'Music is what keeps me alive...' Capital's Summertime Ball performer Rita Ora says singing is something she has to do
Although Rita's career has gone in different directions, including appearing on TV talent shows like The Masked Singer, recording songs is in her "blood" and she needs music in her life every day.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz at Capital's Summertime Ball with Barclaycard at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday (15.06.25), she said: "Music is what keeps me alive, to be honest. I wake up listening to music; it runs in my blood. I think we all secretly need music in so many different ways."
The Hot Right Now hitmaker's natural creativity is what motivates her in life.
Rita - who performed some of her much-loved tracks, including Praising You and her new single Heat, at the Summertime Ball - said: "I love working and being creative, and it keeps my blood flowing.
"If I get excited, I love it - fashion, movies, music. I just need to have that excitement."
Rita and Will Smith - who both performed at Wembley Stadium on Sunday (15.06.25) - are "great friends", and she is thankful for his support over the years.
The pop star - who recently told ITN she feels "inspired" by his "sense of filmmaking" - said: "Will and I have crossed paths many times over the years, and we are great friends.
"He's a supporter of mine and has helped me in a lot of ways."
Rita is married to award winning filmmaker-and-actor Taika Waititi and she admits she would love to work with him on a project in the future.
The For You singer - who tied the knot with Taika in August 2022 - said: "It's about the project. Of course, he's my husband, and I want him to win at all costs, and it just needs to feel right, and it needs to be right.
"We're going to be supporting each other regardless."
And Rita says she and Taika, 49, are always inspiring each other and are always "full of ideas" as creatives.
Speaking to E! in September 2024, Rita said: "We inspire each other.
"With me coming from music and him being a writer, a director and a filmmaker, it's a house full of ideas. We're both fire signs, too. So it's just fire, fire, fire.
"We help each other out, always."
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ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
Rita Wrote A Letter is Paul Kelly's 'black comedy' sequel to How To Make Gravy
It isn't every day we get a sequel to an iconic Australian song. But nearly 30 years after he first cemented Joe, Dan and Rita in the national songbook with How To Make Gravy, Paul Kelly has written a follow-up to his immortal Christmas anthem. Recently voted the ninth-best Australian song of all time, the 1996 track has achieved true cult status, inspiring a star-studded movie, a music festival, countless cover versions, and has enshrined December 21 as "Gravy Day" in the national cultural conscience. Not bad for a song that Kelly once opined "doesn't have a chorus and [is] set in prison". The song's lyrics are the letter from the newly incarcerated Joe, addressed to his brother Dan while their family prepares to celebrate Christmas without him. Now, How To Make Gravy is getting a sequel called Rita Wrote A Letter, which continues the story as a "black comedy", as Kelly describes it. Kelly had been mulling over a Gravy follow-up for some time. "At least five or six years," he told Double J's Karen Leng. "I had the title and wanted to write [about] Rita because she doesn't get much of a go. In the sequel, we learn what Joe feared most — Dan making a move on his wife — came to pass. "Rita wrote a letter and this is what she had to say," Kelly sings. "Joe I'm really sorry, but me and Dan, our love is here to stay. With the kids it's getting better. And now a little baby's on the way." Musically, however, the backing rides a jaunty vintage piano line, originally written by nephew Dan Kelly. "[He] had a piece of music that he'd written on piano, sort of New Orleans-style piano, and he said, 'Put some words to that,'" Kelly told Double J's Henry Wagons exclusively back in May. This week, a funeral notice appeared in a Melbourne newspaper announcing Joe's death "by sudden misadventure", noting his love of reggae, cooking, and quoting Kelly's signature lyric: "Who's gonna make the gravy?" That question lingers over Rita Wrote A Letter, which confirms Joe's untimely passing. And yet, through the power of music, he returns — a surprise to Joe himself, as the wry opening lines portray. Rather than play into its dark subject matter, Rita