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Ella Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known by her stage name Lorde (/ˈlɔːrd/), is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. She released her first EP, The Love Club EP, in March 2013 and her first single, "Royals", in June 2013. The artist's début album, Pure Heroine, was released on September 27, 2013.

Early life

“I started writing songs when I was 13 or 14, because I've always been a huge reader. My mum's a poet and we've always had so many books, and that's always been a big thing for me, arguably more so than music.”

Yelich-O'Connor was born in Auckland, New Zealand on 7 November 1996 to a civil engineer father and Sonja Yelich, a prize-winning New Zealand poet; she was then raised in suburban Devonport, North Shore, Auckland. She is of Yugoslav ancestry. She has three siblings, including a younger brother and an older sister known as Jerry.

At the age of 12, she was spotted by A&R scout Scott Maclachlan when he saw her singing in a video of a talent show at her school, Belmont Intermediate. Later, when Yelich-O'Connor was 13, Maclachlan signed her to Universal and, at the age of 14, she began working with their songwriters. Yelich-O'Connor began writing songs with her guitar at "about thirteen or fourteen".

As of July 2013, Yelich-O'Connor is a Year Twelve student at Takapuna Grammar School.

Career

2013: The Love Club EP and Pure Heroine

Officially released digitally in March 2013 and on CD in May 2013, The Love Club EP features five songs, including the number one hit "Royals". On 27 May 2013, "Royals" was covered on national television on the New Zealand version of The X Factor by all-girl group Gap 5, mentored by Melanie Blatt.

"Royals" débuted as a single at number 1 on the New Zealand Top 40 on 15 March 2013 and remained in the top position for three weeks. In the U.S. it peaked at number 3 on the Hot 100 and number 1 on both the Alternative charts (making Lorde the first female artist since Tracy Bonham to reach the top) and number 1 on the Rock charts, making her the first female artist to top the charts as a lead singer.

On 8 May 2013, The Love Club EP débuted in the number 2 position on the album chart. In August 2013, Lorde became the first woman to top the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in the United States since Tracy Bonham in 1996. Following the release of "Royals" in the United States in June 2013, 85,000 copies were sold during a single week in July. In a subsequent interview, Lorde stated, "I had a sneaking suspicion that it might do all right".

The "Tennis Court" single was released in New Zealand on 8 June 2013. The Tennis Court EP was released digitally in the UK on 7 June (due to the timezone difference) and physically on 22 June. It was played during the BBC Sport coverage of the 2013 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles final. On 14 June 2013, Yelich-O'Connor's second single "Tennis Court" débuted at number 1 on the New Zealand Top 40 singles chart. In the same week, she also became the first New Zealand artist to simultaneously have four songs in the top 20 tracks of the New Zealand Top 40. Previously, Titanium held this record with three songs.

Yelich-O'Connor was the replacement for Frank Ocean, who cancelled because of illness, at the 2013 Splendour in the Grass festival. She was contacted on 26 July 2013, the Friday immediately prior to the weekend of the festival, while she was in attendance at a party with friends in Auckland, New Zealand. As Lorde, Yelich-O'Connor performed before 10,000 people in northern Byron Bay, Australia, where the festival is based as of 2013.

On 12 August 2013, Yelich-O'Connor announced on her Twitter profile that her début album Pure Heroine would be released on in the US on 30 September 2013. The release of the album was preceded by an advertising campaign which saw lyrics to her songs displayed in buses, shop windows and even sent via fax machine to media outlets.

In September 2013, Yelich-O'Connor and co-writer Joel Little were shortlisted for the 2013 Silver Scroll Award for "Royals"—the award honours outstanding achievements in the writing of original New Zealand pop music songs.

In a recent episode of 3rd Degree from TV3, Yelich-O'Connor revealed that she had declined an offer from singer Katy Perry as a supporting act on her world tour.

Her cover of Tears for Fears' hit song 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' appeared on the soundtrack for film Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Musical style and influences

Yelich-O'Connor's music draws from electropop and has been praised for "remarkably razor sharp" lyrics. Yelich-O'Connor cites soul singer Etta James and producer SBTRKT as two prominent influences. Yelich-O'Connor has also stated that she was inspired by the initially hidden identities of Burial and The Weeknd, saying, "I feel like mystery is more interesting".

Yelich-O'Connor is a fan of American musical artist Nicki Minaj, calling her an "important female in pop." During the writing of The Love Club (2013), Yelich-O'Connor was particularly influenced by rap artist Kanye West and singer Lana Del Rey, and she performed a live cover of West's song "Hold My Liquor" at her Auckland concert 7 September 2013.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Promotional singles

Other charted songs

Music videos

Notes

A In Australia, The Love Club EP appeared on the Australian Singles Chart. Sales of songs on the EP, including "Royals" and "The Love Club", went toward the sales tallies of The Love Club EP and therefore could not chart separately.

