AMANDA-- "ROYALS" by LORDE

Happy Friday all! I dare you to get today's song out of your skull. I sure can't. If you listen to mainstream radio now and then, you may have heard of Lorde. The Kiwi artist basically came out of nowhere and is  taking the charts by storm with her hit single "Royals." You don't hear many tracks like this. The approach is simple but very effective. In terms of the vocals and beat, Lorde goes big and these ultimately drive the song and the point home I think. What point might that be? Well, I recently read an article describing the song as an overt criticism of the materialism found in contemporary music, specifically hip hop (as compared to Macklemore's tongue in cheek hit "Thrift Shop"). I don't disagree with this assessment of "Royals" which is certaintly more serious in tone and content. Lorde appears to be rejecting the life of excess so many pop stars today embrace and celebrate. It's all superficial bullsh*t in her eyes. I may be reading too much into it, but this commentary is very interesting coming from someone who has made into the business at such a young age. I expect to see many great things from Lorde in the future. Anyway, don't be surprised if you find yourself snapping your fingers and singing "Everybody’s like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece" for no apparent reason. Yeah, it's that good. Enjoy!