There were a lot of industry events going on in the city last night, but I chose to check out promising young singer Rita Ora in her showcase for VEVO. With a bit of hype surrounding her, did she deliver? Click below for my recap and SHOTS:
What: VEVO Lift Presents Rita Ora
Where: NYC
Venue: The Gramercy Theatre
When: June 12, 2012
Who: Rita Ora
Notes: Having only been exposed to a couple of her songs and a few high powered endorsements from Jay-Z, I approached the show with a cynical attitude. Is this the next manufactured pop star in the making? Or is there actually talent behind the hype?
To put it bluntly, I was entranced by Ms. Ora last night. She was sweet to the audience, yet not afraid to show her attitude in her lyrics and stage presence. As a firecracker on the microphone, you could feel the emotion in her music as she belted out the lyrics to songs like “R.I.P.” and her fun single “How We Do (Party).”
One of the best aspects of her show was her crowd interaction. She could be seen shaking hands with fans to even picking up their smartphones so that she could sing directly in to their screens. In her grand finale, she had three audience members on stage to assist her in glitter-bombing the crowd – which added to the excitement of the show.
You know, I can’t sit here and say she’ll be the next big thing – because NO ONE can control the minds of this fickle music industry and its consumers – but I feel like the potential is there to definitely make an impact. Good luck, Ms. Ora – your journey awaits…
Big shout to everyone I saw last night – Nick, Matt, Mike, Thomas, Snorwick, Podge, and more.
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