Lorde will not longer be performing at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards, the awards show announced on Friday afternoon (Sept. 3).
“Due to a change in production elements, Lorde can no longer perform at this year’s show. We love Lorde and cannot wait for her to perform on the VMA stage in the future!” the official VMAs Twitter account wrote.
The New Zealand-born pop star was set to take the stage alongside host Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo, Justin Bieber, Chlöe, Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello, Kacey Musgraves, Machine Gun Kelly, Lil Nas X and many more performers. Lorde last performed at the VMAs in 2017, when she sang her Melodrama track “Homemade Dynamite” while fighting the flu. She went on to defend her dancing from that evening on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast. “People got, like, so angry about me performing at the VMAs. I just danced. I just danced! And I danced with full f—ing joy,” Lorde said at the time. “Some people were like, ‘We get it, we love it.’ And some people were like, ‘This is offensive that I have to watch this.’”
Her third studio album Solar Power, which was released on Aug. 20, landed Lorde her third Alternative Albums No. 1 and debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. Her “Solar Power” music video is nominated for best cinematography at this year’s VMAs.
Billboard reached out to Lorde’s reps and the VMAs for comment but had not heard back at press time.
The 2021 MTV VMAs will air live from The Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Sunday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The awards show will be executive produced by Bruce Gilmer and Jesse Ignjatovic, co-founder of Den of Thieves.
See the update below.
