Lorde Talks About Developing ‘Fearsome Reputation’ At 17

At 17, Lorde has already developed a “fearsome reputation” in the media. The New Zealand native doesn’t mince words when it comes to expressing her thoughts, and that’s what makes her a force to be reckoned with in the industry.

Gracing Elle magazine’s October Personal Style cover issue, Lorde has left her signature purple lipstick off to sport a more natural, minimalist style. The result is nothing short of captivating.

She spoke with the magazine, admitting that her young age and her newcomer status in show business prompt people to think that she’s easy to be looked down upon, but she’s not letting that happen.

“A lot of times when people meet me, they’ll definitely try to make me feel young or inexperienced. Like, ‘It’s all taken care of.’ Teenagers are such a discerning group of people. They’ll immediately sniff out anything that feels contrived,” she said.

“I’m like, constantly scanning myself to see if I’m some corporate executive version of a teenager. I’ve developed something of a fearsome reputation. People know that if you talk down to me, I will roll my eyes or whatever.”

Rolling her eyes isn’t the only thing she does when she feels being manipulated. If she doesn’t think something is good, she says it outright. Her frankness isn’t always a good thing because it can hurt people, but she says she’s still learning how to manage that.

“But now the circle of people I work with all the time is huge and spans continents, and you have to be quite conscientious. So it’s, like, learning not to hurt people’s feelings. Obviously, I am hanging out with more people now who are not teenager, I’m in different circles. But I am a teenager. My brain is, like, a certain age. Everyone is talking about you. You have to learn not to care as much.”

There are advantages of expressing her opinions as well.

“People have told me that I’ve helped them feel confident, like they can say things they want to say. They can talk about feminism in class without people calling them a lesbian. That’s so amazing that I can make someone feel like that.”

The Grammy Award winner recently shared a photo on her Instagram, revealing that she was in a recording studio, possibly working on her second album.