DENVER — More than a year after Lorde appeared from nowhere to take over American pop music, it’s still hard to know what to make of her.

The kiwi singer (who performed at 1stBank Center on Sunday) rails eloquently against media depictions of celebrity, but has been on a nonstop publicity blitz for months. Her brand of electropop at first feels like a clever response to the Rihannas and Miley Cyruses of the world, until one realizes that it was arguably created by the same corporate record label machine.

No matter the impetus, though, Lorde is definitely doing something different. At a time when virtually every mainstream band storms on stage accompanied by pyrotechnics, backup dancers and blaring theme music, Lorde simply strolled to the spotlight and picked up a microphone.

Her style of self-conscious, hair-whipping dancing could very well be calculated, but it was still a far cry from a choreographed routine. And regardless of who wrote tunes like “Tennis Court” and “Glory and Gore,” it was amazing to see a pop star open with gloomy croons about swordplay rather than orders to get your hands up.

In fact, it seemed entirely possible that 17-year-old Lorde is no more certain than the rest of us about who she’s trying to be. And that alone is reason enough to keep watching.