Rita Ora paid a visit to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to perform “Let You Love Me” and share a few laughs with Fallon Wednesday night (Jan. 16).
First joining Fallon on the couch, Ora talked about the sense of rebirth that inspired her new album’s name, Phoenix. “I think this was the first time I actually did it off my own, I guess, I had freedom, like a lot of freedom,” she told Fallon. “I chose to really work with the people I wanted to work with.”
When discussing her star-studded list of collaborators — including Cardi B, Julia Michaels and Ed Sheeran — Ora described what it was like to write with Sheeran in particular. “It’s almost like he just like poos out songs,” she joked. “It’s the craziest thing how quick he just writes songs.”
Fallon asked Ora if she’d ever work with Post Malone, as he pulled out a photo of her dressed up in an elaborate Halloween costume of the rapper. Blushing as she admitted she’s “obsessed with him,” Ora of course said she’d love to collaborate with the tattoo-faced rapper — just maybe not dress as him anymore.
“I literally did a concert [dressed as Post] and [fans] didn’t clap because they were like ‘Who is this weird human being on stage,’” she recalled. “After singing they were like ‘Okay fine, we believed her.”
After their interview, Ora and Fallon played a game called “One Word Songs,” during which the singer revealed that she didn’t know what a tuba was when she had to use the word to sing the Spice Girls’ classic “Wannabe.” When Fallon pointed out The Roots’ tuba player — jokingly kicking him out because Ora didn’t know what he played — she realized her flub and laughed, “Oh, a horn thing!”
Ora closed out the show singing “Let You Love Me,” the lead single from Phoenix. Donning a black-and-gold ensemble, Ora belted out the song’s vulnerable lyrics with ease, flawlessly hitting every note.
Watch Ora’s performance of “Let You Love Me” and her interviews on The Tonight Show below.