Wrote A Letter plays Joe's demise with impish humour, complemented by the upbeat music. "I like songs where the music and the lyrics are a little bit at odds or cut against each other," Kelly explains. "Sad or dark lyrics but the music gives you another feeling … it gives you that balance." Besides, it leans into how Kelly originally envisioned How To Make Gravy. When it comes to characters, Kelly says: "I never really have that clear a picture." He's more interested in the storytelling dynamics and emotion than clear-cut portraits of Rita, Roger, Mary and the rest. "When Nick Waterman and Mega Washington did the movie … Angus, Frank and Dolly were all children — that was news to me," he says. In the music video for Rita Wrote A Letter, an older Rita is played by Australian actor Justine Clarke, while Kelly embodies Joe, haunting her vintage St Kilda home and expressing her decision to leave: "Joe, I gave you good chances / But half a year turned into two / You could never hold your temper / And you always made it all about you." In true Kelly fashion, he spikes the sweet with the sour, the song concluding with Joe wishing Rita well but all but pledging to haunt his treacherous brother. "But Dan, I don't forgive you," goes the final line before lyrical call-backs to How To Make Gravy. "I didn't mean to say that / It's just my mind, it plays up/multiplies each matter …" the Gravy Man sings as the music fades. Joe, who loosely features in beloved Kelly tunes To Her Door and Love Never Runs On Time, might be dead and buried, but fans have long wondered what exactly he did to wind up in prison. "There is room for a prequel," Kelly suggests. "I hadn't thought about that but now you mention it … These things can't be planned, they just happen." Rita Wrote A Letter heralds the arrival of a new album, Seventy, which will be released on November 7, and follows Kelly's 70th birthday back in January. The cover is a portrait of the celebrated musician while a similar image of Kelly from 1988 features on the rear of the album, both shot by photographer Dean Podmore. Billed as his "most varied album yet", the album is bookended with "one long song that we cut in half called Tell Us A Story," Kelly explains. A press release notes he drew from varied literary influences, including The Lord of the Rings, the death of Cicero, Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales and Giovanni Boccaccio's collection of one hundred stories, The Decameron. There's a moving track written for Kelly's granddaughter, Happy Birthday, Ada Mae, as well as Sailing To Byzantium, which sets the William Butler Yeats poem of the same name to music. In a similar fashion to its 2024 predecessor, Fever Longing Still, Seventy is also a showcase of Kelly's long-time bandmates. "[Drummer] Peter Luscombe has been with me for more than 30 years, [bassist] Bill McDonald and Dan Kelly for 20," Kelly says. "Even the newbies [keyboardist] Cameron Bruce and [guitarist] Ash Naylor have been with me since 2007." Kelly and his seasoned group are gearing up for some of their biggest Australian and New Zealand shows of their career. Kicking off in Perth later this month, Kelly and co will occupy arenas in Brisbane, Sydney, Hobart, Adelaide, and Melbourne through August and September before jetting over the ditch to play Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. Supporting Kelly at all seven Australian dates of the trek will be Americana icon Lucinda Williams and homegrown ARIA-winning country-folk artists Fanny Lumsden. It'll be the first chance for audiences to hear Kelly's new material, as well as all the classics from an enviable songbook spanning four decades. All together now … "Give my love to Angus!" Tuesday August 26 — RAC Arena: Whadjuk Noongar Land, Perth, WA Friday August 29 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre: Turrbal Jagera Land, Brisbane, QLD Saturday August 30 — Qudos Bank Arena: Gadigal Land, Sydney, NSW Tuesday September 2 — MyState Bank Arena: muwinina, Hobart, TAS Thursday September 4 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre: Kaurna Land, Adelaide, SA Saturday September 6 — Rod Laver Arena: Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Land, Melbourne, VIC Sunday September 7 — Rod Laver Arena: Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Land, Melbourne, VIC Tuesday September 9 — Christchurch Town Hall, Christchurch, NZ Wednesday September 10 — Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington, NZ Friday September 12 — Auckland Town Hall, Auckland, NZ
