Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh’s single, “Hot Right Now”, which reached number one in the UK. Her debut studio album, Ora, released in August 2012, debuted at number one in the United Kingdom. The album contained the UK number-one singles, “R.I.P.” and “How We Do (Party)”. Ora was the artist with the most number-one singles on the UK Singles Chart in 2012, with three singles reaching the top position.

Born in Pristina, modern-day Kosovo, Ora was named an Honorary Ambassador of Kosovo in 2015. Ora’s second studio album, Phoenix, was released in November 2018. The lead single, “Your Song”, reached the UK top ten, and the subsequent singles, “Anywhere” and “Let You Love Me”, reached the top five in the UK. “Let You Love Me” made Ora the first British female solo artist to have thirteen top ten songs in the United Kingdom. Her third studio album, You & I, was released in July 2023.

Ora was born on 26 November 1990 in Pristina, SFR Yugoslavia (modern-day Kosovo), to Albanian parents. Her mother, Vera (née Bajraktari), is a psychiatrist and her father, Besnik Sahatçiu, is a pub owner, having previously studied economics. Ora has an older sister, Elena, and a younger brother, Don. She was born as Rita Sahatçiu (surname derived from the Turkish word saatçi, which means ‘watchmaker’), but her parents later added Ora (ora means ‘time’ in Albanian) to the family surname so it could be easily pronounced.

Her family left Kosovo for political reasons, due to persecution of Albanians initiated with the disintegration of Yugoslavia. They relocated to London, England in 1991, when Ora was a baby. She grew up in Notting Hill, in West London, and attended a performing arts school, Sylvia Young Theatre School.

Ora began performing at open mic sessions around London and, occasionally, in her father’s pub. In 2008, she auditioned for Eurovision: Your Country Needs You on BBC One to be the British contestant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 and qualified, but later withdrew from the competition after a few episodes as she “did not feel ready” and thought “that challenge wasn’t for her.” Her manager, Sarah Stennett (who also worked with Ellie Goulding, Jessie J and Conor Maynard), later told HitQuarters that she reassured Ora that performing in Eurovision would hinder, rather than help her chances to make it as a solo artist.

Shortly after, Ora’s management got in touch with the American label, Roc Nation, and told them about her. Ora signed a recording deal and a publishing deal with Roc Nation in December 2008, and was one of their first signees. She made a cameo appearance in Jay Z’s video for “Young Forever” (2009). After being signed, Ora recorded an album and wanted to release it, but her label advised against it and she started to work on other material for her debut album.

Ora in Pristina, Kosovo during the filming of the “Shine Ya Light” music video in September 2012
Throughout 2011, Ora released covers and videos about working on her debut album on YouTube.[20] The videos caught the attention of DJ Fresh, who at that time was looking for a female vocalist for his song, “Hot Right Now”. Ora featured on the single that was released on 12 February 2012, debuting at number one on the UK Singles Chart. During February 2012, Ora was also the opening act at the UK concerts from Drake’s Club Paradise Tour.

The first UK single from her debut album, “R.I.P.” (featuring Tinie Tempah), was released on 6 May 2012. Produced by Chase & Status, the song debuted at the top of the UK Singles Chart, becoming her first solo UK number one. On 12 August, “How We Do (Party)” was released as a single, and it reached number one in the UK and Ireland. It was Ora’s second UK number one as a solo artist, and third overall in 2012.

Whilst supporting Coldplay on their Mylo Xyloto Tour, she later announced that her debut album would be titled Ora. The album was released on 27 August 2012 in Europe and Oceania, and debuted at the top of the UK Albums Chart. Ora was nominated for Best New Artist, Push Artist and Best UK/Ireland Act at the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards. In September 2012, it was announced that Ora would be the opening act on the UK concerts from Usher’s Euphoria Tour set to start in January 2013. However, the tour was postponed due to Usher’s “professional and personal commitments.”

“Shine Ya Light”, released on 4 November, became Ora’s fourth consecutive UK top ten single in 2012, peaking at number ten. On 28 November 2012, Ora performed as a special guest at the concert held in Tirana, Albania for the 100th Anniversary of the Independence of Albania. In January 2013, Ora embarked on her first UK tour, Radioactive Tour, to support her debut album. She was nominated for three awards at the 2013 Brit Awards, including the Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act.

In January 2013, Ora revealed that her second album would be clearer and have more direction than the first one. On 26 February 2013, she revealed to Digital Spy that her second album shows a different angle to a “party girl.” On 24 May 2013, Ora was the headline act on In New Music We Trust stage at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend. On 28 June 2013, she performed on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.

In 2014, she had two top-five UK singles; the song “I Will Never Let You Down” which debuted at number one, and she featured on Iggy Azalea’s “Black Widow” which peaked at number four in the UK, and the latter became Ora’s first top ten song on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number three. On 14 December 2014, Ora performed at the 2014 telecast of Christmas in Washington, filmed at the National Building Museum.[41] In February 2015, Ora featured on Charli XCX song, “Doing It”, which debuted at number eight in the UK. On 22 February 2015, at the 87th Academy Awards, she performed the song “Grateful”, which appears in Gina Prince-By the wood’s film, Beyond the Lights (2014).

In December 2015, Ora filed a lawsuit against Roc Nation, seeking release from the label and citing that the contract she signed in 2008 is “unenforceable”, due to California’s “seven-year rule”. The complaint stated that she’s “only been permitted to release one album despite creating multiple additional records for release” and that her relationship with Roc Nation is “irrevocably damaged”. In January 2016, Roc Nation filed a counter-lawsuit against Ora for breaking her recording contract, in New York. They reached a settlement in May 2016.