Singer insists her shows are 100% live after technical hitch which also messed with John Legend

Rita Ora and John Legend have defended their performances at a Thanksgiving Day parade thrown by Macy’s department store in New York after they were both affected by a major technical glitch.

Fans rushed to social media to criticise Ora, who was caught missing her cue when she lip-synced to her new song ‘Let You Love Me’ at the parade on Thursday morning (November 22), which was broadcast live on US network NBC.

Legend’s glitch was less noticeable, but he took his frustrations out on Twitter to say that all the performers at the event were forced to lip-sync because the soundsystem provided by Macy’s wasn’t strong enough to enable the acts to sing live.

Legend wrote: “Fun fact. We all have to lip sync on this parade, because the floats don’t have the capacity to handle the sound requirements for a live performance. Hope y’all enjoyed it anyway. Know that if you come to my shows, the vocals are 100% live.”

Ora quote-tweeted Legend’s comments, adding: “Thank you for clarifying what I was also about to tweet. It’s annoying for us, but anyway! All my shows are 100 per cent live, always have been! When you come to a Ora show, get ready! Back to holidays! Have a good one, guys.”

The fuss caused Macy’s to issue an apology on their social media channels, saying: “During today’s NBC broadcast of the Macys Parade, several artists experienced technical difficulties that negatively impacted their performance. We apologise, and want fans to know these issues were outside the artists’ control.”

Ora responded to Macy’s statement, saying: “Thank you and I appreciate the honesty. I hope everyone still had a good time.”

Legend’s wife Christine Teigen joked about the mishaps, saying: “Someone had to stay home and cook for our children and family.”

The glitches came on the eve of Ora releasing her new album tomorrow (November 23). ‘Phoenix’ is Ora’s first album since her 2012 debut ‘Ora’, having endured a major legal row with her previous stable Roc Nation. The album contains six singles, including the Liam Payne duet ‘For You’, as well as new Rudimental collaboration ‘Summer Holiday’.