FYI, Lorde is a huge Nicki Minaj fan — and although the 17-year-old New Zealand pop star usually plays things ultra-cool, the “Royals” star got especially excited when the hip-hop queen introduced her performance of “Tennis Court” on Sunday night (May 18) at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards.
Lorde Performs ‘Tennis Court’ At Billboard Music Awards: Full Recap
Let’s back-track to last September, when Lorde’s “Royals” was still climbing toward the top spot of the Hot 100 chart (where it would eventually reign for nine weeks). In an interview for a Billboard magazine cover story, Lorde said, “I also got the Nick Minaj album ‘Roman Reloaded,’ which I’ve been really into. She is so f—ing good, man, I can’t even fathom it. I watched this amazing video the other day, of her just riffing about sex. She was putting on makeup and talking, and she’s a total feminist, and I was like, ‘Man, you are a badass, Nicki.’ I love it.”
Nine months later, Lorde took the stage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to perform “Tennis Court” for the first time on television at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. Lorde took home the Top New Artist award and Top Rock Song for “Royals,” but perhaps her personal highlight of the ceremony was receiving a spirited introduction from Minaj, who called “Royals” a “great song” and bellowed her name, “Loooorde,” with the fire of a thousand divas:
THANKYOU FOR INTRODUCING ME @NICKIMINAJ I AM COMPLETELY HONOURED
— Lorde (@lordemusic) May 19, 2014
Lorde also had some fun riffing on the idea of “Royals” winning the Top Rock Song award at the Billboard Music Awards. Horns up, Lorde!
this is me confused about unwittingly having written best ~rock~ song lol dork https://t.co/wQlKkZAXjL
— Lorde (@lordemusic) May 19, 2014