Lorde
Lorde | |
---|---|
Lorde performing live on 18 May 2013 (Goodgod Small Club in Sydney, NSW, Australia). | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Ella Yelich-O'Connor |
Born | Devonport, North Shore, Auckland, New Zealand | 7 November 1996
Genres | |
Occupation | Singer |
Instrument | Vocals |
Years active | 2012–present |
Labels | |
Website | Lorde.co.NZ |
Ella Yelich-O'Connor (born /ˈlɔːrd/),[1] is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Her first EP, The Love Club, was released on 22 November 2012 , and her first single, "Royals", débuted at number 1 on the New Zealand Top 40 and also reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first New Zealand solo artist to have a number one song in the United States. Her début album, Pure Heroine, was released on 27 September 2013 .[2]
7 November 1996), known by her stage name Lorde (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 Vic O'Connor, a civil engineer, and Sonja Yelich,[4] a prize-winning New Zealand poet of Dalmatian ancestry.[5][6] She was raised in suburban Devonport, Auckland[7][8][9] alongside three siblings, including a younger brother and an older sister.[10][11]
At the age of 12, Yelich-O'Connor was selected by A&R scout Scott Maclachlan, who saw her singing in a video of a talent show that was held at her school, Belmont Intermediate.[12] Later, when Yelich-O'Connor was 13, Maclachlan signed her to Universal and, at the age of 14, she began working with their songwriters.[13] Yelich-O'Connor began writing songs with her guitar at "about thirteen or fourteen".[14][better source needed]
As of July 2013, Yelich-O'Connor is a Year Twelve student at Takapuna Grammar School.[15][16]
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.[17] It also peaked number 1 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the Alternative charts (making Lorde the first female artist since Tracy Bonham to reach the top) and the Rock charts, making her the first female artist to top the charts as a lead singer.[citation needed]
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.[8] 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".[18]
The "Tennis Court" single was released in New Zealand on 8 June 2013.[19] The Tennis Court EP was released digitally in the UK on 7 June (due to the timezone difference) and physically on 22 June.[20][21] 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.[22]
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 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.[18]
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.[2] 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.[23]
In early 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.[24]
In a September 2013 interview for TV3's 3rd Degree, Yelich-O'Connor revealed that she had declined an offer from singer Katy Perry as a supporting act on her world tour.[25][26]
Her cover of Tears for Fears' hit song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" was included on the The Hunger Games: Catching Fire film soundtrack.[27]
Musical style and influences
Yelich-O'Connor's music draws from electropop and she cites soul singer Etta James and producer SBTRKT as two prominent influences.[28] Yelich-O'Connor also stated that she was inspired by the initially hidden identities of Burial and The Weeknd, explaining, "I feel like mystery is more interesting".[9] Yelich-O'Connor called American musical artist Nicki Minaj an "important female in pop",[29] and is also a fan of the Foals, Jai Paul, Alt-J and Bon Iver.[30][better source needed]
During the writing of The Love Club (2013), Yelich-O'Connor was particularly influenced by Kanye West and she performed a cover version of West's song "Hold My Liquor" at her Auckland concert on 7 September 2013.[31][32][33]
Discography
Lorde discography | |
---|---|
Studio albums | 1 |
EPs | 1 |
Singles | 3 |
Music videos | 2 |
Yelich-O'Connor has released one studio album and three singles. She made her chart debut in 2013 with "Royals" which reached number one in New Zealand and US Billboard Hot 100 making her the first New Zealand artist to reach number one in that region. It was followed by the release of her debut studio album, Pure Heroine (2013).
Albums
Studio albums
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Sales | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NZ [34] |
AUS [35] |
CAN [36] |
US [37] | ||||
Pure Heroine | 1 | 1 | — | — |
|
Extended plays
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Sales | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NZ [34] |
AUS [35] |
CAN [36] |
US [39] | ||||
The Love Club EP |
|
2 | 2[A] | 22 | 23 |
|
Singles
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NZ [43] |
AUS [35] |
CAN [36] |
NL [44] |
UK [45] |
US [46] |
US Alt. [47] |
US Rock [48] | ||||
"Royals" | 2013 | 1 | —[A] | 1 | 11 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | The Love Club EP and Pure Heroine | |
"Tennis Court" | 1 | 20 | — | — | 197 | 115 | — | 14 | Pure Heroine | ||
"Team" | 3 | 19 | — | — | — | 90 | — | 13 | |||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Promotional singles
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Buzzcut Season" | 2013 | Pure Heroine |
"Ribs" |
Other charted songs
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NZ [43] |
US Rock [48] | |||||
"The Love Club" | 2013 | 17 | 18 |
|
The Love Club EP | |
"Swingin Party" | 10 | — | Tennis Court EP and The Love Club EP | |||
"Bravado" | — | 29 | The Love Club EP | |||
"Million Dollar Bills" | — | 29 | ||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Music videos
Title | Year | Director(s) | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
"Royals" | 2013 | Joel Kefali | [53] |
"Tennis Court" | [54] |
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
- ^ Rachel Sanders (26 April 2013). "Listen To This Teen Singer From New Zealand Right Now". Buzzfeed. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- ^ a b Hussein Moses (13 August 2013). "Lorde Announces Debut Album "Pure Heroine"". The Corner. The Corner. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
- ^ Pinckney, Jim (23 March 2013). "Lorde moves in mysterious ways". New Zealand Listener. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ New Zealand Electronic Text Centre profile
- ^ "Yelich, Sonya". 6 July 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
- ^ Greive, Duncan (2013). "Storm Singer". Metro: 56.
