Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally asLorde (/lɔːrd/LORD), is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. She is known for her unconventional style of pop music and introspective songwriting.
Lorde collaborated with producerJack Antonoff on her next album,Melodrama (2017), which received widespread critical acclaim, debuted atop the USBillboard 200, and has since been ranked inRolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" andPitchfork's list of the "Greatest Albums of the 2010s". She exploredindie folk andpsychedelic styles onSolar Power (2021), receiving polarised reactions from critics and listeners. For her fourth studio album,Virgin (2025), Lorde worked with musicianJim-E Stack and returned toelectronic-based pop music, which garnered more positive reception.
Lorde and her Belmont team were named the runner-up in the 2009Kids' Lit Quiz World Finals, a global literature competition for students aged 10 to 14.[17] In May 2009, Lorde and her friend Louis McDonald won the Belmont Intermediate School annual talent show as a duo.[20] In August that year, Lorde and McDonald made a guest appearance onJim Mora'sAfternoons show onRadio New Zealand. There, they performedcovers ofPixie Lott's "Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)" andKings of Leon's "Use Somebody".[21] McDonald's father then sent his recordings of the duo covering "Mama Do" andDuffy's "Warwick Avenue" toUniversal Music Group (UMG)'sA&R executive Scott Maclachlan.[22] Maclachlan subsequently signed her to UMG for development.[23]
Lorde performing at the Victoria Theatre in 2010
Lorde was also part of the Belmont Intermediate School band Extreme; the band placed third in the North Shore Battle of the Bands finals at theBruce Mason Centre, Takapuna, Auckland on 18 November 2009.[24] In 2010, Lorde and McDonald formed a duet called "Ella & Louis" and performed covers live on a regular basis at local venues, including cafés in Auckland and the Victoria Theatre in Devonport.[25] In 2011, UMG hired vocal coachFrances Dickinson to give her singing lessons twice a week for a year.[26] During this time, Maclachlan attempted to partner Lorde with several different producers and songwriters, but without success.[23][27] As she began writing songs, she learned how to "put words together" by readingshort fiction.[28]
Lorde performed her original songs for the first time at the Victoria Theatre in November 2011.[25] In December, Maclachlan paired Lorde withJoel Little, a songwriter, record producer, and formerGoodnight Nurse lead singer. The pair recorded five songs for anextended play (EP) at Little's Golden Age Studios inMorningside, Auckland, and finished within three weeks.[29] While working on her music career, she attendedTakapuna Grammar School from 2010 to 2013, completingYear 12.[30] She later chose not to return in 2014 to attendYear 13.[31]
2013–2015:Pure Heroine
When Lorde and Little had finished their first collaborative effort,The Love Club EP, Maclachlan applauded it as a "strong piece of music", but worried if the EP could profit because Lorde was obscure at the time.[23] In November 2012, the singer self-released the EP through herSoundCloud account for free download.[13] UMG commercially releasedThe Love Club in March 2013 after it had been downloaded 60,000 times, which signalled that Lorde had attracted a range of audiences.[23][32] It peaked at number two in New Zealand and Australia.[33] "Royals", the EP's single, helped Lorde rise to prominence after it became a critical and commercial success, selling more than 10 million units worldwide.[34] It peaked at number one on theBillboard Hot 100, making Lorde, then aged 16, the youngest artist to earn a number-one single in the United States sinceTiffany in 1987,[35] and has since been certifieddiamond by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[36] The track won twoGrammy Awards forBest Pop Solo Performance andSong of the Year at the56th ceremony,[37] and was namedSingle of the Year at the2013 New Zealand Music Awards.[38] From late 2013 to early 2016, Lorde was in a relationship with New Zealand photographer James Lowe.[39]
