Rita Ora's biggest career moments so far 🙌

She's working on her fourth album!

Author: Anna Sky MagliolaPublished 25th Jun 2024

Rita Ora, the singer behind 'How We Do (Party)', 'Anywhere' and 'For You', has made a name for herself when it comes to music, fashion - and even acting, appearing in all three Fifty Shades films as well as upcoming film Tin Soldier.

Here, we take a look at Rita Ora's career highlights from her breakthrough song with DJ Fresh, 'Hot Right Now', to her BRIT Award nominations, and judge appearances in shows such as The X Factor and The Masked Singer.

Take a look through Rita Ora's career highlights:

2012: Rita Ora

Rita Ora's breakthrough song was 'Hot Right Now' with DJ Fresh. The song debuted at the top of the UK charts when it was released in February 2012.

2012: Rita Ora gets a Number 1 album with 'Ora'

Rita Ora gets a Number 1 album in the UK with her debut album 'Ora'. Rita released four Top 20 songs from her album including 'How We Do (Party)', 'R.I.P.', 'Shine Ya Light' and 'Radioactive'.

2013: Rita Ora at the BRITs

In 2013, Rita Ora was nominated for three BRIT Awards: British Breakthrough Act and British Single of the Year for both 'R.I.P' and 'Hot Right Now'.

2015: Rita Ora in Fifty Shades of Grey

In 2015, Rita appeared as Mia Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey. After her first appearance in 2015, she reprised her role in the sequels Fifty Shades Darker (2017), and Fifty Shades Freed (2018).

2017: Rita releases new music

In 2017, Rita released her first solo single in nearly two years, 'Your Song', which peaked at Number 7 in the UK, followed by 'Anywhere' a couple of months later which went to Number 2.

2018: Rita teams up with Liam Payne

Rita starred in Fifty Shades Freed following her role in the first film, and released a collab with Liam Payne called 'For You' which featured on the film's soundtrack and was a Top 10 hit in the UK.

2019: Rita Ora and Thomas Sabo

Rita wore a metallic dress for the launch of her collection with Thomas Sabo in July 2019. For two seasons, Rita was the official global ambassador for Thomas Sabo.

2020: Rita releases 'How To Be Lonely' penned by Lewis Capaldi

Rita released 'How To Be Lonely' written by Lewis Capaldi in March 2020. The singer tweeted at the time: 'To my friends. The past year has felt like the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new and exciting one! I'm so excited to release my new single 'How To Be Lonely', a song that I'm very proud of. I've loved working with Lewis on this track and it's been a lot of fun. He's a great talent and a man of the moment and I really connected with the lyrics when he originally sent it to me.' Of course, this turned out to be an ironic song name given that the world went into lockdown with COVID-19 a couple of weeks after the release of this song!

2020: The Masked Singer team

Rita Ora was a judge in The Masked Singer UK in 2020. She was joined by Ken Jeong, Davina McCall and Jonathan Ross.

2022: Beauty and the Beast prequel series!

In February 2022, Rita Ora announced that she would be joining the 'fairytale world' of Beauty and the Beast, revealing that she will be starring in the upcoming Disney+ prequel series. Sadly soon after her announcement, it was decided that the series would not be made.

2022: Rita Ora has been confirmed for a part in Tin Soldier

Rita Ora has joined the cast of Tin Soldier an action film starring Jamie Foxx and Robert De Niro. The news was announced in June 2022 when she posted some photos on Twitter with her alongside Jamie Foxx and the film's director Brad Furman.

2022: Rita Ora plays Wandering Blade in Kung Fu Panda (series)

Rita Ora played the role of Wandering Blade (right), an English knight in Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, the Netflix series, also starring Jack Black as Po (the panda). After a successful first series, Rita returned to reprise her role in the second series in 2023.

2022: Rita Ora announced for The Pocketwatch

Rita Ora was announced as the Queen of Hearts in the new Disney film The Pocketwatch (working title). The new film will also star Brandy. Filming started in February 2023.

2023: Rita Ora announces comeback song

In January 2023, Rita Ora announced a new song from her upcoming third album. The song is called 'You Only Love Me' and will be released in January.

2023: Rita appears on Love Island

Although Rita hasn't appeared as a contestant on ITV2 show Love Island, the singer did appear as a special guest, performing for the Islanders during the Summer series in 2023. Rita performed a number of her biggest hits at the beach club party, before singing her song 'Praising You'.

2023: Rita releases her third studio album

On 14th July 2023, Rita Ora released her hugely-antipcated third studio album called 'You & I'. The album is made up of 12 singles, including 'Praising You' featuring Fat Boy Slim.

2023: Rita launches a collection with Primark

Rita launched a fashion collection with Primark, which is out now. Rita said she drew inspiration from her childhood when creating the range, which has been two years in the making. The collection features 169 pieces, including jewellery, tailored pieces and faux fur coats.

2024: Rita teases new music with studio snaps

Taking to her socials in March 2024, Rita shared a series of studio snaps, teasing fans that new music was on the way with the caption: 'Pick your studio angle… 🎵 😎 I couldn't decide…🙄🤷🏼‍♀️'. In the series of photos shared by Rita, she can be seen standing in a studio surrounded by instruments, including several keyboards and guitars. The last two photos show her in the bathroom taking a mirror selfie, showing off her outfit.


What is Rita Ora's latest album?

Rita released her hugely-antipcated third studio album 'You & I' on Friday 14th July 2023.

In a video, Rita said: "To my fans, I know you've been waiting, it's July 14th. 'You & I' is officially out, I really hope that you get to learn the journey, the story, feel all the emotion and honesty that's been put into this record, and just sit back and enjoy? Thank you for all the years of support, I really hope you love this as much as I do. Enjoy it, turn it up, and I'll see you soon. I love you."

The album features 12 tracks, including her songs 'You Only Love Me', 'Praising You' and 'Don't Think Twice'.

You can hear Rita Ora's biggest hits on heat radio.

Now read:

Things you didn't know about Rita Ora

Rita Ora lands new action film role alongside Jamie Foxx and Robert De Niro

15 things you probably didn't know about singer Rita Ora 🎶

How to listen to heat radio:

If your favourite music icons are the Spice Girls and your favourite Ks are Kylie and the Kardashians, you need heat Radio in your life! heat Radio is portable, so you can listen to us on the move. Simply download our app from your phone’s app store, listen online at heatradio.com and at heatworld.com. We’re on all the smart speakers too, just say “play heat Radio".