| "Bravado" | |
|---|---|
| Promotional single byLorde | |
| from the EPThe Love Club EP andTennis Court EP | |
| Released | 6 September 2013[1] |
| Studio | Golden Age (Morningside, Auckland) |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:41 |
| Label | Universal |
| Songwriters | |
| Producer | Joel Little |
"Bravado" is a song by New Zealand singer-songwriterLorde, originally included on her debutEPThe Love Club EP. It was later featured on herTennis Court EP and the extended version of her debut albumPure Heroine (2013). The song was written by Lorde herself, alongsideJoel Little, and was produced by the latter. It was recorded at Little'sGolden Age Studios, based inMorningside, Auckland. Characterised as achamber pop andelectropop record, "Bravado" addresses Lorde's introverted nature and the need to feign confidence in the music industry.
The track was released as apromotional single throughUniversal Records on the 6th of September, 2013, viaiTunes Stores, in a number of European countries and India. The song was previously released on both Lorde's debutextended play (EP)The Love Club EP and her second EP,Tennis Court EP. The track was well received bymusic critics and peaked at number five on theNew Zealand Artists Singles Chart and number 29 on theBillboardHot Rock & Alternative Songs chart in theUnited States. It was also certified Gold by theAustralian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for equivalent sales of 35,000 units in the country.
"Bravado" was written by Lorde (credited under her birth-name Ella Yelich-O'Connor) andJoel Little, while production for the song was handled by the latter.[2] The track was written and recorded in 2012 at Little's Golden Age Studios inAuckland.[3][4] Within a week, Lorde had finished recording "Bravado" alongside "Royals" and "Biting Down" during a school break.[5] Chris Schulz, fromThe New Zealand Herald, described "Bravado" as achamber pop piece,[6] whileThe Village Voice's Brittany Spanos called it anelectropop song.[7]
Running for a duration of3:41 (three minutes and 41 seconds),[2] the track is composed onelectronicbeats in thekey ofB minor and plays incommon time at a moderatetempo of 88beats per minute.[8][9] Lorde's vocal range on the song spans fromF♯3 toD5.[8] The lyrics of "Bravado" address the idea "of false confidence delivering real confidence" and of Lorde stepping into a line of work where, she said, "everyone would be watching me, and everyone would want to talk to me and confront me".[10] Lorde cited the line "Me found bravery in my bravado" fromKanye West's 2010 song "Dark Fantasy" as an influence.[11] Simon Collins, ofThe West Australian, called "Bravado" a particularly prescient song, preempting Lorde's rise to prominence.[12] At a point of the song, Lorde confesses "to a battle between shyness and show-business aspirations":
"I learned not to want
The quiet of the room with no one around to find me out
I want the applause, the approval, the things that make me go oh."[13]
On 6 September 2013, "Bravado" was released as adigital download single oniTunes Stores in India and various European countries.[1] Lorde held a concert atLe Poisson Rouge in New York, which was her first U.S. live show, and performed the song among other tracks fromThe Love Club EP.[14] On 3 October 2013, the singer held a concert at the Warsaw Venue in Brooklyn and performed the song among other tracks from the album.[15] In November 2013, Lorde performed the song on theLate Show with David Letterman to promoteThe Love Club EP andPure Heroine. Throughout the show, she was only backed by a drummer and a keyboard player.[16] "Bravado" was additionally performed during Lorde's debut concert tour throughout 2013 and 2014.[17] In 2014, she performed the track at Silo Park, Auckland on 29 January 2014 as part of her make-up show for the 2014Laneway Festival,[18] and at the Brazil edition of theLollapalooza.[19]
"Bravado" was well received bymusic critics. Chris Schulz fromThe New Zealand Herald picked the song and "Million Dollar Bills" as the two best tracks fromThe Love Club EP.[6] Jason Lipshutz, writing forBillboard, described the track as "delightfully spooky".[14] In a review published inThe Dominion Post, Tom Cardy compared the track's style to that of works byFlorence Welch andMarina Diamandis, labelling it a "sharp, refreshing and smart" song.[20] The song peaked at number five on theNew Zealand National Singles and number twenty-nine on the USHot Rock Songs chart.[21][22]
| Chart (2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Artist Singles (Recorded Music NZ)[21] | 5 |
| USHot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[22] | 29 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[23] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[24] | Gold | 7,500* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria[25] | 6 September 2013 | Digital download | Universal |
| Belgium[26] | |||
| Finland[27] | |||
| Germany[1] | |||
| India[28] | |||
| Luxembourg[29] | |||
| Netherlands[30] | |||
| Portugal[31] | |||
| Switzerland[32] |
| The Love Club EP (2012) | |
|---|---|
| Pure Heroine (2013) | |
| Melodrama (2017) | |
| Solar Power (2021) and Te Ao Mārama (2021) | |
| Virgin (2025) | |
| Soundtrack songs | |
| Featured singles |
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| Co-written songs | |
| Tours | |
| Books | |
| Related songs |
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