Lorde's debut studio albumPure Heroine containing the single "Royals" was released in September 2013 to critical acclaim;[22] it appeared on several year-end best album lists.[40] The album received considerable attention for its portrayal of suburban teenage disillusionment and critiques of mainstream culture.[41] In the United States, the album sold over one million copies in February 2014, becoming the first debut album by a female artist sinceAdele's 2008 album19 to achieve the feat.[42]Pure Heroine earned a Grammy nomination forBest Pop Vocal Album[37] and had sold four million copies worldwide as of May 2017.[43] Three other singles were released from the album: "Tennis Court" reached number one in New Zealand,[44] while "Team" charted at number six in the United States,[45] and "Glory and Gore" was released exclusively to US radio.[46] At the2014 New Zealand Music Awards, Lorde won six awards:Album of the Year and Best Pop Album forPure Heroine, Single of the Year for "Team",Highest Selling New Zealand Single for "Royals", Best Female Solo Artist, and theInternational Achievement Award.[47]
In November 2013, Lorde signed a publishing deal withSongs Music Publishing, worth a reported US$2.5 million, after a bidding war between companies, includingSony Music Entertainment and her label UMG. The agreement gave the publisher the right to license Lorde's music for films and advertising.[48] Later that month, Lorde was featured on thesoundtrack for the 2013 filmThe Hunger Games: Catching Fire, performing a cover ofTears for Fears' 1985 song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World".[49]Time included her on their lists of the most influential teenagers in the world in 2013 and 2014.[50][51]Forbes also placed her on their 2014 edition of30 Under 30; she was the youngest individual to be featured.[52]Billboard featured her on their 21 Under 21 list in 2013,[53] 2014,[54] and 2015.[55]
In January 2016, Lorde relocated toPonsonby, an inner-city suburb of Auckland.[68][69] At the2016 Brit Awards in February, Lorde andDavid Bowie's final touring band gave a tribute performance of his 1971 song "Life on Mars".[70] PianistMike Garson, a frequent band member for Bowie, explained that Bowie's family and management selected Lorde because he admired her and felt she was "the future of music".[71] Her cover was widely acknowledged as one of the finest performances in tribute to Bowie.[72] Later that year, Lorde co-wrote "Heartlines", a song by New Zealand music duoBroods from their 2016 albumConscious.[73]
The lead single from her second studio albumMelodrama, "Green Light",[74] was released in March 2017 to critical acclaim; several publications ranked it as one of the best songs of the year,NME andThe Guardian placing it in the top spot on their respective lists.[75] It achieved moderate commercial success, reaching number one in New Zealand, number four in Australia and number nine in Canada.[76] Later that month, she co-wrote and provided background vocals for American indie pop bandBleachers's song "Don't Take the Money",[77] taken from their 2017 recordGone Now.[78]
Lorde performing in 2017
OnMelodrama, Lorde's songwriting showed signs of maturity with introspective, post-breakup lyrics.[79][80] The album was released in June 2017 to widespread critical acclaim;Metacritic placed it second on their list of the best-received records of 2017 based on inclusions in publications' year-end lists, behindKendrick Lamar'sDamn.[81] It debuted at number one on the USBillboard 200, giving Lorde her first number-one album on the chart,[82] and on record charts of Australia, Canada and New Zealand.[83] It earned a Grammy nomination forAlbum of the Year at the60th ceremony,[84] and won six awards at the2017 New Zealand Music Awards, including Album of the Year, Single of the Year for "Green Light",Best Solo Artist, Best Pop Artist, thePeople's Choice Award, and the International Achievement Award.[85] Two other singles from the album were released: "Perfect Places" and a remix of "Homemade Dynamite" featuringKhalid,Post Malone andSZA.[86]
To promoteMelodrama, Lorde embarked on aninternational concert tour, the first leg of which took place in Europe in late 2017, featuring Khalid as the supporting act.[87] She later announced the North American leg, held in March 2018, withRun the Jewels,Mitski andTove Styrke as opening acts.[88] Apolitical controversy occurred in December 2017 when Lorde cancelled her scheduled June 2018 concert in Israel following an online campaign by Palestinian solidarity activists supporting theBoycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.[89] While Lorde did not explicitly indicate her reasons for the cancellation, she admitted that she had been unaware of the political turmoil there and "the right decision at this time is to cancel".[90] Pro-Palestine groups welcomed her decision,[91] while pro-Israel groups were critical of the cancellation.[92]Billboard included Lorde on their 2017 edition of 21 Under 21,[93] whileForbes included her in their 30 Under 30 Asia list.[94]
