The UN refugee agency stated that the legislation would “extinguish the right to seek refugee protection in the United Kingdom for those who arrive irregularly [such as on small boats] no matter how compelling their claim may be.” The home secretary, Suella Braverman, justified the bill by citing the financial and social costs of “uncontrolled and illegal migration”. The issue has been fiercely debated in the media, and was sent into overdrive when Gary Lineker famously compared the government’s policies to those of Nazi Germany. Learning to let go of the past to make way for new experiences is a deeply personal process, and one I felt compelled to document through my music – the journey was not always easy, but I’ve come out of it stronger and filled with more love than I ever thought possible.” Every Rita Ora song ranked here is streaming everywhere now. Love Island 2023 is on ITV2 and ITVX. For all the latest Love Island news and gossip and for the best memes and quizzes, like The Holy Church of Love Island on Facebook. Related stories recommended by this writer: I know, I know. We all have sampling fatigue. Every pop song under the sun in the last few years has heavily sampled a dance classic from the 90s or 00s. I said I was done with it, but then Rita Ora dropped the Praise You sampling banger Praising You – a monster banger that should have been number one from the moment it released earlier this year and still should be in the top five right now. The chorus speaks for itself, but her lyricism is so much fun and the melody on the verse scratches my ear in the most delicious way. Justice for Praising You. 4. How We Do (Party)

Ora and her family fled their native Kosovo in 1991 amid ethnic tensions and violence as the former Yugoslavia disintegrated and thousands of displaced people sought refuge in the UK and other countries.At this point in my career – I’ve been in the game 10 plus years now – I felt it was important to remind the public, as well as myself, of the journey,” Ora said of her wish to open up “people’s perception of a girl like me coming from a third world country like Kosovo, and yes, being a refugee and coming into the UK and my dreams coming true.”

There was a time when Anywhere was my most streamed song on Spotify of all time. OF ALL TIME. I loved this song with every fibre of my being. The choppy instrumental chorus breakdown? I truly believed pop music had peaked. I campaigned hard to get this song to win the Popjustice Music Prize of which I have judged on many times – and I got my wish. Do I still love it as much now? No, I think it’s aged like curdled milk on a hot summer’s day. But I still have a soft spot for it and think it deserves a top 10 placement. 8. For You (with Liam Payne) On 27 January, the I Will Never Let You Down singer released her infectious pop single, You Only Love Me. It’s incredibly hard to not be swayed when you see things being written every day,” said Ora. “It’s almost like because it’s written in the papers it must be the truth. But you have to remember there’s a lot of people that you might be listening to or that you watch on TV that have immigrant roots.”

Share or embed this setlist

With its dance-pop production and heartfelt lyrics, You Only Love Me expertly showcases the talented singer’s growth as an artist and songwriter. Rita Ora has supported UNICEF UK since 2013, with a particular interest in their work with refugees. In 2019, she was made a UNICEF UK Ambassador. One person tweeted : “RITA ORA PERFORMING IN HEAVEN IS THE PLOT TWIST I NEVER SAW COMING!!!! MY F**KING HEEEAAARRT.” I cannot believe. Rita Ora. Was at Heaven. @romincatboy @jazzy_layla_ why couldn’t this have happened when we went Of all the Rita Ora tunes ranked here, RIP takes the title of being the first song I’d ever heard by Rita Ora. And you know what? It still bangs. Tinie and Rita have great chemistry, and whilst it’s very of the time you can’t help but feel a bit nostalgic for this early 10s sound in British pop. 13. Lonely Together (with Avicii)

Rita, it’s me” coos Taika Waititi at the start of You Only Love Me, the muted lead single from Rita’s not even a week old third studio album You & I. I call it muted because this song has pretty much zero wow factor, but still manages to have milked at least 50 streams out of me this year and that simply must count for something. Generic but great in equal measure. Give Taika a verse next time you cowards! 11. Don’t Think Twice Ora emphasised the importance of cherishing the opportunities she has been given: “If I didn’t have the opportunity to move to London and my parents didn’t make that brave change, I wouldn’t be able to sit here and talk to [Norman Cook], one of my heroes. And on top of that, make music. I say to myself every day, I’m so fortunate and so grateful. I know I deserve it because I work really hard. But there’s a lot of kids like me from where I’m from that it doesn’t really happen for. So I never take it for granted.”

As a way to usher in her sure-to-be iconic new music era, Ora surprised fans at Heaven Nightclub with an electric performance on 28 January. Pop star Rita Ora has ushered in her new music era with a jaw-dropping performance at Heaven Nightclub. With You Only Love Me and my upcoming album, I wanted to capture the vulnerability I’ve experienced as I opened myself up to love and entered a new phase of life,” she said. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ A Calvin Harris produced unrelenting one way ascent to pop heaven. The biggest Rita Ora detractors will say she’s boring. They’ll say she has no identity. They’ll tweet “I’ve never met a Rita Ora fan.” To those people, I press play on I Will Never Let You Down and watch their faces light up in that way only perfect pop music can make a face light up. The combination of Calvin Harris’ pen, production fingers and Rita’s radiant vocals made this a stone cold classic from the moment it dropped. Nearly 10 years later, it remains her best song – a career definer.

Get the latest news and insight into how the Big Issue magazine is made by signing up for the Inside Big Issue newsletter Rita Ora has discussed her experiences as a refugee and the importance of positive refugee stories, in an exclusive interview in this week’s Big Issue in which she and DJ/producer Norman ‘Fatboy Slim’ Cook, discuss their new collaboration, Praising You, an update of Cook’s classic Praise You.