New Zealand’s newest chart topping sensation goes by many names; Lorde, Queen Bee, or her birth name, Ella Yelich-O’Connor. She has taken the international music world by storm with her first EP, “The Love Club EP” which dropped in March of 2013 and features the song “Royals,” which you may have heard on the radio once or twice this summer. This dynamic singer/songwriter is just sixteen-years-old.
Her secret is instead of writing dance party tracks of youthful escapades that involve gallivanting around Los Angeles clubs covered in millions of dollars of jewels, Lorde takes a different route. The soulful singer would rather spend her time writing about real teenage life that real people can really relate to.
This is made apparently obvious with her breakout single, “Royals.” The chart-topping track declares, “But everybody’s like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your time piece. / Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash/ We don’t care, we aren’t caught up in your love affair” which is a clear separation from your typical teenage pop song.
“The Love Club EP” as well as Lorde’s newest June 2013 single, “Tennis Court” fit perfectly as back-up for the anti-glamour pop music movement. The title track of “The Love Club EP” tackles the hard, yet all too common topic of high school cliques and the struggle of wanting to belong but not wanting to fully conform to most cliques’ bully behavior.
Though brand new to the mainstream music scene, Lorde isn’t brand new to music. She started writing songs at the age of 13 and was spotted singing her original songs at her school’s talent show by major label, Universal, who introduced the young artist to producers and other influential players in the music industry. The team worked with Lorde to refine and fully develop her already unique sound.
The singer boasts deep, sensitive, refined vocals that are far beyond her years and smooth lyrics that paint a clear picture of the highs and lows of adolescence backed up by minimalistic instrumentals that help to give Lorde’s overall sound a very indie, grassroots feel. The high schooler’s biggest influences are James Blake, Lana Del Ray, Lou Reed, Burial, Bon Iver, and Drake as revealed in her recent interview with Spotify.
Lorde fans can look forward to the release of her first full length album entitled “Pure Heroine” later this September.
