Lorde Wants to Rule the World in ‘Hunger Games’ Tears for Fears Cover
In her hit “Royals,” 17-year-old pop-rap phenom Lorde offered, “Let me be your ruler,” but maybe now she’s realizing she is not alone in the desire. That’s because her latest single is a cover of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” a song that was a Number One hit for Tears for Fears a full 28 years before “Royals” hit the top spot.
Lorde teased her cover today with a 90-second preview, and just from that short snippet, it’s clear that the moody New Zealander has made it her own. In Lorde’s hands, the track is a sometimes sullen, sometimes bright exercise in dark pop in the style of her recent album, Pure Heroine.
“I think it’s absolutely amazing,” Tears for Fears’ Curt Smith told MTV. “But then, I love her. I think she’s brilliant.” The song will appear on the Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack, which comes out November 19th, four days before the movie hits theaters.
The soundtrack also features new songs by Christina Aguilera, the National and Coldplay, among others. The latter band’s “Atlas” has already won an award. In October, Chris Martin accepted the Hollywood Song Award at the Hollywood Film Awards on behalf of his band.
Meanwhile, Lorde is likely still kvelling over the praise she got recently from Kanye West. “He said he liked the messages [in my songs], which was cool,” she told Rolling Stone. “I was saying to myself, ‘Keep cool. This is normal.'” And given West’s recent penchant for saying things like “I am the best” and “for me to say I wasn’t a genius, I would just be lying to you and to myself,” he’d likely approve of Lorde’s choice of Tears for Fears cover.