Coachella 2014: Lorde Reigns Supreme At The Festival, Finally A Royal

Mike Wass | April 13, 2014 12:57 am

Barely six months have passed since I saw Lorde perform live at the Fonda Theater in Los Angeles but, since then, the Kiwi has won two Grammy awards and scored an era-defining hit with “Royals”. But there’s more to the teen than critical acclaim and hit records. A generation of kids has adopted the unlikely superstar as their own, which was evidenced by the terrifying swarm of human bodies that descended upon Coachella’s Outdoor Theatre last night (April 12) to see her perform — leaving tents empty and majorly thinning the crowd at the main stage. (Sorry, Foster The People).

It’s probably for the best then, that Ella’s live show has evolved almost as radically as her standing in the industry over the past half a year. While she was previously happy to lurk in the shadows of a dimly lit stage and let her music speak do the talking, the 17-year-old now puts on a real show. She has dazzling projections, giant props and even a quirky electronic introduction at her disposal but the experience was still strangely intimate as Lorde humbly expressed her disbelief at being at Coachella and swore like a truck driver during her frequent chats with the crowd.

As for the music? Well, that velvety voice never wavers. New Zealand’s finest export howled like a bashee as her long locks were blown around by huge gusts of wind and dirt — belting out obscure pre-fame tracks like “Biting Down”, Pure Heroine highlights (“Tennis Court” and “White Teeth Teens”) and, of course, her massive hits. She worked her now trademark crab-claw choreography for all its worth during “Team” and had everyone chanting along to “Royals”, which was easily one of the festival’s defining moments.

Did you catch Lorde’s set at Coachella? Let us know in the comments below.

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