Lorde’s Melodrama, her first album in four years, is out today, but that long-awaited event has been overshadowed by some even more momentous news: The Kiwi pop star, born Ella Yelich-O’Connor, has been running a secret Instagram account devoted to onion rings.
Lorde’s love of diner food has already been well established; she’s spent a good chunk of the press tour for Melodrama talking up Manhattan’s all-night Flame Restaurant, where she wrote many of the album’s songs. But her particular fondness for batter-encased slices of onion has only come to light recently, via some intrepid sleuthing by the New Zealand website NewsHub. Lorde was one of only 24 people who followed the Onion Rings Worldwide account, and one of the onion rings evaluated was eaten aboard a flight from Tennessee to New York, corresponding with Lorde’s appearance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival.
Onion Rings Worldwide disappeared as soon as journalists began contacting Lorde’s reps, which certainly lent credence to the theory. But it wasn’t proven until last night, when The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon confronted Lorde on air and forced her to confess her delicious secret. Here she is, breaking down under the tenacity of Fallon’s dogged journalistic questioning:
Lorde explained that she took down the account because she was worried it “would read like the kind of thing a pop star does to, like, look relatable”—which, of course, makes it even more relatable. Well played, Lorde.
She also discussed a few less jes’-folks topics, like how she decamped on her own to a private island to work on writing the album, but hey, at least it gave her a chance to finally watch Twin Peaks.
Her she is performing the new album’s “Perfect Places” on Fallon.
