MUMBAI: British singer/songwriter Rita Ora left her position as coach on music talent show ‘The Voice: UK’ and has signed on to judge the new series of hit British music competition series ‘The X Factor’, after a heavy bidding war between the networks, BBC and ITV. Online sources report Simon Cowell offered Ora unlimited clothes, luxury travel and a £1.5 million contract to join ‘The X Factor’.
“It is very complimentary, of course. A massive compliment. Watching a bidding war going on makes me feel special,” Ora told Evening Standard. Earlier this year, Ora was seen as the new coach for the fourth series of ‘The Voice: UK’, replacing Australian singer Kylie Minogue. On ‘The X Factor’, she joins Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, along with show creator Simon Cowell and new series judge television presenter Nick Grimshaw.
Ora, known for her chart-topping album and singles, first appeared on ‘The X Factor’ in 2012 as a guest judge. In a statement issued earlier, Ora said, “I am excited to be coming back to ‘The X Factor’ – I had a ball here in 2012. This is a journey I cannot wait to embark on to find some talented singers. It is the new generation taking over. Booooom.” Her debut album ‘Ora’ featured the UK number-one singles, ‘R.I.P.’ and ‘How We Do (Party)’.
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“I have not been as excited about an ‘X Factor’ season since I first became a judge. The addition of Rita and Grimmy along with some interesting changes we have made to the format has refocused us to do what we do best, finding talent and making stars. I cannot wait to get started!” stated Fernandez-Versini. She was previously a judge on ‘The X Factor’ from series five to series seven, with consecutive wins in 2008 and 2009.
Simon Cowell, the series’ producer and creator, said, “It is taken a while! But I am very happy to be able to confirm our line-up of judges for ‘The X Factor’ this year. The combination of Nick, Cheryl and Rita is going to be a lot of fun! They all bring a lot of enthusiasm and passion for music to the show.”
Along with new hosts Caroline Flack and Olly Murs, the new series audiences will witness the auditions move out of the rooms and straight in to the arenas, with hopefuls having to perform in front of an arena audience from the start in the hope of making it through to the next stage, as was revealed in the release.
