Last week, the MTV Video Music Awards announced that Lorde would no longer be performing at this year’s show, citing “a change in production elements.” Now, the “Royals” artist is explaining what exactly that means.
In the latest edition of her fan newsletter, obtained by Billboard, Lorde shares she was “planning this insanely amazing, many-bodied intimate dance performance, not fully understanding the (very necessary!) safety protocols that are in place, and the masking and distancing just meant it wasn’t gonna be what I dreamed.”
“You know I can’t make something less than outstanding for you guys. I hope you understand,” she adds. “There will be many more TV performances, don’t you worry.”
This is the second time that Lorde’s VMA performance has been unexpectedly impacted. In 2017, she was so ill with the flu that she wasn’t able to sing, and instead performed an interpretive dance to “Homemade Dynamite.”
Artists who will be performing at the 2021 VMAs include Machine Gun Kelly, Twenty One Pilots and Foo Fighters. The ceremony airs this Sunday, September 12.
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