She’s Lorde of onion rings and chicken wings, but what else have we learned about the award-winning singer from her run of media appearances?

With the impending release of a new album and an upcoming global tour, Lorde has climbed aboard the promotional train, destination everywhere. We watched her get day drunk with Seth Meyers, stroll through the New York Botanical Garden to answer Vogue’s 73 Questions, and enjoy a Zoom chinwag with Jesse Mulligan on The Project NZ. She performed on a rooftop on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and, at 3am New Zealand time today, Lorde smashed it on Hot Ones, the popular YouTube series that sees celebrities answer hot questions while eating progressively hotter chicken wings. 

These media appearances are all to build anticipation for the release of her third album, Solar Power, on August 20, but they’re also joyful opportunities to discover more about New Zealand’s favourite Grammy award winning, often publicity-shy singer. We’ve watched the clips, studied the evidence and eaten all the chicken wings to bring you everything we have learned so far. 

She’s Lorde of the wings and queen of the sauce

Hot Ones was Lorde’s spicy Everest and she knocked the bastard off, barely flinching while gnawing on a chicken wing doused in a hot sauce with a Scoville scale of over 2.5 million. Lorde stayed composed and eloquent the entire time she ran that sauce gauntlet, while the rest of us start dripping as soon as someone opens a fresh bottle of Watties tomato classic. Delicious.  

Lorde has a toast that works for every occasion

Stop making awkward eye contact while being doomed to have bad sex for the next seven years, because Lorde gifted us two new phrases to use when next raising an ice cold glass of fizz. Her toasts with Seth Meyers are the way forward: a simple “water under the bridge” and a timeless “no hard feelings”. I was hoping for a sneaky “live laugh love Lorde”, but it’s fine, no hard feelings. See? Working already.

The Solar Power fennel bong was almost a radish bong

Lorde revealed to The Project NZ that fennel wasn’t the only food she considered for the Solar Power video. “I want to hit some kind of fruit bong, but is it a radish, you know? We figured the fennel was perfect.” A simple way to get your 5+ a day, mates. 

The first time Lorde heard ‘Royals’ on the radio was when her sister rang up a local station and requested it 

Sadly, Lorde didn’t reveal to Vogue what station her sister called, but I really hope it was the classic Love Songs ‘til Midnight slot on The Hits, because those dedications get me in the feels Every. Single. Time. 

She’s mates with all the good New Zealand celebrities

When Stephen Colbert asked if all New Zealand celebrities know each other, Lorde reckoned she only knows a select few. “I’m shy, so I only know the good ones,” she told him. Briscoes Lady and Big Save Lily, I’m looking directly at you. 

Lorde is partial to a cocktail with a meaty rib in it

Against the odds, Lorde reckoned Seth Meyer’s unexpected yet inspirational rib beverage was “kinda yum”. Blink three times when you feel it kicking in, meat cocktails are cool now.

She knows what makes a good onion ring

We know Lorde runs a secret onion ring review account on Instagram, but thanks to her interview on Hot Ones, we can now understand her strict criteria for a coveted 5/5 ring rating. According to the good Lorde, the perfect onion ring has a thick cut, a “toothsome vertical bite” and is battered rather than crumbed. It’s not too much to ask, is it? 

Lorde hasn’t entirely forgiven Stephen Colbert for scaring her at Jacinda Ardern’s 2019 barbecue

Remember when American talk show hosts could wander into this country willy-nilly and rock up to the prime minister’s house for a sausage and sauce? They were halcyon days, friends. Times may change, but nobody puts Lorde in the corner with a tin of exploding snakes and gets away with it, Colbert. Nobody. 

She takes expensive sheets with her on tour

See above re: Briscoes Lady friendship. The evidence is mounting. 

She once performed in front of the Norwegian royal family

Lorde revealed to Vogue that she felt most vulnerable on stage during her Oslo concert, while suffering from a nasty chest infection. The Norwegian royal family was in the audience, considered by some to be the coolest royal family in the world. That’s a bold claim, obviously from someone who’s never seen The Queen set eyes on some cows. 

There are lots of cicada sounds on Lorde’s new album

“It sounds like a New Zealand summer,” Lorde told Vogue’s 73 Questions. The rawness of nature had a massive influence on Lorde while writing Solar Power, and in an eerie coincidence, cicadas are also known to enjoy a lovely rib cocktail at the end of a long day.

She had to get an IV drip after her day drinking session with Seth Meyers

It’s the popstar life, but like Adam said to Eve, you should never trust a rib. No hard feelings, though.