Lorde rejects Katy Perry support slot: 'I want to be really independent'

The 'Royals' singer wants to headline her own shows and establish herself

Lorde admits she is 'really stubborn' but has turned down a slot supporting Katy Perry in order to establish herself independently (Getty Images)

Lorde has turned down the chance to support Katy Perry on her Prism tour because she wants to be "really independent".

The New Zealand singer-songwriter told Australian radio station Kiis 1065 that she wants to be Queen Bee, with the spotlight firmly on her.

"In the really early stages of an artist’s career it’s important for them to establish themselves for themselves," she said. "I'm just basically really stubborn and I want to be really independent. So I want to be headlining my own shows instead of supporting someone else, which I think is fair enough."

Lorde insisted that her decision had nothing to do with the "really talented" "Roar" singer, whom she beat to be crowned Best International Female at the Brit Awards last month.

Whether she would have rejected a slot supporting Taylor Swift is less certain - the two young stars looked pallier than ever in a photo posted to Swift's Instagram last month.

Lorde, 17, has spoken of her concern that people might grow bored of her music, telling V Magazine that she wants radio stations to pull her hit single "Royals" from their playlists to give listeners "a little bit of breathing room".

Earlier in March, Lorde was honoured when Bruce Springsteen performed an acoustic cover of her hit single "Royals" at a show in Auckland.

"My Twitter went mental," she said. "Everyone in New Zealand was like, 'You can't believe what just happened!', it was so exciting. It was the highest honour. He's such an incredible songwriter. I got a little teary, it was very cool."

Perry meanwhile, has found herself at the centre of a religious controversy after her "Dark Horse" music video angered some Muslims.

In one scene, a man wearing an "Allah" pendant is struck by lightning and disintegrates into sand, sparking a Change.org petition that reached over 65,000 signatures. The music video, which stars Perry has an Ancient Egyptian princess, has since been edited on YouTube.