Lorde performs on the second day of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., on Saturday, April 12, 2014. (Photo by Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/MCT)New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde will play her first Phoenix show to a sold-out crowd at the Comerica Theatre on Thursday night.
The 17-year-old pop sensation, known by friends and family as Ella, recently emerged into the spotlight after her hugely successful first single, “Royals,” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for nine weeks.
Lorde released her debut album in the U.S. on Sept. 30. Every song has her name listed as songwriter and composer, along with New Zealand musician and producer Joel Little.
The sound of her music is not something you’d expect from today’s typical pop artist, as she focuses completely on her vocals and doesn’t play any instruments. Her vocal style changes for every song on her album, but each song has a beat that is simultaneously inspired by hip-hop, electronic and Top 40 pop music.
Rolling Stone has described her as “a throne-watching pop comer with a sound that recalls the Internet hip-hop of Kitty Pryde, the cold-storage torch pop of Lana Del Rey and the primal self-dredging of Florence Welch, while still sounding strangely sui generis.”
Within months of the release of her debut album, Lorde was nominated for four Grammys: Best Pop Vocal Album, and Record of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance and Song of the Year for her single, “Royals.”
Lorde, who performed her very first U.S. show back in August, took home two of music’s highest honor for "Royals" just six months later, making her the third youngest winner in Grammy history.
Many of Lorde’s songs are inspired by her teenage years and her views of mainstream culture, which can be heard loud and clear in her song “Glory and Gore.” “Glory and gore go hand-in-hand / That’s why we’re making headlines,” Lorde sings.
Lorde is in the middle of her very first North American tour and has successfully sold out three shows at the Roseland Ballroom in New York. This weekend, she will perform the second show of her very first gig at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival after her Phoenix show.
Lorde will play at the Comerica Theatre in downtown Phoenix on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Lo-Fang will open for her.
Reach the reporter at Brittany.Schmus@asu.edu
