Lorde's NZ tour to end year on high note

New Zealand pop sensation Lorde has taken up yoga to help with her hectic schedule and to keep pre-show nerves at bay.

Lorde has taken up yoga to cope with the demands of becoming an in-demand international pop sensation.

The Kiwi chart-topper has been forced to address her health concerns after a hectic year of touring that saw her reschedule a string of Australian shows on "doctor's orders".

She isn't showing any signs of slowing down with today's announcement of her first New Zealand tour. The 17-year-old will perform arena-sized shows in Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland in late October and early November.

The all-ages shows come after a run of 23 dates across Canada and the United States, and Lorde says these will be her last shows of 2014, and her final performances on the back of her debut album Pure Heroine.

"I really like the idea of saving New Zealand for last and ending on what I think will be a really high note," she told the Herald. "It feels right that I get to end with this audience. It feels like the end of a very busy, very intense era. I'm more excited than is humanly possible."

The addition of the shows to Lorde's schedule raises concerns about her hectic lifestyle, especially when the first date of her rescheduled Australian tour in Perth in July was reportedly cut short because of illness. But Lorde said she was recovered and ready to hit the road again.

"I'm so great right now. It's pretty crazy when you leave your home country for the first time. My system was like, 'Hey, brand new diseases', so I got really sick a bunch of times. But I feel good, I feel okay, and very healthy ... fingers crossed."

She's taken up yoga to help sustain her touring lifestyle - and to battle nerves. "I still get crazy nervous - it doesn't go away. But I do yoga now and I stretch before the show and I do all sorts of calming things."

Lorde, real name Ella Yelich-O'Conner, has performed only four times in New Zealand: two small shows in Auckland and Wellington that kicked off her performing career last year, a free iHeartRadio show at Auckland's Vector Arena, and a Laneway gig at Silo Park in January.

But after a year that's included two Grammy Awards, a Brit award and appearances at festivals such as Lollapalooza and Coachella, Lorde said Kiwi fans could expect to see a more confident performer. "I think about those shows and I was too scared to even move. Now I'm thrashing around, doing these insane, very physical dance moves."

On Monday (NZ time) Lorde will go up against Beyonce and Katy Perry at the MTV Video Music Awards, where she is nominated for Best Female Video and Best Rock Video.

Tour dates

Monday, October 27: Horncastle Arena, Christchurch
Wednesday, October 29: Town Hall, Dunedin
Friday, October 31: TSB Bank Arena, Wellington
Saturday, November 1: Vector Arena, Auckland.

* Tickets available from various outlets from September 1 at 9am.