Rita Ora's performance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade [1] ended up being one of the event's most talked about moments, but not for the reason she was likely hoping for.
In addition to jaw-dropping appearances from singers like Diana Ross [2] and Kelly Clarkson (who sang a stunning rendition of "Heat" with a full band to back her up) [3], Ora boarded a colourful float prepared to belt out her single "Let You Love Me" from her brand new album, Phoenix. Due to a technical gaffe and a missed cue, it quickly became clear that Ora was lip syncing her vocals. In videos of the moment, it seems that the 27-year-old couldn't hear the song properly in her earpiece, so she didn't start singing until well after the track had begun:
#ritaora [4] lip sync fail at FULL EFFECT😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/odVJFnGjxQ [5]
— Infinite (@AdonnisInfinite) November 22, 2018 [6]
Naturally a flurry of tweets about the cringe-worthy moment flooded social media after her performance, but Ora definitely had support behind her. Macy's apologised to several recording artists [7] on Twitter, noting that many "experienced technical difficulties that negatively impacted their performance" and that "these issues were out of the artist's control." John Legend also came to her defence with a tweet of his own [8]. "Fun fact. We all have to lip sync on this parade because the floats don't have the capacity to handle the sound requirements for a live performance," he explained. "Hope y'all enjoyed it anyway. Know that if you come to my shows, the vocals are 100 percent live!"
Ora tweeted thanks to Legend for supporting her, and then called the whole experience "annoying," clarifying that her shows "are 100 percent live always have been!" See a full breakdown of her slip-up at the parade ahead.
