Rita Ora once auditioned to sing for the UK in Eurovision. She was rejected and, instead of continuing down the path of Euro pop camp, donned beanie hat, began displaying her midriff and started listening to No Doubt. Okay, you may not be able to hear the No Doubt influence in her music but you can certainly see it in her Gwen Stefani-worthy abs.
Ora knows how to get the kids riled up. Her singles ‘Hot Right Now’ and ‘How We Do (Party)’ have been the soundtrack to a sweaty summer. However, her album is a letdown, stuffed as it is with filler. There’s the corny ‘Love & War’ with its trite refrain of “let’s make love not war.” Does nobody give a shit about originality anymore? Meanwhile ‘Facemelt’ is an aptly named track with a grinding synthesizer that causes more pain than pleasure.
“Don’t want a one night stand, I want to fall in love’,” Ora sings on ‘Fall In Love’, which features will.i.am. Alas, love is the last emotion you are likely to feel towards Rita after enduring this disappointing debut.