Lorde: Kiwi pop star delivers powerfully raw performance at Perth’s RAC Arena to close Aus Ultrasound tour

“Let me be your ruler.”

Those words made famous in Lorde’s 2012 breakthrough track Royals were then just a fantasy for the teenage girl who dreamed bigger than the torn-up New Zealand town she grew up in.

Now, when the same lyrics leave her lips, there’s a sense of truth to them.

Closing the Australian and New Zealand leg of her Ultrasound World Tour at RAC Arena on Wednesday night, the 29-year-old delivered a performance befitting a star that’s reached the industry heights she has.

At one point the Kiwi even assumed third person and teased, “don’t get too starstruck seeing her in person”.

Whether you believe Lorde was more culturally relevant in 2014 when she won two Grammy’s, or even that she’s descended into an indie artist serving a niche stream of pop fans, her command of the heaving Perth crowd was undeniable.

And it must be said, a large portion of attendees were teenage girls who would not have lived through her early chart success.

“We’ve never played in stadiums this big before,” Lorde said during one interlude.

Emerging a tick after 9pm in a beam of light shooting down from above the stage, the singer’s erratic silhouette movements triggered a buzz that never quite lulled throughout the night as she launched into 2025 single Hammer, and then the almighty Royals.

The arena’s sustained energy was impressive considering many of the tracks from the singer’s last two albums, 2025’s Virgin, and 2021’s Solar Power, do not possess the same heavy basslines as her earlier Pure Heroine and Melodrama records.

Or at least, they don’t, until you hear them live. And you need to hear them live — her sound is fuller, the lyrics hit harder, and the energy is intoxicating.

Leading into the night, there was concern Lorde had been carrying an illness following back-to-back Melbourne shows earlier in the week, but she never once appeared weak or gassed during the balmy evening.

The star even admitted she’d escaped to “Rotto” on Tuesday for the first time, exploring the island in the scorching sun.

Jumping back and forth between songs from her latest album and her 14-year catalogue of tracks, it wasn’t so much about the order she rolled them out as the personal journey she took fans on.

Lorde’s revived willingness to be vulnerable and transparent in her approach to music — akin to an Ultrasound — were symbolised through the gradual stripping of her clothing over the course of the 110-minute performance.

Beginning in simply a T-shirt and ripped denim jeans, she proceeded to tease the loosening of her belt a few songs later, before yanking it free, and soon wriggling out of her pants completely.

Prancing around the stage in her shirt and Calvin Klein briefs for several songs, the talent later removed her top, caressed her bare midriff, and even briefly revealed a silver boob tube that covered not much more than what is was designed to hide.

Lorde sang lying down, ran emotionally on a treadmill, and stared deep into the camera from behind a giant fan, projecting her rawness onto the backing screen for all to see.

Battling eating disorders in recent years, as well as mental health struggles and heartache, this tour was a declaration that she was finally comfortable in her skin.

It was her warts-and-all reintroduction to the world.

“Like anyone you meet when they’re 16-years-old, I’ve changed many times. Still changing... but a couple of years ago I decided I couldn’t keep going being a working artist out there in the world if I didn’t bring all the parts of myself to the table,” she said.

“When you let every part of yourself in, every part of yourself helps to tell the story of who you really are; your life gets so much richer. So much fuller. So much sicker. I’m telling you this from experience.”

No matter the age, music fans just want to feel something. And most in the house would have, because at the core of the artist’s performance was authenticity — in emotions, in lyrics, and in body language.

Arguably, the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for 2017 hit Green Light, although fans also showed major love for Team, Solar Power, and Supercut.

However, the Kiwi did leave favourites Tennis Court and Homemade Dynamite out of her packed set.

As has become customary on this tour, Lorde entered the crowd late in the piece to perform David off her latest album, parting the seas as she wandered slowly through fans who watched on adoringly.

Some crowd members had even camped out the back of the mosh pit to secure a prime position near the sound booth, hoping to witness the singer’s expectant encore performance on the B-stage — a metre-by-metre platform.

And of course, they were right to, with the star treating them to a rare live rendition of Pure Heroine’s A World Alone, and then, another fan favourite from 2013 in Ribs.

Lorde was supported by energetic American singer and rapper Kevin Abstract, and despite keeping early arrivals fairly engaged during his early set, the majority of crowd members would not have been at all familiar with his work.

An odd choice? Maybe.

By the time Lorde was done, many might have walked out forgetting they’d seen him at all.

But that was hardly his fault. It was the artistry of the Kiwi, still every inch a pop star; a pure heroine.

RATING

4.5 stars out of 5.