Originally posted by Spin

Rita Ora is, by all accounts, living a pop star's life, except with one crucial exception: a pop star's success.
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As if to make up for her lack of recorded content in America, Ora's slotted herself in a Fifty Shades of Grey cameo (wearing a truly deplorable wig), and on singles with her Billboard betters; in addition to "Doing It," she does a "meh" job sounding authoritative on the supposed-to-be-femme-fatale hook of Iggy Azalea's "Black Widow." Charli broke out as a star in her own right after appearing on Azalea's "Fancy," but Ora's turn on "Black Widow" has failed to make any lasting impression on her own chart viability. Now Charli, who has achieved chart success with "Boom Clap" and myriad placements on 2014's year-end lists, has risen to leading lady status, and is lending a "Doing It" verse to Ora. At this point, it almost feels like charity.
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Then, there's the ex-boyfriend problem. In the throes of their public breakup process, Kardashian unloaded on Twitter that Ora "cheated on me with nearly 20 dudes," while former beau Calvin Harris went out of his way to prevent her from performing their collaboration "I Will Never Let You Down" at last year's Teen Choice Awards, and is rumored to have forbidden Roc Nation from including any of tracks he produced and wrote for her forthcoming sophomore album. Now, it would be fair to say that women get ****-shamed and barred from opportunity far too easily and often. Both offenses would have been the ideal opportunity for Ora to stand up for herself. Instead, she seemed to be comfortable playing the victim in both circumstances, offering a middling "I think people react to things differently and like to express their feelings in certain ways" to Kardashian and a boo-hoo "Guys I am so sorry. I will make it up too you" tweet about Harris.
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So, what is it? Ora is ostensibly a good singer. She has a strong voice and amiable dance floor singles — what few there are, of course. She's definitely stylish. But for all the risks she takes in the sartorial realm, Ora's music game lacks imagination. Her songs — which borrow liberally from deceased rappers (Biggie's patented "party and ********") and vacuous promises to stick by her man ("I Will Never Let You Down") are agreeable but not conversation-worthy. The "Black Widow" hook, while well done, is idiosyncrasy-free and could have been delivered by anybody ("I'm gonna show ya / What's really crazy / You should've known better / Than to mess with me, honey"). It's quite the contrast to Charli's "Fancy" hook, as the latter's vocals are bubbling over with sass and personality. It's Charli — along with her cheeky Thelma and Louise-meets-Barbie video — who really makes the song.
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Therin lies the problem: Ora is a mirror. Musically, she reflects anything she faces. Managers and producers can only do so much — in order to succeed, the artist must bring their own ineffable charisma.