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
Paul Kelly reveals How To Make Gravy sequel ahead of surprise new album
Revered musical storyteller Paul Kelly shockingly kills off How To Make Gravy hero Joe with a drug overdose in his new song. But the lyrics of Rita Wrote A Letter, Kelly's much-anticipated sequel to his accidental Aussie Christmas classic, also suggest the jailbird cook died of a broken heart. In the new song, Kelly makes good on Joe's fears expressed in the December 21 letter he writes in 'Gravy' that his wife Rita and brother Dan might hook up while he was serving time. Almost 30 years after the pair enjoyed their dance on Christmas night as written in the original 1996 song, Rita and Dan are expecting a baby. And with Joe out of the picture, 'it's better this way' for his children. Kelly said after placing a Public Notice in a Melbourne newspaper earlier this week informing the world of Joe's demise of 'sudden misadventure', many fans had sent him genuine condolences, convinced the 'Gravy' character was a 'in real life' long-time friend of the songwriter. The song is a favourite among Kelly fans, who celebrate 'Gravy Day' every December 21 and voted it into the top 10 of Triple J's recent Hottest 100 Australian Songs poll. 'Some people obviously think that I must have known a real Joe that I wrote this song about. They're thinking that real person Joe, that friend of mine has died. I guess people often get fiction and real life mixed up,' he said. His favourite fan response on social media posts sharing the Public Notice included 'Who's gonna dig the grave-y' and suggestions Joe's death was caused by mushroom gravy, referencing the Erin Patterson murders. Rita Wrote A Letter is the first taste of Kelly's new record Seventy which will be released in November. Kelly said he had the title for follow-up to 'Gravy' exploring Rita's point of view of the ill-fated marriage five years ago. But it wasn't until his nephew and band member Dan Kelly, sent him a rough piano demo 18 months ago that the lyrics for his black comedy sequel came tumbling out. He originally intended Rita Wrote a Letter to feature on last year's record Fever Longing Still after his band fell in love with the sequel. But after consulting his friend Megan Washington, who co-wrote the screenplay for the BINGE film How To Make Gravy, he realised killing off Joe in November ahead of the film's December release might get fans off-side. 'Of course I knew the film was coming out and I called Megan up and said, 'Look, I'm sorry but I wrote this song and I've accidentally killed off Joe in the song and I better send it to you for a listen,'' Kelly said. 'And she said 'Please, please don't put it on this record' and I totally understand why not, to give the film the space it needed. 'Megan was totally right. It would have just been a bit awkward, a bit muddy, just confusing, so I'm glad we held it back.'' The comedic video for the single features Kelly as Joe, and acclaimed actor Justine Clarke as Rita. Kelly now faces the dilemma about where to place the two songs in the setlist for his headlining arena tour which kicks off later this month. 'I wouldn't put them right next to each other, I'll keep them apart. We could do it early in the set, or we could play it for an encore, I'm still trying to work that out.' Fans can pre-order Kelly's new record Seventy and buy tickets to his upcoming tour via his website. RITA WROTE A LETTER by PAUL KELLY * lyrics reprinted with permission I really don't know how I'm talking Six feet down and under the clay The laws of nature forbid it But I was never good with rules anyway The day I walked out of prison I knew that I was still in stir For the crime committed I was still doing time Behind the walls between me and her Rita wrote a letter I keep it with me every day Rita wrote a letter And this is what she had to say She said, 'Joe I'm really sorry But me and Dan, our love is here to stay With the kids it's getting better And now a little baby's on the way' Well, they took me back on at the restaurant But the new cook there had stolen my game They put me on the dishes and the pots and pans I was happy being busy again And every night when I came home With my back and feet all aching sore I'd lay there in Mary's spare room Tossing 'til the break of dawn Oh, Rita wrote a letter One you don't want to get from your wife When Rita writes a letter The pen is sharper than the knife She said, 'Joe, I gave you good chances But half a year turned into two You could never hold your