy record! The song then mixed into an internet favorite, The-Dream produced “Roc The Life”, a song that forces you to just live your life the fullest the way you want. Rita and I had a special little moment here after I threw up the Roc sign. Can’t even front, she had me blushing.
You would think that Rita was ready to slow the night down after having us jumping for her first two songs, but she kept the party going with a special mix of “Hot Right Now” which had an Hip-Hop/Rock edge to it. Not bad at all. Next up was one of the best performances of the night, a reggae cover of Gotye & Kimbra’s “Somebody That I Used To Know”. Rita performed an acoustic cover earlier in the year for Europe’s BBC Radio 1 and that video has over 30 million views collectively. I’m sure once VEVO releases the footage from last night’s performance of the full band cover, her fans will love it just as much if not more. After having fun with her vocals and vibing with the band she kept the reggae going with “Shine Your Light”, a cut taken from her new album ORA which will be dropping later this year. Before she burst into a little dance hall moved she confessed that she was indeed a white girl, but she was ready to get down anyway. I’m not even mad at you Rita!
Her last two cuts were the singles “R.I.P.”, which received a very positive response from the crowd and the biggest performance of the night, “How We Do (Party)”, the current U.S. single. For the Biggie inspired record she was accompanied by two fans, confetti, glitter, and streamers. The crowd couldn’t get enough and kept the party going by chanting “Party & ********” which led the band to coming back in for a few more minutes of jamming to the future Summer smash.
Rita proved why she is Roc Nation’s priority right now. She has the talent, she has the energy, and she has the beauty to put a smile on everyones face. If someone wasn’t a fan when they entered the doors of the venue last night then they definitely became one before the night was over. You almost forgot that she only has one single out in the US and no album out yet. I honestly felt like I was watching a vet up there. She was confident and her personality kept the intimate vibe going. Won’t say no names, but this girl is ******** on a few pop stars out there. I know that this is only the beginning for Rita and we will be seeing and hearing much more to come in the future! Rita, we’re ready for you!
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