"Pretty soon, I'll be getting on my first plane," goes the opening of the second verse in "Tennis Court," Lorde's biting ode to the trappings of fame. When the 16-year-old slowly delivered the line midway through her performance at New York's Le Poisson Rouge on Tuesday night (Aug. 6), her audience emitted a knowing cheer; after all, the show marked the New Zealand native's first-ever stateside performance.
When Lorde floated out the line, she bit her lip, snuck in a heartfelt smile and slightly dipped her head, as if bowing to the sold-out crowd that allowed that first plane trip to happen. Just as rapidly, she whipped her brown curls behind her with the power of a thousand Willow Smiths and snapped her smolder back into place, moving on to sing about how her "head's filling up fast with the wicked games" and leaving the starry-eyed sentiment for the curtain call.