Lorde Once Ruled Over A Middle School Band, Video Proof Ahead

Before Lorde was Lorde, she was Ella Yelich-O’Connor. Despite the rumors, she was not, in fact, sent down from the clouds to bestow Grammy-winning tunes on us. She was a regular ol' student in New Zealand fronting jam sessions with her band. And, thanks to the prying eyes and all-too-curious fingers of the Internet, there's proof.

Behold, a 12-year-old Lorde reigning over a questionably large adolescent audience of Belmont Intermediate School's music competition. She, along with a girl in shredded denim, were once front women for Extreme, your run-of-the-mill middle school band with big dreams of striking gold. Well, Extreme didn't make it, but Lorde did (obviously). Watching the video now, it's weirdly evident she was something. The outfit, the witch-conjuring moves, the hair — it was all there. Beneath that mane was a brooding, pensive mind waiting to ascend toward higher things.

Oh, we're snickering at how ironic that whole "it don't run in our blood" lyric from "Royals" seems now. Snickering, we tell ya, snickering. (BuzzFeed)