Lorde is in the midst of a tour right now. While she had a bit of downtime recently, she took a few minutes to break down what a day on the road is like for her.
In an email newsletter sent to fans last night, Lorde started:
“Writing this backstage after soundcheck in Minneapolis. Am firmly entrenched in the rhythms of tour life — wake up at 11am, do some work or drink a tea in bed or go to the gym, then drift in to soundcheck in another beautiful venue with columns and gilt and a cloud-painted ceiling. Sit alone for a while after that, steam voice, do some skincare, embroider or read, soon start to feel show night momentum build all around. Walkie-talkies buzzing to each other, house music going on, [Remi Wolf’s] set wafting up the stairs. Sitting in glam, being transformed somehow from someone with eye bags and active acne to… something shiny. In to the band to sing, then to the stage, in the wings, that feeling of waiting in the wings so imprinted from childhood, always the same open feeling, giving oneself over to what’s about to happen. Which always feels like it’s over in a second, blink and I’m running back down the hall to my room, where I’ll leave the gears on the floor in a pile, and head to the bathroom to wash the glittery paint from my face.”
As for the voice steaming Lorde refers to, vocal coach Katja Maria Slotte notes of it, “Steam is the only way to directly hydrate the vocal folds. Usually prescribed for tired and husky voices, or when recovering from illness like a cold, flu, or laryngitis, steam is the cheapest and simplest vocal health cure in the world. But did you know steaming is also worth doing even when you’re not experiencing any vocal problems? Steaming daily can keep the vocal folds lubricated to help avoid injury. […] Your voice will really appreciate ten minutes of steaming.”
It makes sense that Lorde is making time for steaming since she had to postpone shows earlier this month due to laryngitis.