Herald on Sunday editorial: Lorde has nothing to fear here

Lorde in Devonport. Photo / David White

Opinion

Chances are teenagers will not be the only New Zealanders who would like to give pride of place to the poster that comes with this newspaper today. Lorde has come home from the Grammy Awards much more than an international singing celebrity - though that is astonishing enough for one so young - but as a New Zealander unspoiled by extraordinary success.

When she complained about media cameramen jostling her on her return, she was reacting much as anyone would who was unused to such attention. It would be unfair to see it as the first sign of prima donna-dom. Who is not tired and a bit tetchy at the end of the long flight from Los Angeles? She cannot have had much rest during dizzying round of receptions, performances and parties.

Her comments on twitter, which were soon deleted, were grist to anyone who finds it hard to believe that someone so young can be so unaffected. And they brought a stream of extraordinary bile from Charlotte Dawson, who was once a celebrity here. Dawson advised Lorde on radio to leave the country before New Zealand media do their worst.

Lorde has nothing to learn from Dawson, except as an example of what not to be. Lorde is a genuine star, celebrated for her talent and her class. She sings her own songs and her words are thoughtful. They mock fame and fortune and now these have come her way, she seems in touch with herself, determined to keep real.

That is a remarkable achievement for someone of her age, 17. It is credit to her above all, but also to her parents, Sonja Yelich and Vic O'Connor, her school, Takapuna Grammar, her teachers and friends. We may dare to claim credit for New Zealand. There is something very Kiwi in the way she can keep her feet on the ground.

If the clobbering machine exists it confines its targets to those who overestimate their importance. Ella Yelich O'Connor, despite her stage name, seems to be in no danger. Hers is the kind of art that is happy when it is appreciated but answers to its own standard.

Image 1 of 12: Lorde performs Royals on stage at the Grammy Awards. Photo / Getty Images

Lorde's album that she hoped would win a Grammy but did not, is the sort of music that rewards repeated listening. She had to be content with the Grammys for best solo pop performance and song of the year,

Royals

. To dispel any idea she may be a "one hit wonder" she has another song in the charts.

But she seems unlikely to compromise her art for continued success. In her manner and dress she is not the conventional female rock siren. She is a leader not a follower in style and is not afraid to be disconcerting. Black fingertips in her Grammy performance spooked some of the commentators.

New Zealand has not produced anyone of this sort of stature in popular music before. The stars in Lorde's orbit in Los Angeles were the likes of Beyonce and Paul McCartney. Yet after arriving home on Wednesday she went on stage that evening, giving her Auckland fans the concert she had to postpone when the Grammy's called.

If a New Zealander had achieved her scale of musical success in a previous generation, he or she would not have stayed in the country. Lorde can. The internet made Royals a global hit. A musician no longer needs to be in the world's music capitals to have the recording standards and opportunities to gain the recognition and get airplay they need.

The internet lets listeners anywhere discover new music and pass it around. That is how Lorde was made. It is an example of what is possible, and the way she is handling it is an example to us all.