Lorde had a ''beautiful'' moment with David Bowie when he praised her music and they held hands.

The New Zealand singer met the star at actress Tilda Swinton's 53rd birthday party last year and said meeting the singer was surreal.

Lorde told Rookie magazine: ''To have someone like that tell you that listening to you felt like, 'Listening to tomorrow'. I was like ... I could creatively die and just be happy forever.

''I never tell anyone about that experience, because it meant so much to me, and I feel like it would be dulled or something if I always talked about it in magazines or whatever. It's my special thing.''

Recalling the experience, the 17-year-old singer said it was ''super cute'' and it was a moment she will always remember.

She said: ''For some reason we were holding hands and just staring into each other's eyes and talking, and I was like, 'This is David Bowie's hand, what am I doing? It was insane. A beautiful moment.''

Lorde, who released her debut album 'Pure Heroine' last year, was photographed with Tilda and David at the event at the Museum Of Modern Art in November.

Earlier this month, she warned people against calling her a ''teen hottie''. The star said she takes particular offence at that term, but insisted she's not anti-sex.