temper And you always made it all about you' Oh, the phone calls they started to dwindle Once they moved further up the coast Those silences that dragged on forever I couldn't find the words I needed the most One day I went to see an old friend And I brought a little package home For old times' sake sweet oblivion But some things you shouldn't do alone Yeah, Rita wrote a letter I'm still hugging it under the clay Rita wrote a letter Deep down I know it's better this way And maybe she and Dan feel guilty And the children sometimes cry at night But I made my bed, I'm lying in it And I know they're gonna be alright Oh, Rita wrote a letter I will always love her Be the ghost above her Hover all around her But Dan, I don't forgive you Oh, I didn't mean to say that It's just my mind it plays up
Perth Now
a day ago
- Perth Now
Paul Kelly announces new album with sequel to iconic Aussie song
A fortnight out from his biggest-ever tour of Australia and New Zealand, legendary singer-songwriter Paul Kelly has announced details of his 30th album. Seventy, reflecting the age its author turned in January, will be released on November 7, just over a year after his last album Fever Longing Still. Its first single — the mooted How To Make Gravy sequel Rita Wrote a Letter — was released on Thursday morning along with a video directed by Imogen McCluskey. READ BELOW: Our (spoiler-free) verdict on Rita Wrote A Letter The sequel, teased by Kelly this week in a funeral notice in a Melbourne newspaper, comes almost 30 years after listeners first met the characters Dan, Rita and Joe as the latter spends his first Christmas behind bars. How To Make Gravy, released in 1996, was last year adapted into a feature film and has transcended its modest origins to become a festive classic certified four times platinum by ARIA and last month voted the ninth best Australian song of all time by Triple J listeners. 'I've been mulling over the idea of a sequel to How To Make Gravy from Rita's point of view for quite some time,' Kelly explained. 'About five years ago I wrote down the words, 'Rita wrote a letter,' and thought, 'There's my title.' 'I scratched away intermittently and fruitlessly for several years but never got very far until [nephew and bandmate] Dan Kelly sent me a recording of something he'd written on piano with a rough melody over the top. The words started rolling after that. 'As often happens, they took me by surprise. You could say the song took a dark turn but to my mind it's a black comedy. A ghost story. You hear Rita's voice loud and clear, but Joe talks even more. I couldn't shut him up.' Paul Kelly's new album Seventy will be released on November 7. Credit: EMI Kelly and his band will hit some of Australia's biggest venues later this month, kicking off at Perth's RAC Arena on August 26 before swinging through Brisbane, Sydney, Hobart and Adelaide and wrapping up with a two-night stand at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena on September 6 and 7. 'Looking back on what we've done with these songs, it's really a band record,' Kelly said of Seventy. 'Peter Luscombe has been with me for more than 30 years, Bill McDonald and Dan Kelly for 20. Even the newbies Cameron Bruce and Ash Naylor have been with me since 2007.' A bouncing, jaunty arrangement — think the 2014 Merri Soul Sessions project and a vocal line at times not dissimilar to Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel's 1975 hit Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) — seems somewhat at odds with its lyrical content. Let's just say Joe didn't get out by July, and when he eventually did, things didn't get much better. Though Kelly had already announced the death of Joe earlier this week — and indeed makes it clear in the opening couplet — the method of his demise and the events leading to it will take some fans by surprise. Keen-eared listeners will note the clear connection (and we're not talking about the letter) to another hit, To Her Door, Kelly having previously suggested the two songs may in fact be about the same character. Will it become a beloved classic like its predecessor? Probably not — but considering the original's two-decade journey from cherished secret passed around barbecues and late night/early morning loungerooms to national treasure, you never know. Perhaps that redemptive aspect (late in the song Kelly sings 'I made my bed, I'm lying in it/And I know they're gonna be alright') is the entire point: this is a love letter from a man who did all the dumb things and died to tell the tale.
