Yup, she might never be royal. But here’s why being Lorde is a whole lot better.
Yup, she might never be royal. But here’s why being Lorde is a whole lot better.
The Internet age is a funny thing. It’s given rise to many things that would make you go, “WTF?”, of course, but it has most definitely had a strange effect on fame, among other things. Consider the fact that, thanks to the nearubiquity of social media “stars”, the line between “real people” and “celebrities” is steadily blurring.
What are we talking about? Take, for instance, the difference between an Insta-famous girl like local blogger Andrea Chong and a more conventionally Famous Girl like actress Jennifer Lawrence. One, we follow closely on social media because every frame captures a meticulously crafted, sumptuously composed, and highly aesthetic lifestyle that is, above all, aspirational. The other, we queue up to watch on cinema screens, but mostly idolise for an adorably unfiltered, downto- earth persona that speaks – dare we say it – of normalcy.
Now, “normal” is not a word we traditionally associate with superstars – the Michael Jacksons, Elizabeth Taylors, and Whitney Houstons of the world. But when it comes to fame, living in the age of social media, reality TV and tabloid journalism has definitely upset the status quo. These days, normal people are free to acquire a glossy, star-like aura – all you need is a good camera, a sense for good lighting, and an Instagram account.
As for our traditional stars, however, it seems like being an It Girl has never been less desirable or sought after. When Beyoncé writes Internetbreaking songs declaring, “Earned all this money but they never take the country out me”, you can be sure that normalcy – wrapped up in the banner of authenticity – is the superstar’s new power move.
Yes, even when they seem totally out-of-this-world, the most compelling stories to come from our modernday celebrities all have a quality of everyday realness at their core. For all that her unbelievably photogenic posse of A-list gal pals are the definition of unachievable #goals, it was ultimately the universal themes of sisterhood, female friendships and empowerment that helped propel Taylor Swift’s metamorphosis from rehabilitated boy-chaser to modern Supergirl. And even Lady Gaga, the reigning queen of red-carpet eccentricity and high drama, draws from a message of free expression and embracing your inner self, no matter how “freaky” the world deems it.
Catching fire
When a David Lynch-loving teen from New Zealand puts up a five-track EP for free online and finds international fame, that is the definition of both normal and abnormal. These days, we understand that – particularly as it pertains to the music industry – every move, every release from an artist tends as much to be a branding exercise as it is an artistic statement. Acting with the typical teenager’s id, 16 year-old Ella Yelich- O’Connor’s first forays into the world as Lorde didn’t bear nearly as much premeditation: “I wanted to put the EP up for free because, being a teenager, and not having a credit card – I mean, who has a credit card at 16?!” she tells Interview. “I just thought people my age would appreciate it.”
But the aftermath – in which the then-mysterious Lorde rose from an unknown quantity to a mega-talent whose prodigiously poetic lyrics and genre-bending beats set the world on fire – is anything but typical. With “Royals”, Lorde gained buzz in her native New Zealand and Australia before capturing the significant attention of tech billionaire, Napster founder and “the guy played by Justin Timberlake in the Facebook movie”, Sean Parker. Shortly after adding “Royals” to his immensely popular Spotify playlist, Hipster International, the addictive, hypnotic track was blasting from speakers everywhere. And Lorde’s arrival as music’s Next Big Thing was assured.
How big? Consider the eclectic fan base that Lorde can lay claim to. On the one hand, “Royals” soared to the top of Billboard’s “Alternative” song chart – making her the first female to do so in 17 years. Which is to say that the last time a woman had held that same position on the chart, Lorde hadn’t even been born yet. But far from settling into that alternative niche and letting it confine her to the fringes of pop culture, Lorde has enjoyed crazy mass appeal. From Kanye West and Grimes, to Katy Perry and Britney Spears, the whole world wanted more of Lorde.
Real vs. royal
A big part of that has to do with the way Lorde’s music has consistently maintained an outsider’s perspective, while remaining plugged into a unique sound that the pop audience didn’t even know it craved. “I often think about what Lorde’s existence would have done for me during my teenage years, when pop princesses Britney and Christina battled it out on MTV,” muses writer/ actress/director/fellow-BFF-of-Taylor- Swift Lena Dunham, in a profile she wrote on Lorde for Dazed. “Back then, I divided the world between the blonde bombshells I was meant to dance to at parties, and elder stateswomen like Joni Mitchell and Joan Armatrading, who sang my secret feelings when I was locked in my room. The idea that one girl could bestride both those worlds would have freed me in incredible ways. It’s freeing me now.”
And that’s exactly what Lorde seems to be – free. Despite the gilded cage that comes with celebrity and worldwide fame, there is a refreshing self-awareness to Lorde, who is, for the record, still only 19 years of age. “I’m never going to not think it’s weird. I can’t imagine wanting fame,” she tells The Telegraph, “It’s something that you live with.” In another interview with the German paper Bild, she adds, “Famous people really are just like a collection of very beautiful aliens. And I definitely felt [sic] very normal. I’m just not a natural-born celebrity.”
Or maybe she is, and that’s exactly why we can’t get enough of her. Because she’s that 21st century kind of celebrity whose Instagram feed ranges from post-Grammy selfies with Taylor Swift (featuring casual photobombs courtesy of Camila Cabello and Ellie Goulding), to typical teen wefies with the same lordemusic the boys jubilant and drinking before a party crew of New Zealand peeps she’s hung out with for years. Who is both part of the “in crowd” and yet manages to speak to us of that world with the piercing objectivity and the grounded perspective of one who has not been swallowed up by the celebrity circus. Who manages to slip so easily between the surreal realm of the “beautiful aliens”, and the ordinary one occupied by all of us normal folk with normal lives.
The contradictions never seem to matter to the teen titan from Takapuna, New Zealand. But, then again, why settle for just real, or just royal, when you can be Lorde?
It’s a Lorde world, after all
“Social media has always been in my life to the point that I would call it a language I’m fluent in,” says Lorde. Judging by the way she always keeps her ’grams real AF, we would totes agree.
lordemusic when you love ur friend but she is a beautiful giraffe so she gets cropped
lordemusic the skin is peeling off my lips and hands these days i very rarely see the sun and my eye is weeping and screaming and it’s fashion week and everyone already thinks i’m strange and it’s a kanye show where the freaks are beautiful so why not say f--k it and let’s dance with the melodrama? ps. the show was crazy i got to wear sneakers and had the best bear hug from drizzy and now i’m in bed in a sweater editing something cool for you guys to see very soon
