by Marc Shapiro
Lorde’s level of notoriety had by this time reached a point where even the more mainstream media was willing to take a flyer on the New Zealand singer. A case in point being CNN International who pieced together a warm and fuzzy, but no less interesting, piece on Lorde’s pre-stardom days in school that featured memories from teachers, principals and classmates. It was a piece that brought home the point with no amount of subtlety that Lorde was quite literally an overnight success.
Easily the most shocking announcement in a while came when Lorde announced that Taylor Swift and she were seriously thinking about doing some music together. It was an announcement that caught everybody by surprise and immediately divided musical camps.
You’d have to search long and hard to find two people who were from such different places musically. Some observers speculated that it was the wrong thing to do and might result in a flood of less intellectually inclined teen stars beating down her door for some street cred. Still others felt that this ‘slumming’ with inferior but commercially successful acts could increase Lorde’s mainstream appeal. That Lorde and Swift had suddenly become the best of friends was documented in February when the singer, in Los Angeles, was spotted out going to the beach and shopping with Swift.
In a Capital FM conversation, Lorde made a spirited defence that such an oil and water collaboration could work. ‘Yeah, we are different. But I think the cool thing about Taylor is she is willing to go a lot of places with music. I think her last record in particular [Red], everyone was like “Whoa! A lot of ground has been covered.” And I think that with an artist like her, the sky is the limit.’
The possibility of a Taylor Swift collaboration almost immediately made it open season for any journalist stuck for a news item to pop the ‘Who would you like to work with,’ question and, depending on her mood that day, Lorde’s response would either be humorous or serious speculation. The interviewer at Clash struck pay dirt with that question.
‘Rihanna would be fun to write for because she’s done everything. And I’d also like to write for or with Ellie Goulding. Girl bands are only cool if they’re ridiculous. I’d write for a Korean girl band. Some of their melodies are the best pop.’
Lorde was not the only one savouring this rocket to stardom. Her drummer Ben Barter acknowledged in Modern Drummer that the past year had been an amazing one for him. ‘It’s been the fastest and most exciting year of my life. I’ve managed to tick many of my musical aspirations off.’
He also explained how touring with Lorde had given him firsthand insights into how age was not a factor when it came to creativity. ‘Touring this past year has been such a blast. Ella is amazing to work with. I feel fortunate to play for an artist whose music I love and respect.’
Barter would not be the only one to benefit from Lorde’s massive success. Joel Little was also reaping the rewards for being tied so closely to ‘Royals’. In the wake of Lorde’s success, he began working with New Zealand duo Broods, began writing with Silverchair’s David Johns on his solo album and was tied, in various writing and production capacities, to Sam Smith, Kwabs and Jetta.
‘It’s definitely opened up some doors,’ he understatedly told Billboard. ‘Having a hit single makes people take a bit more notice.’
Lorde had been notoriously stingy when it came to licensing her music. But the rare item that struck her fancy came along midway through February when she agreed to let a mash-up of her song ‘Glory and Gore’ appear over a trailer for a second-season preview of the History Channel’s series Vikings. But she acknowledged in a personal look back on her career in Sunday Magazine that she was not inclined to just give away her songs to anything just for the bucks. ‘If I granted every sandwich place, skincare product and coming-of-age blockbuster use of my songs I would be a millionaire. But I’m extremely fussy.’
It was around this time that Lorde took a busman’s holiday and, for reportedly the first time, worked on somebody else’s music, in this case the song ‘Easy (Switch Screens)’ by alternative musician and producer Son Lux. The song in question was a dark outing with horror film overtones, the ideal venue for Lorde to lay down some intricate and subtle vocals. Working with somebody whose music she admired was the kind of creative exercise she craved and it whet her appetite for other such side projects in the future.
Reports began filtering back to New Zealand about the frenzy being generated in anticipation of the upcoming US tour that would most certainly break her out on a grand scale. But in interviews given post-Grammy, it had become evident that the singer had matured into a special place where she had happily acknowledged her success but was keeping it all low key and philosophical rather than jumping up and down and manic. It was a state of grace, that she offered in Rolling Stone.
‘I HAVE TO KEEP REMINDING
MYSELF THAT THIS IS MY LIFE.’
A DATE IN PHOENIX,
ARIZONA WAS JUST ADDED.
That the Phoenix show was scheduled for April 17, a good three weeks after the last reported date of the tour, made it obvious that Lorde would not be finishing what had been projected as a relatively short tour anytime soon.
In fact those in the know speculated that the whole idea of a limited tour had always had a back door to adding more shows once the tour became a ‘must see’ event. It was further being tossed around that once the dust settled, Lorde might not truly finish her first US tour until sometime in June.
Lorde knew she was packing for a long haul. She just was not sure how long the haul would be. A second show was added in Oakland, California, followed by a quick jump to South America for shows in Chile, Brazil and Argentina. Then back to the states for shows in Indio, California, for the first of two Coachella appearances, Las Vegas and a second show in Indio. This would take the singer through to the end of April. But the phones were ringing all over the world so it was a safe bet that Lorde would be on the road for a good portion of 2014.
