Rita Ora has already cameo-ed in the year’s second-highest-grossing film, Fifty Shades of Grey, as Christian’s sister Mia. But for her next acting role, Ora will play herself alongside rapper Charles Hamilton in the two-hour season finale of Empire, airing Wednesday on Fox at 8 p.m. ET.
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Hamilton and Ora will perform “NY Raining” at a party for Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard), marking Hamilton’s first single since 2008’s “Brooklyn Girls.” The song will also have an official music video, to be released next week, with an exclusive still featured above. Hamilton recently signed with Republic and is preparing a full-length album produced by The Invisible Men (Iggy Azalea, Jessie J), a British duo that also helmed “NY Raining.”
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Charles Hamilton Teams Up With Rita Ora for ‘NY Raining’: Listen
“‘NY Raining’ is one of my favorite songs that I have recorded, and I am so honored to have been asked to perform it with Charles on the Empire season finale,” Ora tells Billboard. “Both as a viewer and as a performer on the show, I cannot wait to tune in to watch what happens next.”
Ora is finishing work on her debut U.S. album for Columbia, due later this year, and will also appear in the boxing drama Southpaw alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, expected later this year.
Empire‘s first season on Fox has made the musical drama a rare sensation in broadcast TV, with ratings that continue to grow week after week. Last week’s penultimate episode brought in 14.7 million total viewers and a 5.6 rating among adults 18 to 49, according to Fast National Nielsen returns, enough for the show to win the night (including lead-in American Idol) and grow its audience among key advertiser demos.