RITA Ora’s new single How To Be Lonely should be the most relevant song in the charts right now given the amount of people self-isolating.
But the singer is furious after it failed to strike a chord with the public, unlike the recent tunes of her rival Dua Lipa.
The pair’s competitiveness has been reignited by them both releasing songs at a similar time, with Rita hoping she could do better than Dua, whose tracks Physical and Don’t Start Now are both in the top ten.
Despite being written by man-of-the-moment Lewis Capaldi, How To Be Lonely is set to miss the top 40 on Friday after a week of release.
And as if to make things worse, the video has also been delayed and she was forced to cancel invites to a big-budget “immersive experience” to promote the song on Tuesday.
A music insider said: “Rita and her team had been planning this single for months and it’s not gone down as well as they had hoped.
“It is still early days and they are hoping it will pick up as more people hear it in the coming weeks but it’s not got off to a good start — and Rita has made her disappointment clear to those around her.
“Neither she or Dua have spoken about their rivalry but it is very real.
“It’s frustrating for Rita when she sees Dua doing well when her own campaign isn’t going to plan.”
Their competition stems from the fact their families both come from Kosovo, which meant Dua was often compared to Rita at the start of her career.
But when the New Rules singer made it clear she didn’t appreciate the comparisons, Rita understandably took offence.
With an eight-year track record of hits, I have no doubt Rita will bounce back from this.
Although it remains to be seen just how messy her rivalry with Dua will get.
Little Mix left searching for show and gigs
THEY were set to dominate 2020 with a sell-out round of summer shows, an exciting TV series and new music, but Little Mix’s plans have hit the skids.
I can reveal the group, made up of Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jesy Nelson and Jade Thirlwall, have been forced to put a stop to nearly all their work commitments due to the coronavirus crisis – including a new music video and their BBC1 series The Search.
They had already cancelled plans to shoot a video in Brazil last month due to Perrie feeling poorly — and now they have now had to pull the plug on the rescheduled filming which was due to happen in the UK this week.
A source said: “The girls’ well-being is of utmost priority to everyone so a video shoot for this week has been canned. “Perrie was unable to make a gig in Brazil at the start of the month because she was unwell and no one wants to risk anyone else getting poorly.
“As well as the shoot being off, the girls have been told the live shows for their TV series The Search are going to be delayed.
“The plan was to air four live shows every Saturday night across May.
‘‘But because these would be filmed in front of a live studio audience, they’ve had to pull the plug because of coronavirus.
“It’s a really frustrating time for the group but they know there’s nothing that can be done.”
I’m sure all of it will be the worth the wait, ladies.
No cuffs on Justin over video fib
THE Vaccines frontman Justin Hayward-Young risked arrest to shoot a video for his new band Halloweens.
The rocker has teamed up with his Vaccines bandmate Timothy Lanham for the new group but things almost ended before they began while shooting a video for new single My Baby Looks Good With Another at a temple in Greece, where they had to fib to security guards after failing to get a licence.
Speaking ahead of the release of their debut album Morning Kiss At The Acropolis, Justin explained: “We walked in with tripods and stuff and the guy was like, ‘Wait…?’
“We tried to bribe him but he wasn’t having it and then one of us just piped up and said, ‘We’re Instagram influencers – this is just for our Instagram.’ So I showed him my Instagram to prove it and he bought it, so we convinced him we were just modelling ridiculous clothes for our own use.
“Every shot is from an awkward angle where he’s out of sight for a split second.
“We got away safe in the knowledge he probably won’t watch a Halloweens video, although he may read The Sun. It’s too late now.”
On making the album, Justin added: “We started writing for The Vaccines and nothing we ever wrote felt like a Vaccines song, but at the same time, felt like it had legs and was exciting us.
“It quickly took shape as this band.”
Shayk it off
MY heart goes out to Bradley Cooper when he sees this stunning shot of his ex Irina Shayk. To make it worse, the Hollywood bigshot still sees the Russian model a lot because they co-parent their daughter Lea.
They split last June after four years together but I’m sure they both have many eager suitors.
Irina posed for Italian lingerie firm Intimissimi to promote their eco Green Collection, made from regenerated fibre and renewable sources. A more glam way to be green than doing a litter pick, I suppose.
Stormzy is over – Wiley
HE has just had a No1 album and won Best Male Artist at last month’s Brit awards.
But according to his rap rival Wiley, Stormzy’s career is over.
The Wearing My Rolex MC told The Zeze Millz Show: “Stormzy is done.
You know why he’s done? Because you can’t have a come-up twice.
“He did everything in a short space of time – the boy had a book.
“His career is like a microwave dinner.”
Stormzy’s legions of fans will find that hard to swallow.
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