Cover Duties for Our Own Alternative Pop Voice

Lorde takes one of four covers for fashion magazine V’s music special as part of a feature on the “next wave of alternative pop voices,” starring alongside HAIM, Say Lou Lou, and BANKS.

The 17-year-old double Grammy recipient – the third youngest Grammy winner in history – shares some insights into her personal life, and about too much radio airtime.

On choosing friends: “I’ve always hung out with people older than me, with my parents’ friends, because I appreciated the conversation. And even now, although I have heaps of friends in high school, I also hang out with a lot of older people. And sometimes with them I’m like, “God, this is boring!” But it means that I get to have these stimulating encounters with people that I idolize, which is cool.”

On not wanting a Lorde overload: “I want to let people stop hearing Lorde on the radio all the time, because it’s kind of crazy at the moment. I’d like to give people a little bit of breathing room before I unleash something different.”

On not wanting to be called the “voice of the generation”: “I’m sure so many people will read that and be like, fuck off!”

The spring issue of V hits newsstands on 26 February.

Original article by V, March 2014.

Photo by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.