Lorde and Khalid Wow Us at Alexandra Palace

Lorde is at an interesting stage in her career. 

Her debut single 'Royals' was a global Number 1 smash hit and its album Pure Heroine was a critically acclaimed masterpiece.

With Pure Heroine, Lorde ushered in a new era of more self-conscious pop, questioned the content of mainstream music and also centred the validity and worth of the teen voice and experience. Young popstars before Lorde were rarely given the opportunity or creative freedom to explore their own artistry. Lorde changed the game.

How does Lorde attempt to live up to that?

On the second night of the Melodrama world tour it becomes clear that Lorde doesn't.

Sat in a child-like white dress Lorde begins discussing Melodrama and she describes the project as “a wide open heart”. As she performs tracks from the album such as ‘Liability’ and ‘Hard Feelings’, her distinctive voice filling each with raw, honest emotion, it's clear that this is completely true.

While Pure Heroine honours the thrills and fears that come with adolescence, Melodrama grapples with the experience of falling head over heels in love, the trauma of falling out of love and the joy that comes with finding yourself on the other side.

With Melodrama Lorde hasn’t tried to create a blockbuster follow-up to Pure Heroine. She’s given herself the space and time to mature as a woman and artist, live, self-reflect and create a complex work that is completely true to her. It may have so far achieved modest commercial success in comparison to its predecessor but it resonates so strongly with her and her horde of admirers that it doesn’t matter. Lorde is not hell bent on maintaining her early success. She’s intent on creating longlasting important music.

From her live renditions of ‘Sober’ to ‘The Louvre’, there’s no question that, not only does Lorde love her new material but her fans do too. Tears and smiles filled the venue as the ‘Team’ hitmaker sang ‘Supercut’ and ‘Perfect Places’ alongside her older deep cuts such as ‘Ribs’ and ‘Buzzcut Season’. Melodrama, much like Pure Heroine before it, has interwoven itself into the fabric of thousands of people’s lives and it’s beautiful to witness the effect that its had first hand.

Opening for Lorde at Alexandra Palace was one of this year’s breakout stars: Khalid. The 19 year old performer is yet to properly take off in the UK but he’s already sold millions of records in the US and it’s not hard to see why. Much like Lorde, Khalid is an astute lyricist with an instantly recognisable voice that translates the realities of teenagedom into art with flair.

Unsurprisingly Khalid has worked with Lorde’s Pure Heroine producer, Joel Little, on three of the standout songs from his debut album, American Teen. As he delivers note-perfect renditions of his music and bounces around the stage with infectious charm and joy, it’s obvious that he has the potential to become a star and artist of Lorde’s level and calibre.

In fact, one of the things that made the night so special was that Lorde seemed completely in control of her artistry. From covering Phil Collins’ classic ‘In the Air Tonight’ to opening with her Disclosure collaboration ‘Magnets’, there was none of the nervousness that occasionally came through in her first few live performances.

Half way through the evening Lorde said: “I like playing in London ’cause I’m kind of awkward and you’re kind of awkward and we find it weird to express ourselves.” And, while this may be true for Lorde off stage, it couldn’t be further from the truth on stage. Performing her material and engaging with her fans, Lorde is in her element. She thrives.

A few of the causal fans in the audience were waiting to hear ‘Royals’ all night long but for the teens who grew up with Pure Heroine as their magnum opus and the adults who’ve always felt a connection to Lorde’s music, the entire night was magical.

When the opening bars of ‘Green Light’ came on at the end of the evening and Lorde launched into it with excitement, it was clear that not only is Lorde embracing her own personal freedom with Melodrama but her fans are embracing theirs too.

Lost and found in the wonder of brilliant, life-changing, sublime pop.

Words: Sam Prance

Listen to your favourite tracks no matter where you are with the MTV TRAX music app. No ads, no limits, no monkey business. Download it now for FREE at mtvtrax.com.