Lorde, she of the husky voice, didn’t actually sing at the MTV VMAs. Instead, she got on stage, pretended to switch on a boom box and then did a beautiful, interpretive and energetic dance. Just to confirm that this was no typical pop star performance at the VMAs, instead of, say, using a huge theatrical-standard hoist to lift her up a la Katy Perry, Lorde flew threw the air with the assistance of a bunch of backing dancers.
However, not all fans were pleased with this rendition of Homemade Dynamite, with one Instagram account posting under picture Lorde had uploaded alongside singer Khalid: ‘Was disappointed last night.I was really looking forward to your performance only to see it was you dancing (question mark?) I know it's not your fault but still □’
Lorde took the time to respond (leaving us wondering: does she read all the comments? Is there a filter system for reading the comment when you’re a celebrity? Can you at least turn notifications off because that would be a LOT of likes for your battery to deal with), telling the user: ‘challenge your ideals to expand beyond what's traditionally good, beautiful or "right" in a context like this / i think being a fan of my work requires that every week / i represent doing things differently/pushing myself/pushing my audience/most importantly making large, sterile spaces feel warm, strange, joyful and idiosyncratic.. it may not have been for you this time but i definitely did that last night and i'm psyched about it □’
The user, seemingly humbled by Lorde’s response, replied: ‘Wow! OMG @lordemusic totally didn't expect you to reply to me. Your voice is so unique and one of a kind. I've been a fan for a long time!! Thank you.’
They then added: ‘And I'm sorry that your performance wasn't for me. But it was very interesting to watch. That's something I love about you. You never know what to expect, which is truly awesome. □□ @lordemusic'
Killing 'em with kindness? Sounds pretty Lorde to us. It's also pretty telling that the fan was totally happy to criticise Lorde until they knew that Lorde was actually watching. It's funny what we end up saying when we think we can get away with it.
The 19-year-old (it’s worth remembering that when you consider just how much edge this mainstream act can bring to awards shows) also told fans she was suffering from the flu at the VMAs, even if it didn’t show in the pictures of her from the night. Lorde tweeted: ‘you can't tell in these pictures but i have the flu so bad i needed an IV #showgoeson #cutelilproppedupcorpse'
Yet still, having rehearsed the dance, maybe she would have gone ahead with dancing over singing even if she hadn’t been unwell? You can watch her performance here:
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.