Rita Ora’s German TV prank backfires

Rita Ora’s attempt to prank the German version of The Voice went horribly wrong when none of the judges recognised her.

The 26-year-old, a coach on the UK version of the contest, gatecrashed the singing competition posing as an ordinary contestant - and even sang her own hit single - but no-one seemed to notice.

Auditionees sing “blind” on the show, with the judging panel of vocal coaches only turning to face the singers if they are willing to act as their coach for the competition.

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Ora “auditioned” with her recent track Your Song - which, as News.com.au points out, was a top 20 hit in Germany, so you’d be forgiven for thinking that a surprise visit from the singer herself wouldn’t go unnoticed.

Impressed by the mystery contestant’s spookily accurate rendition of the track, all four coaches hit their button and turned to face her.

Unfortunately, the British singer, who has had four UK number one singles including I Will Never Let You Down and Hot Right Now, didn’t seem to ring a bell with the judges.

Perhaps hoping to jog their memory, Ora described herself as “a 26-year-old aspiring musician from London”.

One of the coaches responded by telling her that her rendition “sounded almost like the original”.

With the prank at an impasse, Ora was forced to reveal herself. “My name is Rita Ora,” she said, somewhat anticlimactically.

The cringe-inducing gaffe amused Twitter users:

Coming on the heels of Ora’s repeated attempts to crack the US, with limited success, music blog Stereogum wonders if the 26-year-old is “forever cursed to wander this earth as a famous but like, not that famous a person”.