Lorde and the band were well rehearsed. The consensus was that a longer show would be a better show and more clearly define the creative force that, in the course of only a year, had turned her into a truly special kind of performer. Lorde and her people were still attempting to keep the presentation simple. But it was expected that her entourage would be bigger and that the demands on her time would be greater.
There were most likely people looking out for Lorde’s day-today wellbeing in the days leading up to the start of the tour. Signs of excitement and pre-tour nerves were to be expected. Lorde had not completely got over those.
Lorde was seventeen. A normal seventeen-year-old who was suddenly not so normal. She had doubts, insecurities and, yes, fears. But, as she explained in an intimate look at her rise to the top in Sunday Magazine, she had met her demons head on and was dealing with them.
‘Sometimes I feel so lonely, I don’t want to do it anymore. But truth is, I love what I do so much. I’ve never been so happy or worked so hard. Adults like to ask me how I’m coping with things, because adults are always nervous that there’s a looming breakdown on the horizon. But what I say is that for all the moments that I dislike, there are these moments where everything is slow motion, full colour, sweet.’
The singer remains alternately heartened and amazed by the fact that her career has happened so fast. As she explained in 3rd Degree, the mere notion of having a music career, let alone one at such a young age, was pure fantasy.
‘It feels like the most natural thing in the world to me because I’ve never had anyone else’s music career. I get to do these crazy things that a lot of other people wouldn’t necessarily get to do.’
Lorde did her best to make the rounds of longtime friends, spending time with her family and finding time just for herself. She would often most likely be found in quiet contemplation, looking at the world with pencil and paper in hand, fashioning lyrics, looking to the future.
She would acknowledge that the coming year would bring a lot more. New music, lots of performances and, most importantly, a rei
nforcement of self. And so as the day finally arrived when she sat in a plane as it taxied down Auckland Airport’s runway and into the sky, Lorde was ultimately at peace with her past, present and, most certainly, her future. A future she brought full circle in her inward look in Sunday Magazine.
‘I’m an artist, an author with a hunger for showing people what I can do and a talent for making people turn my name into a call while they’re waiting front row.
‘IT’S ME. I’M HERE.’
BUT BEFORE SHE COULD
GET THERE, LORDE WAS
CONTINUING TO MAKE WAVES
IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER.
She awoke on the morning of March 1 to the news that Pure Heroine had officially sold one million copies in the US. Her already worldwide credibility received an even bigger boost on March 2 when it was reported by New Musical Express that Bruce Springsteen did a cover of ‘Royals’ during his concert in Auckland.
Lorde was visibly moved when she heard of Springsteen’s acoustic cover that opened his show, responding in tweets as reported by News.com.au. ‘My twitter went mental. Everyone in New Zealand was like “You can’t believe what just happened.” It was so exciting. It was the highest honour. I got a little teary. It was very cool.’
And, as she would explain to Starpulse, it would also bring into perspective how quickly a song can ride the trail from obscure to classic. ‘It’s crazy when someone like that is covering your song. Those words were nothing before I put them into my laptop and started messing around with them in the studio. It’s crazy to me that they could come out of somebody else’s mouth who is that respected.’
Predictably the call for Lorde live was growing daily. Following the conclusion of the US dates, the singer was scheduled to go to Brazil and Chile to appear in those countries’ Lolapalooza Festivals before returning to the US in April for her appearance at Coachella. And although no new dates had been announced past April 18, more than one media outlet was stating that the US tour would now go until May 17.
Any thoughts of Lorde getting homesick for James were immediately dashed when the love of her life reported in a story by the New Zealand Herald that he would be travelling with his girlfriend throughout the tour.
What those who had planned the tour had not counted on was the weather in the US. For some weeks prior to the start of the tour, a good part of America’s Midwest, South and East had been experiencing the worst cold snap in recent history. Rain, snow, icy roads, funnel clouds and blizzard-like sub-zero weather had been battering much of the country and as Lorde settled into the beginning of the tour, there was no sign of the bad weather letting up.
First stop Austin, Texas. On the surface Austin seemed a rather daring choice to begin a tour. Texas in general had a rather conservative musical lineage, more rough and tumble and basic emotions, not necessarily a state that would embrace deep thoughts. However, in recent years, Austin had become a mecca for those who danced on the edge and a growing audience for music that defied preconceived notions. And nobody could argue with the fact that the show had sold out in record time.
However, the singer was not leaving anything to chance. She reportedly arrived in Austin two days before her scheduled concert and immediately set to work rehearsing every element of her performance, an estimated six hours according to hall observers, well into the night. At one point her fans received a tweet, updating her preparations. ‘I forgot about the Oscars and just kept the crew till midnight. Getting the show perfect. See you tomorrow Austin.’
When pressed by ABC News about what fans could expect at her show, Lorde offered, ‘It will be very simple. Cool lights. Just me being Gollum on stage and mucking around.’
