Lorde’s David Bowie Tribute Was Pure Magic & His Son Agrees

In early 2014, Lorde told Rookie that after she met David Bowie, she could "creatively die and just be happy forever." The New Zealand-native went on to explain a magical moment the two of them shared. "It was super cute, though — for some reason we were holding hands and just staring into each other’s eyes and talking, and I was like, This is David Bowie’s hand, what am I doing? It was insane. A beautiful moment." Last night, more than two years later, Lorde performed a tribute in honor of the legendary late pop star and musical innovator at the Brit Awards. The tribute began with two introductions from singer Annie Lennox and Bowie's close friend Gary Oldman. Oldman told the crowd that Bowie thought Lorde was the future of music, so it was a full-circle moment when she appeared on stage to sing his song "Life on Mars." Lorde's simple performance was highly praised, including a tweet from Bowie's son, Duncan Jones. "Finally found the links to tonight's Brits. Just... beautiful. Thank you," he wrote.

The performance focused more on the screen behind Lorde and on the band, rather than on the singer herself, unlike Lady Gaga's elaborate tribute at the Grammys, which Jones openly criticized. The morning after the performance, Lorde took to social media to share her preshow jitters and postshow feelings with her fans. "i was so nervous in the wings, and then i whispered to myself "just sing it to david", and nothing else mattered," she wrote.

Watch the full tribute, below. Lorde comes out around the 10-minute mark.