Shine Ya Light singer Rita Ora has revealed how she once auditioned to represent her country at the Eurovision Song Contest. Rita was one of the favourites to get the gig, before she decided to walk away from the event and focus on her own music career.
Rita Ora rejected Eurovision
Ora explained to the Evening Standard, "I was 16. Andrew Lloyd Webber was there. Right from the start I was, like, 'What am I doing here?' I did my song and walked out. No one knew what to do. They started looking for me, calling my agent."
Rita says that she is glad that she did walk away from Eurovision, as she believes that representing Great Britain would have been detrimental to her career. Rita claims that, if she had have done Eurovision, she would now be struggling and have to resort to shows such as Tom Daley's Splash.
Rita Ora now considers Jay-Z a close friend
She added, "Imagine! If I'd stayed, it would probably have been all over for me. At best, I'd be a contestant on that diving show…?' Splash!? Yeah, Splash. I love that show."
Rita Ora has since had a fantastic past year or so, where she has had hit singles, as well as a hit album and considers Jay-Z to be one of her closest friends.
Rita Ora Eurovision audition
