Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Katie Fitzpatrick

Rita Ora's Eurovision past remembered as she has her 'Super Bowl' moment performing in the semi-finals

Rita Ora had viewers in awe as she 'slayed' during an interval performance at the first semi-final of the of Eurovision Song Contest 2023 on BBC One. The pop superstar wowed with a selection of her greatest hits as she took to the stage in Liverpool, the host city in the UK on behalf of Ukraine.

Wearing a figure-hugging black corsetted outfit she strutted the stage, as Rylan Clark and Scott Mills praised: "What a woman." And @moonxiicat praised on Twitter as she sang Praising You: "Rita slayyyy."

@jan_adamic tweeted: "They should've saved Rita Ora for the finals, this is an incredible interval performance." And @jvckriddle said: "This is Rita’s version of a Super Bowl halftime bless her."

READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community

Other fans pointed out that this wasn't Rita first Eurovision rodeo. The Let Me Love You singer auditioned to represent the UK in the 2009 contest but decided to pull out of the competition. She appeared on the TV show Eurovision: Your Country Needs You. The UK was eventually represented by Sugarbabes singer Jade Ewan.

Rita proved that she had a belting singing voice back then as she performed a cover of the Oleta Adams’ song Get here in her bid to impress legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.

@bettyredondo pointed out: "The irony: Rita Ora was chosen by Lloyd Webber to represent the UK at Eurovision." And @cadusr23 wrote: "I think the most interesting thing to remember is that at some point Rita Ora was going to participate on #Eurovision at some point, but she backed down because she didn't felt it was the best move for her at the time. And now she's performing as a guest there, so cool."

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.