BY NICOLAS SCOTT
Establishing a coherent brand worldwide is something very hard to maintain when first starting out, something which Rita Ora has managed perfectly in the UK but state-side has failed to really translate. Although her first album didn't score a U.S. release, she has tried to build momentum at least two times with singles "Hot Right Now" and "I Will Never Let You Down" the latter was sabotaged but even before that, it stayed latent and stuck on iTunes failing to reach the heights of competitors such as Rihanna. A year later and the singer returns with a new mighty American effort aided by Chris Brown, entitled "Body On Me" does the track fall short of what it takes to make Billboard?
The track begins with The Lion King-esque cries by tribal warriors before Rita begins to tempt her partner to the bedroom. The rhythmic production quickly establishes a change in style for Rita, a more "urban" effort for the states. "You're taking me there, you're taking me there" the singer cries before the songs chorus takes over. "I just wanna feel your body on me" Rita sings over The Monsters melodic beat before we're introduced to Chris' verse. "Put you up against the wall" Brown clearly wants to reciprocate what Rita has offered. The short but sweet verse tells much of the same story, Chris taking the lead and satisfying the pleasures of his partner. His vocal goes very well with Rita's as both collide as they dare each other to "do it again" before again we're taken to the now quite infectious chorus. Both singers then charge through the song in a flirtatious manner and lead us to the bridge, in which Rita actually for once uses her higher register for an impressive note nearer the end of the steamy collaboration. Though not quite in the whistle end of the spectrum, it still hints at Rita being more than just a mediocre singer when she actually uses her higher register. Rita clearly has tried to orchestrate the perfect collaboration for her U.S. "debut". On paper, scoring Chris brown is a huge coup and in reality, the song is Rita's best effort to date in the sense that it doesn't feel generic and like a leftover track. The vein of the track is however, safe, it gives off an element of not testing the waters and doing something a bit more out of the box. Body On Me will definitely get AirPlay (due to Chris Brown) so has a shot of doing well on Billboard. With maximum exposure and maintained momentum this track could easily creep into the Billboard top 40. Moving forward, Rita should definitely try an edgier approach. Overall, a solid but safe start for her US campaign.
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