Lorde Talks Surviving Teenage Fame: 'People Wanted To Drink My Youth'

During a recent interview, Lorde reflected on what it was like as a teenager coping with sudden, stratospheric fame following the release of her debut single 'Royals.' The track spent nine weeks at No. 1 and went on to win two Grammys. Not to mention her debut album 'Pure Heroine' went three-times platinum, as well. Lorde was just 16-years-old at the time.

Now 24-years-old and fresh off the release of her third studio album Solar Power, Lorde describes the experience as "not normal" even by pop star standards. "My first single was so huge — I thought, ‘This just happens.’ I remember, over and over, the sensation of feeling like people wanted to drink my youth,” she told the Sunday Times. “Some elixir! People were like, ‘Give it to me!’ I felt, ‘God, this is about you.’ I was aware of what my youth was doing to people, but I just wanted to be really good [at music].”

"I have grown so much in the years since I became famous," she continued. "A lot of my school friends describe me as a mum, or grandma. I’m their old lady friend. But the thing about my job is that I get to play. So, in a way, you are immortalized. Friends leave that sandbox; I will always be kind of a child because of what I do.”

Lorde knows that fame can be addicting, but she's managed to steer clear of the spotlight when she's not actively promoting a project. "For me, I was always a little suspicious of it, or sure it would go away," she explained. "I am significantly less famous than I was when I was 16, but that’s exactly how I like it. I’m not getting my validation from it.”

Though she sounds like she has it all figured out, Lorde says she's "only really understanding this now." The 'Mood Ring' singer says "for the first songs you’ve written to have that impact gives you a really skewed perception of how it all works," resulting in "everyone" wanting to meet her "know how my brain works.”

A little older and wiser now, Lorde feels “more settled" than she did back then. Solar Power is out now.