Of course budding superstar Lorde is a Kanye West fan — the New Zealand native is 16 years old. So, yes, it’s no surprise that when Lorde — whose single “Royals” made her the first female lead to rank in the Billboard Alternative Rock chart’s top 10 since 1997 — covers a Yeezus track, she chooses “Hold My Liquor,” the woozy and, arguably, darkest track on West’s most fucked-up album to date.
She did just that at the New Zealand edition of the iHeartRadio Music Festival, running through abridged versions of Justin Vernon’s intro, Chief Keef’s chorus, and Kanye’s first verse, making a point to bookend the performance with “bitch, I’m back out my coma.” Her backing band kept the beat’s shrieking punctuations and played up the bass drum’s insistent, almost techno-level thump. Enjoy it above.
