Rita Ora found herself overwhelmed by an emotional tribute to her late friend and collaborator Liam Payne during her latest live performance.
While headlining the BitterSweet Festival in Poznań, Poland, on Friday, August 14, the British singer and actress performed For You.
During the live rendition of their 2018 track, the Your Songsinger asked the thousands of fans in front of her to sing the former One Direction star’s part.
What followed clearly caught her off guard.
As the lyrics appeared on the giant screens, the crowd began singing along to the Fifty Shades Freedhit in unison, effectively turning the performance into a huge karaoke-style tribute to Payne, who died at the young of 31.
Fan-captured footage shows the Poisonsongstress initially looking stunned by the sheer volume of the audience.
Her expression then appears to shift into disbelief before she becomes visibly emotional, struggling to hold back tears as the crowd continues singing the Teardropssinger’s part.
Fans watching the moment online were quick to praise the Polish audience for giving Ora, 35, such a powerful tribute.
The emotional performance carried particular weight because of the two singer’s history with the song.
Released in January 2018, For Youbecame a major global hit and served as the lead single from the Fifty Shades Freedsoundtrack.
The pair had performed the song together on numerous occasions, making it one of their best-known musical collaborations.
Following Payne’s death in October 2024, For Youtook on an entirely different meaning for Ora.
Shortly after his death, she became emotional while performing the song at a concert in Japan, telling the audience that she could not bring herself to sing it.
Since then, Ora has continued to remember Payne during performances, making Friday night’s moment in Poznań another poignant tribute to their friendship and musical connection.
2026-08-16 20:32:00
