Lorde Debuts Unsettling “Tennis Court” Video: Watch

Mike Wass | June 24, 2013 5:43 pm

There is no sport – or any other enjoyable activity – in Lorde‘s jarringly minimal but incredibly effective “Tennis Court” video. Instead, the director focuses exclusively on the 16-year-old New Zealander’s expressive face. She sneers and stares directly into the camera, her black lips in stark contrast to her white powdered face. It’s confronting and more than a little unsettling — particularly when the antipodean prodigy mouths the chopped-and-screwed vocals, coming across like a woman possessed.

Lorde’s original visual further separates her from the pack. The hype surrounding the teen is deafening but absolutely warranted. Her gloomy but oddly poetic and still melodic tunes have struck a chord around the world. She already has two number one singles in her homeland and a gold EP in Australia. With previous single “Royals” now inside the top 100 on US iTunes, it would only seem like a matter of time until the Kiwi experiences similar success here.

Are you feeling Lorde’s new visual? Let us know in the comments.

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