Lorde's live show wows US critics

Lorde has won positive reviews at the start of her first American tour. Photo/AP.

With Grammy, Brit and New Zealand music awards in tow, Lorde has begun her headlining American tour - but not before a six-hour rehearsal on the eve of her first show.

The Royals singer told her Twitter followers she was at the venue until midnight the night before her first show in Austin, Texas, ironing out any sound issues - to "get the show perfect".

i forgot about oscars, just kept the crew til midnight getting the show perfect. can't wait. see you tomorrow, austin

Demand for the singer is high - tickets sold out just weeks after the 16-dates were announced - and reviews for the shows so far have been strong.

Rolling Stone called her opening night at the Austin Music Hall "far more organic and natural than would be expected of someone so young who's just starting their first major tour".

She began completely alone with only a microphone standing in centre stage, before launching into Glory and Gore.

"It was a move that put every bit of focus on the 17-year-old New Zealander and served as something of a template for the whole of the 70-minute show; the singer writhing and occasionally convulsing in time with the punishing beats of her gothic pop songs, her startling voice buffeted by rounds of backup vocals to make every moment as impactful as possible," Rolling Stone wrote.

Meanwhile the Austin Chronicle called her "pop's majesty", dubbed her song Ribs as "one of the best songs about aging", and cried "such audacity" when recalling the chandelier rigged high above her for her hit, Royals.

Night two of the tour, and the Dallas News described the reverence the young crowd showed to the singer.

"When Lorde got to her two big hits toward the end, they felt like victory laps after nearly an hour of substantive material."

However, not all the reviews were glowing, with Dfw.com unsold on Lorde's performance.

"The 70-minute set from the singer, herself a fascinating mix of contradictions - a gothic misfit who landed center stage at the Grammys; an outsider who has found a way to deftly critique American consumer culture - felt thin, largely because she has but one album, last year's Pure Heroine, to her credit.

"Accordingly, much of the crowd's vociferous reaction to her every movement - I haven't heard screams like that since Justin Timberlake's stop at the AAC a few months back - felt out of proportion to what she has accomplished thus far. She is on her way to being an artist of intriguing substance, but she hasn't quite gotten there just yet," they wrote.

After her US tour, Lorde will travel to Chile and Brazil to perform at the Lollapalooza festivals, and then return to the States for the Coachella festival in April.

- nzherald.co.nz