{{cite journal}}
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ignored (help) - ^ Shahlin Graves (20 March 2013). "Inside The Mind Of... Lorde". Coup De Main. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ a b "Lorde First Woman in 17 Years to Top Alternative with 'Royals'". Billboard (magazine). 16 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- ^ a b Lipshutz, Jason (6 September 2013). "Lorde: The Billboard Cover Story". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
- ^ McCarthy, Lauren (9 August 2013). "Teen Queen: Lorde Takes New York]". Womens Wear Daily.
- ^ "Our Lady Lorde: The Kiwi schoolgirl turned pop Royalty". Stuff.co.nz.
- ^ 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.
- ^ White, Caitlin (10 May 2013). "NZ newest pop star". Tom Cardy. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- ^ White, Caitlin (21 May 2013). "Taking Flight: 16-Year-Old Ella Yelich-O'Connor vs. Lorde, Popstar". Pigeons and Planes. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ Charlotte Ryan (2 May 2013). "Lorde: Behind the success story". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
- ^ Ihaka, James; Jones, Nicholas (12 March 2013). "Kiwi songbird with Universal appeal". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
- ^ "Lorde - Royals". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- ^ a b Iain Sheddon (29 July 2013). "Lorde's calling delivers her to splendour". The Australian. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ^ "Tennis Court - Single by Lorde". iTunes Store (NZ). Apple Inc. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
- ^ "Tennis Court - EP by Lorde". iTunes Store (UK). Apple Inc. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- ^ Mary (6 June 2013). "Lorde: 'Tennis Court' EP". The Leftover Sessions. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
- ^ "Lorde - Tennis Court". nztop40.co.nz. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ Lorde's lyrics leaked around NZ. 3 News NZ. 26 September 2013.
- ^ "APRA Silver Scroll Awards 2013 Finalists Announced". The Corner. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Lorde, Coldplay feature on Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack". 3 News, MediaWorks, New Zealand. 30 September 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
- ^ James Lachno (11 September 2013). "Lorde – New Music". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ Asare, Andrew (13 September 2013). "Lorde: Five fast facts about the new alt music 'it' girl". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ Template:Cite spotify playlist
- ^ Offitzer, Adam. "Review: LORDE – 'The Love Club' / 'Tennis Court'". Pretty Much Amazing. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
- ^ "NZ Music Sensation, Lorde, Releases First Music Video For "Royals"". The Diplomat. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
- ^ Mike Hohnen (10 September 2013). "Lorde Covers Kanye West's 'Hold My Liquor'". Music Feeds. Music Feeds. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Discography Lorde". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
- ^ a b c "Discography Lorde". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
- ^ a b c "Lorde – Chart history: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
- ^ "Lorde – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
- ^ http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/albums?chart=2281
- ^ "Lorde – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
- ^ a b "ARIA Singles Chart – 16/09/2013". Australian Recording Industry Association. September 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Lorde – The Love Club EP". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 22 June 2013.[dead link ]
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Discography Lorde". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
- ^ "Discography Lorde". dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
- ^ Tobias Zywietz (13 July 2013). "Chart Log UK: New Entries (wk27)". Zobbel.
- ^ "Lorde – Chart history: The Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
- ^ "Lorde – Chart history: Alternative Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 2013.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ a b "Lorde – Chart history: Hot Rock Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 2013.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Lorde – Royals". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 September 2013.[dead link ]
- ^ "Canadian single certifications – Lorde – Royals". Music Canada. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
- ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Lorde – Tennis Court". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 17 August 2013.[dead link ]
- ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Lorde – The Love Club". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 16 July 2013.[dead link ]
- ^ Joel Kefali (Director) (13 May 2013). Lorde - Royals. Vimeo. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
- ^ Joel Kefali (Director) (21 June 2013). Lorde - Tennis Court. Vimeo. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
External links
- Use dmy dates from June 2013
- 1996 births
- 21st-century singers
- Female singer-songwriters
- Living people
- New Zealand female singers
- New Zealand pop singers
- New Zealand singer-songwriters
- People from Auckland
- Pop singer-songwriters
- Pseudonymous musicians
- Universal Music Group artists
- New Zealand people of Croatian descent