99Rock Music News: Hear Lorde Cover Kings of Leon’s ‘Use Somebody’ at 12 Years Old
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Lorde didn’t emerge fully formed at age 17 with a world-conquering poise and a perfect singing voice. In fact, she had them way before that.
A cover of Kings Of Leon’s “Use Somebody” by Lorde has just emerged online, purportedly recorded when she was 12. At an age when many kids are just moving beyond dolls, Lorde was already showing signs of developing into a world-class talent.
During a session at a local New Zealand radio station, the artist known then as Ella Yelich-O’Connor took on the anthemic ballad, transforming it into a simple folk song. There’s barely any distinguishable difference between her voice on this cover and on the radio today; she has the same smoky, powerful range, exposing the song’s dramatic peaks and valley without any of the originals sky scraping guitar work. If anything, it’s just a rawer voice on the 12-year-old than what we hear from her on the radio these days.
“It’s a privilege to hear a voice like that,” exclaimed the radio DJ after her performance.