2020–2023:Solar Power andTe Ao Mārama
Lorde revealed on 20 May 2020 that she started working on her third studio album withJack Antonoff following the death of her dog Pearl.[95] In November 2020, she announced the release ofGoing South, a book documenting her January 2019 visit toAntarctica with photos taken by photographer Harriet Were.[96]
On 25 May 2021, Lorde was announced as a headlining act forPrimavera Sound'sJune 2022 festival, her first live show performance in over two years.[97] On 7 June, Lorde posted an image on her website with the caption "Solar Power", along with the message: "Arriving in 2021 ... Patience is a virtue."[98] "Solar Power" was released on 10 June,[99] as the lead single from her third studio albumof the same name, which was released on 20 August to mixed reviews.[100][101] Lorde later described the response to the record as "really confounding," and "painful".[102] "Stoned at the Nail Salon" and "Mood Ring" were released as the album's second and third singles on 21 July and 17 August, respectively.[103][104] Lorde promoted the album on theSolar Power Tour, with shows in 2022 and 2023.[105]
In April 2025, Lorde cleared her Instagram feed and shared a music snippet onTikTok,[120] later revealed as "WWT" (short for "What Was That"),[121] her first original solo single sinceSolar Power.[122] Lorde's fourth studio album,Virgin, was released in June 2025.[123] Combiningdance-pop andsynth-pop, the album marked a return to the latter style from her earlier work,[124] garnering more positive reviews from critics.[125][126]Virgin debuted at number one on the official charts in Australia, Austria, Belgium (Flanders), New Zealand, Scotland, and the UK.[127] Lorde became the first New Zealand artist to have six tracks simultaneously chart on theAotearoa Music Charts.[128] Prior to the album's release, two additional singles, "Man of the Year" and "Hammer", were released.[129][130] On the day ofVirgin's release, Lorde performed the album in its entirety during an unannounced set at the Glastonbury Festival.[131]
Lorde is noted for her unconventional pop sound and introspective songwriting.[155] In a 2017 interview withNME, she declared "I don't think about staying in my genre lane".[149]AllMusic'sStephen Thomas Erlewine characterised her style as primarilyelectropop,[156] while scholar Tony Mitchell categorized her as analt-pop singer.[157] Upon the release ofPure Heroine, music critics described her music as electropop,[154]art pop,[158]dream pop,[159]indie pop,[160] andindie-electro,[161] with influences ofhip hop.[162]Melodrama was a departure from the hip hop-oriented minimalist style of its predecessor, incorporating piano instrumentation andmaximalist electronic beats.[163]
Lorde possesses acontralto vocal range.[164][165] BeforeMelodrama, Lorde only sang and did not play musical instruments on her records or onstage, saying, "[My] voice needs to have the focus. My vocal-scape is really important".[166]PopMatters described Lorde's vocals as "unique and powerfully intriguing",[159] whileBillboard characterised her voice as "dynamic, smoky and restrained".[167] For the Melodrama World Tour, however, she played a drum padsampler,[168] andxylophone onstage in some performances.[169] Shortly after finishing her tour, Lorde said she had started learning to play the piano.[170]Vice noted that her songs incorporated themixolydian mode, a melodic structure used in "blues-based andalternative rock" music, which set her songs apart from those in pop music for not fitting a commonmajor orminor chord.[171]
Regarding her songwriting process, Lorde explained that the foundation to her songs began with the lyrics, which could sometimes stem from a singular word meant to summarise a specific idea she had tried to identify.[14] For "Tennis Court", Lorde wrote the music before lyrics.[172] She stated that the songwriting onPure Heroine developed from the perspective of an observer.[79] Similarly, in an interview withNME, Lorde acknowledged that she used words of inclusion throughout her debut album, while her follow-upMelodrama presented a shift tofirst-person narrative, employing more introspective lyrics inspired by Lorde's personal struggles post-breakup and viewpoints on post-teenage maturity.[149] Lorde's neurological conditionchromesthesia influenced her songwriting on the album; it led her to arrange colours according to each song's theme and emotion.[79]
Public image and influence
Lorde is known for her unchoreographed dancing onstage, which has polarised audiences.