References

1. Rachel Sanders (26 April 2013). "Listen To This Teen Singer From New Zealand Right Now". Buzzfeed. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
2. ^ Hussein Moses (13 August 2013). "Lorde Announces Debut Album "Pure Heroine"". The Corner. The Corner. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
3. Pinckney, Jim (23 March 2013). "Lorde moves in mysterious ways". New Zealand Listener. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
4. New Zealand Electronic Text Centre profile
5. Shahlin Graves (20 March 2013). "Inside The Mind Of... Lorde". Coup De Main. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
6. ^ "Lorde First Woman in 17 Years to Top Alternative with 'Royals'". Billboard (magazine). 16 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
7. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (6 September 2013). "Lorde: The Billboard Cover Story". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
8. Hayes, Samantha (18 September 2013). Longbottom, Toby (ed.). "The story of Lorde". 3 News. MediaWorks TV. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
9. McCarthy, Lauren (9 August 2013). "Teen Queen: Lorde Takes New York]". Womens Wear Daily.
10. "Our Lady Lorde: The Kiwi schoolgirl turned pop Royalty". Stuff.co.nz.
11. Etheridge, Jess (2 August 2013). "Singer now on centre stage: Shore kid makes good at Splendour in the Grass". North Shore Times (via Stuff.co.nz). Retrieved 27 August 2013.
12. White, Caitlin (10 May 2013). "NZ newest pop star". Tom Cardy. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
13. White, Caitlin (21 May 2013). "Taking Flight: 16-Year-Old Ella Yelich-O'Connor vs. Lorde, Popstar". Pigeons and Planes. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
14. Charlotte Ryan (2 May 2013). "Lorde: Behind the success story". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
15. Ihaka, James; Jones, Nicholas (12 March 2013). "Kiwi songbird with Universal appeal". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
16. "Lorde - Royals". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
17. ^ Iain Sheddon (29 July 2013). "Lorde's calling delivers her to splendour". The Australian. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
18. "Tennis Court - Single by Lorde". iTunes Store (NZ). Apple Inc. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
19. "Tennis Court - EP by Lorde". iTunes Store (UK). Apple Inc. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
20. Mary (6 June 2013). "Lorde: 'Tennis Court' EP". The Leftover Sessions. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
21. "Lorde - Tennis Court". nztop40.co.nz. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
22. Lorde's lyrics leaked around NZ. 3 News NZ. 26 September 2013.
23. "APRA Silver Scroll Awards 2013 Finalists Announced". The Corner. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
24. "Lorde Turned Down Supporting Katy Perry's World Tour". More FM. MediaWorks Radio. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
    • Hayes, Samantha (18 September 2013). Toby Longbottom (ed.). "The story of Lorde". 3 News. MediaWorks TV. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
25. Lorde, Coldplay feature on Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack. 3 News NZ. 30 September 2013.
26. James Lachno (11 September 2013). "Lorde – New Music". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
27. Asare, Andrew (13 September 2013). "Lorde: Five fast facts about the new alt music 'it' girl". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
28. Offitzer, Adam. "Review: LORDE – 'The Love Club' / 'Tennis Court'". Pretty Much Amazing. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
29. "NZ Music Sensation, Lorde, Releases First Music Video For "Royals"". The Diplomat. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
30. Mike Hohnen (10 September 2013). "Lorde Covers Kanye West's 'Hold My Liquor'". Music Feeds. Music Feeds. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
31. "Discography Lorde". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
32. ^ "Discography Lorde". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
33. ^ "Lorde – Chart history: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
34. "Lorde – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
35. ^ "ARIA Singles Chart – 16/09/2013". Australian Recording Industry Association. September 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
36. "New Zealand album certifications – Lorde – The Love Club EP". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
37. Caulfield, Keith (16 August 2013). "Chart Moves: Lorde's 'Love' Rises, Cody Simpson Surges, the Supremes Return to Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
38. ^ "Discography Lorde". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
39. "Discography Lorde". dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
40. Tobias Zywietz (13 July 2013). "Chart Log UK: New Entries (wk27)". Zobbel.
41. "Lorde – Chart history: The Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
42. "Lorde – Chart history: Alternative Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
43. ^ "Lorde – Chart history: Hot Rock Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
44. "New Zealand single certifications – Lorde – Royals". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
45. "Canadian single certifications – Lorde – Royals". Music Canada. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
46. "New Zealand single certifications – Lorde – Tennis Court". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
47. "New Zealand single certifications – Lorde – The Love Club". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
48. Joel Kefali (Director) (13 May 2013). Lorde - Royals. Vimeo. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
49. Joel Kefali (Director) (21 June 2013). Lorde - Tennis Court. Vimeo. Retrieved 8 August 2013.

External links

• Official website
• Lorde on Facebook
• Lorde on Twitter

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• Use dmy dates from June 2013
• 1996 births
• 21st-century singers
• Female singer-songwriters
• Living people
• Lorde
• New Zealand female singers
• New Zealand pop singers
• New Zealand singer-songwriters
• People from Auckland
• Pop singer-songwriters
• Pseudonymous musicians
• Universal Music Group artists