The anticipation of opening night quickly became a cause for celebration as Lorde moved silently and alone out of the stage blackness and, literally and figuratively alone, launched into ‘Glory and Gore’. Shortly after, a curtain parted to reveal her band who, with the aid of some pre-recorded musical tracks, provided a dark and hard backbone for Lorde’s vocals to freely roam. All the by-now trademark lyrical, vocal and stage flourishes were on display in a seventy-minute set that showcased the singer as the master of her domain; offering up an enticing array of inflections, emotional shifts and haunting pop interpretation that gave even the familiarity of most of the set a new patina of power and depth.
And Lorde was nothing if not liberal in her song selection. Yes, all the hits and the favoured tracks were on display. But the singer also showed that she could by playful with the inclusion of two strategically placed covers: ‘Swingin’ Party’, her Replacements homage, and a heretofore unheard, at least in a live setting, ‘Easy (Switch Screens)’ by Son Lux. Lorde could do no wrong on opening night and, if this were any indication, the rest of the tour would be aces.
Lorde pulled into Houston in high spirits. The reviews of the Austin show had been uniformly excellent. Given the precision required, the band and the technical elements were spot on. For one night at least, Lorde had truly conquered.
The following night in Dallas, the show took on even more of a celebratory tone as the audience was alternately enraptured and joyous as they watched Lorde move through her distinctive array of songs with confidence and ease. While the majority of reviews of the Dallas show were near rapturous in their praise, some sceptics were not quite on board, sighting the continued brevity of her set, the minimalist music backing that sometimes slipped over into sameness, and the bottom line damning with faint praise of Lorde as an artist who was destined for great things but, in their eyes, was not quite there yet.
But she would prove at the Houston gig that it would only get better. Houston fans were seeing her for the first time and they were seeing a lot according to reviewers and rabid texters. Her unorthodox stage presence proved an enticing adjunct to her songs, adding a sense of tension and drama, even to songs that fans were by now overly familiar with. With two shows under her belt, her voice was now even more of a towering presence. And rather than a three-ring circus of lights and pyrotechnics, the show’s reliance on muted shades of dark and shadow proved a haunting but appropriate set piece to the overall tone of the performance.
Early on in the tour, critics seemed captivated by the ease in which the singer was able to reimagine her songs to a more captivating and exploratory live setting. Reportedly the singer was so intent on getting things different and right on a daily basis that she and her band were rehearsing an average of six hours a day before each show.
But while the performances were rapidly falling in line as first rate, mainstream press was beginning to notice and, as was their want, taking a deeper, questioning look at her as a cultural icon and pop phenomena. The Wall Street Journal in particular laid out a solid, even-handed account, big on sales figures and other elements that landed firmly on the economic side. The story was also quick to point out that Lorde had made her impact in the US on the wings of one album and a couple of hit singles, and openly questioned whether so much so soon was enough to define a career.
That line of speculation was nothing new for Lorde to ponder. The Love Club EP had barely been released when she was already contemplating the notion of being yet another flash in the pop music pan. Realistically she realised that her seeming core teen audience had notoriously short attention spans and that it was a real possibility that she might lose her audience and be another classic ‘burn out’ by age twenty-one.
Lorde would continue speculating on her newness and the possibility of it all suddenly disappearing in The Wall Street Journal. ‘I’m green enough that I’m afraid that I’ll wake up one day and it’ll be gone. I still ask myself is my life interesting enough to write about?’
FOR NOW THE ANSWER SEEMED
AN EMPHATIC ‘YES’.
The tour moved on to Washington, D.C., with a performance that indicated there would be subtle changes and shifts within a fairly tightly formatted show. Predictably Lorde’s emotional range carried the day, exploring the worlds of drive and ambition i
n a taut, believable manner. But the proceedings were lightened up considerably with several calls to the audience to sing along during the course of the fourteen-song set. And the show was predictably layered and dense, a good thing in Lorde’s world as the singer gave free reign to explore seemingly endless emotional highs and lows.
It would become evident as the tour continued that Lorde was quite capable of keeping things interesting and that those on the back end of the tour would, most certainly, receive their own level of surprises amid the music that had brought them to pop music prayer.
The shows and the rave reviews continued to reinforce the fact that Lorde, in little more than a year, had truly arrived as a sanctified pop intellect, assured of herself as an artist, confident in her talent and its ability to grow and her future as that rare performer whose pure intellect will be the driving force. Lorde has always made it known that she was raised a by-product of a different age, a universe that runs to technology while, at the same time, holding a reverent place in its soul for people who dare to be different, who dare to be smart.
Lorde’s life and career are in play on an ever-evolving stage. She is an international kid who, while still some months shy of becoming an adult, moves among the creative people and their adoring fans. It’s a world she often reflects on and in a way that only Lorde can.
‘If you see me and I’m whispering to myself, and seeming all crazy, don’t worry,’ she said to New Zealand Listener. ‘It’s just a happy mantra of thanks for the way things are.’
Discography
ALBUMS
PURE HEROINE (2013)
Tennis Court | 400 Lux | Royals | Ribs
| Buzzcut Season | Team | Glory and Gore | Still Sane
| White Teeth Teens | A World Alone