Lorde's stage name illustrates her fascination with "royals andaristocracy"; she added an "e" after the name Lord, which she felt was too masculine, to make it more feminine.[173] She described her public image as something that "naturally" came to her and was identical to her real-life personality.[174] Lorde identifies as afeminist.[175]The New Zealand Herald opined that her feminist ideology was different from her contemporaries due to Lorde's lack of interest in sexualised performances.[176] She proclaimed herself in an interview withV magazine as a "hugelysex-positive person", saying, "I have nothing against anyone getting naked. ... I just don't think it really would complement my music in any way or help me tell a story any better".[177]
Critical reception of Lorde is generally positive, with praise concentrated on her maturity both musically and lyrically.[178]The New York Times called her "the pop prodigy" who was not conformed to boundaries and always sought experimentation.[79]Billboard recognised Lorde as a spokesperson for a "female rock resurgence" by introducing her works to rock and alternative radio, which had seen a traditional male dominance.[179] The publication also named her the "New Queen of Alternative" in a 2013 cover story.[13] JournalistRobert Christgau was less enthusiastic towards Lorde's styles, labelling the singer as "a pop property" that was indistinguishable from other mainstream artists.[180]
Lorde's critiques of mainstream culture onPure Heroine earned her the title "the voice of her generation",[22] a label she dismissed, saying that "young people have never needed a specialised spokesperson".[149]Jon Caramanica, writing forThe New York Times, credited Lorde for bringing forth a "wave of female rebellion" to mainstream audiences that embraced an "anti-pop" sentiment.[181] Sharing a similar viewpoint,Rolling Stone andNPR credited her debut studio albumPure Heroine as the foundation of that transformation.[152] Several analysts also noted Lorde's influence on themusic trends of the 2010s,[182] and have credited the singer with paving the way for the current generation of alternative-leaning pop artists.[183] She placed at number 12 on NPR's 2018 readers poll of the most influential female musicians of the 21st century.[184]Billboard ranked her number 44 on its list of the "Top 100 Women Artists of the 21st Century" in 2025.[185] Her work has influenced various artists, includingBillie Eilish,[186]Olivia Rodrigo,[187]Sabrina Carpenter,[188]Conan Gray,[189] andTroye Sivan.[190]
Her onstage persona, particularly her signature unchoreographed dancing, has polarised audiences. Her detractors have described her dance moves as "awkward" in comparison to other stage performers.[191]The Fader said she should be celebrated for her dancing as it is "more freeform and spontaneous" than structured choreography and "speaks an entirely different expressive language". The publication further elaborated that her "stage presence [is] more impactful than the average pop performance".[192] Lorde was parodied in theSouth Park episodes "The Cissy" and "Rehash", broadcast in October and December 2014, respectively.[193]
During the buildup to, and during the rollout of Lorde's fourth albumVirgin, her gender identity was speculated on, following a shifting in her dress sense, as well as posts on social media.[194] Lorde later toldEmma Chamberlain in an interview at the 2025Met Gala that she felt "like a man and a woman",[195] and later revealed toRolling Stone that she identifies as "in the middle, gender-wise." In the same interview, she described herself as a "wealthy, cis, white woman" while discussing trans rights and the privilege her identity confers.[196]
Philanthropy
Lorde has been involved in several philanthropic causes. "The Love Club" was included in the 2013 charity albumSongs for the Philippines to support the people in the Philippines who suffered fromTyphoon Haiyan.[197] In 2015, Lorde recorded "Team Ball Player Thing", acharity single, as part of thesupergroup Kiwis Cure Batten. All sales from the song went towards research for the cure ofBatten disease, a fatalneurodegenerative disorder.[198] Later that year, the singer was featured in the compilation albumThe Art of Peace: Songs for Tibet II to raise funds for the preservation of theTibetan culture.[199] The following year, Lorde made aNZ$20,000 donation to Fuel the Need, a New Zealand charity that provides lunches for underprivileged schoolchildren.[200] In 2018, she donated NZ$5,000 toStarship Hospital to fund the purchase of "five new portableneurology monitors".[201] Lorde became a patron of MusicHelps, formerly the New Zealand Music Foundation, a musical charity helping New Zealanders who are vulnerable to or experiencing serious health issues, in November 2018.[202]
^"Vauxhall School achievers".National Library of New Zealand. The Devonport Flagstaff. 25 August 2006. p. 29.Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved21 November 2020.
^"Lorde embraces te reo Māori".Waatea News: Māori Radio Station. 9 September 2021.Archived from the original on 9 September 2021. Retrieved9 September 2021.
^abLachno, James (11 September 2013)."Lorde – New Music".The Daily Telegraph.Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved14 September 2013.
^"Lorde".Pitchfork.Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved4 February 2019.Melodrama [...] told the story of a single party, and advanced her indie-pop sound into synesthetic revelry
^Lorde (2013).Lyrical Influences (VEVO LIFT): Brought to You By McDonald's (video). VEVO/YouTube. Event occurs at 1:49.Archived from the original on 14 November 2021. Retrieved22 November 2013.I think my writing process with 'Tennis Court' was quite different to how I normally write. Generally, I will have a lyric forming before I go into the studio. But with this one, we wrote the music and beat before we wrote anything lyrically.
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