Huge Brit pop star in advanced talks to host MTV Europe Music Awards when it returns to the UK next month
IT’S a new era for Rita Ora after I revealed she has parted ways with long-time manager Sarah Stennett.
But far from resting on her laurels, she is set to bounce back with a job hosting the MTV Europe Music Awards.
We can reveal Rita is in advanced talks to present the ceremony when it returns to the UK next month at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena.
A source said: “Rita couldn’t be more excited. She is spinning a lot of plates at the moment but her first love will always be music, which is why when she was asked to present the ceremony, she jumped at the chance.
“Talks between MTV and Rita’s new management are ongoing and they’re just ironing out the finer details.
“The ceremony is taking place on November 10 so there isn’t much time to spare, but Rita is up for it.”
It will be familiar ground for her, given she hosted the bash when it was last held in the UK, for the 2017 ceremony at Wembley Arena.
This year has been a whirlwind for Rita, who has been filming The Masked Singer in the US as well as working on a new film, He Bled Neon, with Jack O’Connell.
We have been told music is in the pipeline, although if Rita ever gets time to actually make her fourth album, we’ll be impressed.
The record is a follow-up to 2023’s You & I, which reached No6 in the charts. Rita said last month: “My upcoming album — everything’s a bit awkward, a bit off, a little less perfect. Not super-polished.
“That’s the challenge, I like to evolve.
Her last single, Ask And You Shall Receive, was a tie-in with Raye, who co- wrote the track.
After the year Raye’s had, hopefully she can sprinkle some of her magic over Rita and help get this new record off the ground.
Dua’s Austin powers
DUA LIPA went hell for leather in this outfit as she zipped through a set in Texas looking amazing.
Wearing fishnet tights and boots, she performed at Austin City Limits music festival on Saturday, having given her suggestion for a quirky drink.
Revealing her favourite tipple, she told fans on TikTok: “Step one, Diet Coke. Then pickle juice with a couple of pickles.
“And then some jalapeno sauce with a couple of jalapenos and give it a little mix up.”
But, like me, her fans weren’t convinced.
One wrote: “How does one discover this?”
I dread to think.
LIAM TALKS ‘S**T’ IN RANTS ON 1D LADS
DON’T hold your breath for a One Direction reunion as the lads may have a thing or two to say about Liam Payne first.
His ex-fiancée, model Maya Henry, has criticised him online by claiming he slams them in private and then sucks up to them in public.
Quizzed on TikTok by a fan who claimed Niall Horan doesn’t like Liam, Maya, above with the singer, replied: “Girl, don’t even get me started. He talks so much s**t about the boys but then is popping up at their concerts.”
I am sure Niall and other former bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik will be interested to hear that.
In a video posted on TikTok, Maya also alleged it was Zayn who once got physical with Liam, although neither of the lads has confirmed that.
Liam said in 2022: “There was one moment where there was an argument backstage and one member in particular threw me up a wall.
“So I said to him, ‘If you don’t remove those hands there’s a high likelihood you’ll never use them again’.”
Maya said: “I see this all the time, everywhere. He told me it was Zayn.”
Awkward.
SAM FENDER will be back next year with the release of his eagerly anticipated third studio album.
The singer-songwriter, has confirmed the record – the follow-up to 2021’s Seventeen Going Under – is now finished.
He worked on the project in the States and was in the studio with Adam Granduciel, of US rock band The War On Drugs.
The album is expected to come out early next year, but fans hope for the first taste with a single before Christmas.
It will also include a track called People Watching, which the singer performed during a handful of live appearances this summer.
Sam became a household name with his last record, after 2019 debut Hypersonic Missiles, so we expect big things from this one, too.
The week in bizness
TODAY: Lauryn Hill and The Fugees kick off their reunion tour in Dublin, ahead of Cardiff, Manchester and London over the next week.
WEDNESDAY: The Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards return to the Roundhouse in North London, hosted by The Chase’s Paul Sinha.
THURSDAY: Sir Elton John is at the European premiere of his documentary Never Too Late at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
FRIDAY: Charli XCX follows up her album Brat with a remix version called Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat, featuring collabs with Ariana Grande and The 1975.
Look Who’s a new mum
CONGRATULATIONS to Jenna Coleman, who has become a mum.
The former Doctor Who and Emmerdale actress was seen at the weekend with a pushchair.
She was with her partner, filmmaker Jamie Childs, who had the baby strapped to him.
The family were pictured taking a stroll in North London, just four months after it was first revealed Jenna was pregnant.
Only last month she shared a photo online of her baby bump with the caption: “Summer spent cookin’.”
Things won’t be any easier now the baby’s here but I’m sure she’ll be a great mum.
SABRINA CARPENTER is set to stay at No1 for another week.
Taste is leading the pack according to midweek data from Official Charts, meaning it will be seven weeks at the top if she can hang on until Friday.
JAMES ON HOME RUN
JAMES BLUNT has dropped a massive hint he could soon be coming back to Blighty, two decades since moving to Ibiza.
He bought a £8.5million Cotswolds mansion in late 2022 and has finally got planning permission to convert two outbuildings in his quest to make it his dream home.
I’ve seen planning documents that show the go-ahead to convert barns on the property, following several inspections.
He is transforming one barn into “an indoor swimming pool building” with a steam room, changing room and gym.
He is converting a second building into a “private music barn, for listening and playing music with family and friends”.
It comes ahead of the 20th anniversary of his album Back To Bedlam, with the singer releasing a remastered version on Friday.
James, left, will head out on an arena tour across the UK in February to celebrate the two-decade milestone.