Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” was deservedly crowned the Song of the Summer by most humans with ears, if not the prepubescent VMA voting public. Whether or not such an honor is typically bestowed in autumn, I decree that Lorde‘s “Royals” could very well dominate.
“Royals” has climbing steadily since its June release, with Lorde’s debut single currently at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. The 16-year-old New Zealander even snatched the #1 spot on Billboard’s Rock Airplay and Alternative Songs charts last week. The last time a woman ruled the latter was Tracy Bonham’s “Mother Mother” in June 1996, a few months ahead of Lorde’s arrival into the world as Ella Yelich-O’Connor that November.
I’d originally skipped past “Royals” because I didn’t care much for the music video. Thankfully, during a recent road trip I was re-exposed to Lorde’s take-down of the gratuitous displays of wealth that have permeated popular culture, and became a fan. Back at home, I discovered I’d seen the U.S. version of the original clip for “Royals,” which added more Lorde (ostensibly to introduce this new artist earlier). While not a drastic shift on paper, the change does affects the flow and confuses the (non) narrative. Here are Lorde’s pre-VEVO musings about her visual intent, reposted with her carefree approach to proper capitalization intact:
“lately i’ve been waking up at 4 or 5 a.m., turning things over in my head. so much to think about, so much to break down and process and decide. i’m only at the beginning, but it has always been important to me that everything feels cool, feels right. this song means a hell of a lot to me, and to others, and i guess what i tried to do is make something you could understand. a lot of people think teenagers live in this world like ‘skins’ every weekend or whatever, but truth is, half the time we aren’t doing anything cooler than playing with lighters, or waiting at some shitty stop. that’s why this had to be real. and i’m at that particular train station every week. those boys are my friends. callum’s wearing a sweater that used to belong to me. so it all feels right, and i can sleep. thanks for being with me all the way so far — so much to come, such great heights. i’m just getting started. enjoy xx”
Lorde was spot-on about great heights, especially in light of “Royals”‘ continuing ascension. Here’s the original video as described above:
“Royals” is taken from Lorde’s debut EP, The Love Club. Her first full-length, Pure Heroine, arrives on September 30.
Purchase Lorde – “Royals” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.
