BY DEVON COLLINS
Lorde brought some of her “Homemade Dynamite” to Toronto for one of 70 stops on the Melodrama World Tour.
The 22-year-old artist from New Zealand immediately stole the show on Thursday, with her engaging dancing and her shimmering laced pantsuit.
She opened the show with one of Melodrama’s best tracks, “Sober” following with “Homemade Dynamite” and then “Tennis Court”, one of her more well-known songs.
The concert was high-energy and did not stop for even a moment. With the on-stage outfit changes, interactive singing, backup dancers, and giant moving glass box, it was an unforgettable show.
Lorde had her dancers perform in the large transparent box for the duration of the show while the box lifted up into the air and back down on the stage.
Once Lorde changed from a black bodysuit into the elegant pink “marshmallow dress”, as she called it, the tone of the show shifted. For this outfit, there were more intimate moments with the audience. She played more emotional songs such as “The Louvre”, “Hard Feelings”, “Yellow Flicker Beat”, and of course, “Writer in the Dark”.
“Writer in the Dark” is known as one of the most meaningful songs on the Melodrama album.
When she began to play this song, fans were visibly moved. Some crying, some singing along, and almost all of them shining their phone’s flash lights into the air. Lorde was amazed at this. She said that it looked like she had her own little galaxy from the stage.
Lorde said many times that Toronto is one of the most welcoming places to perform. She paid tribute to the city by playing “Shot for Me” by Drake, one of Toronto’s most famous artists.
Alex Hammond, an 18-year-old super-fan from Toronto, says that Lorde’s music is relatable to everyone at any stage in life.
“I saw her when she went on the Pure Heroine Tour back in 2013, and have been following her music for as long as I can remember. She has a piece of music for everyone and writes very unique lyrics that I think a lot of other artists stray away from,” says Hammond.
She says that it was the perfect time for Lorde to release Melodrama.
“Like I said, it’s hard to find artists with such a special sound. She hadn’t released music for a while, so I was waiting for her to drop something. When she did, it completely changed my life. I listened to the album non-stop for the entire summer” says Hammond.
Megan Stewart, a 25-year-old from Mississauga, says that she came to see Lorde just based on her performance development.
“I saw a video online of her performing ‘Writer in the Dark’, which happens to be my favourite songs Lorde has ever made, and bought the tickets last minute. I have heard a lot about her being a bad performer in the past, but since seeing how much she’s changed, I needed to see her. She also sounds better live than on her album, which you don’t hear much nowadays,” says Stewart.
Stewart adds that she came with some friends who are not fans of Lorde, but had just as much fun as she did.
“When I bought the tickets I decided to come with some friends who didn’t know who she was. In between sets they were all asking me what the names of the songs were so they could add them on their phones. By the end of the show they were all converted into fans,” says Stewart.
Lorde closed the show by playing her new album’s lead single, “Green Light”. She left the stage only to be called back by applause and chants for an encore. Once she came back on stage she closed the show with the songs “Loveless/Hard Feelings”, “Precious Metals”, and “Team”.
The world tour started last September and will continue until November of this year.
