Lorde performed a tribute to her hero, the late musical icon David Bowie, during the 2016 Brit Awards on Wednesday night. The 19-year-old New Zealand singer/songwriter best known for her 2013 hit "Royals" joined Bowie's band onstage to perform a moving cover of his 1971 hit "Life On Mars," and Bowie's son Duncan Jones praised the teen for honoring his father.
"Finally found the links to tonight's Brits. Just... beautiful. Thank you," Jones, a 44-year-old English film director, wrote on Twitter.
Two of Bowie's dearest friends, Scottish singer/songwriter Annie Lennox and English actor Gary Oldman, each made moving speeches about the late glam rocker onstage during the awards ceremony, which aired Wednesday night on Britain's ITV channel. Oldman introduced Lorde as the singer whom Bowie once said is "the future of music."
Bowie's band performed a medley of hits before Lorde took the stage, dressed in a white, long-sleeved button down shirt under a black vest with black slacks. She performed her late hero's iconic hit song with her signature dance moves of ticks and jerks, and she expressed her gratitude for being chosen as the artist to honor Bowie during the awards ceremony in a series of tweets.
"Such an honour getting to perform #BRITs2016 paying tribute to my hero," the teen wrote on Twitter. "I was so nervous in the wings, and then i whispered to myself 'just sing it to david', and nothing else mattered. Also, performing with bowie's brilliant touring band - including the inimitable @mikegarson who played DB's keys since the 70s! - was unreal."
Garson, the pianist known for his work with Bowie, also praised Lorde for her performance in a Twitter reply to Jones' tweet.
".@ManMadeMoon We worked 100 hours to get tonight right. And @lorde was a dream to work with. We adored her respectfulness to your dad," Garson wrote on Twitter.
Watch Lorde's tribute below:
