Lorde

Lorde, born Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor on November 7, 1996, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter who rose to international fame as a teenager with a minimalist, brooding take on pop music. Her debut EP The Love Club introduced her distinctive low, smoky voice and sparse electronic production, but it was the single «Royals», from her 2013 debut album Pure Heroine, that made her a global phenomenon, topping charts worldwide with its critique of pop-star excess and materialism.

Where Pure Heroine examined fame and suburban adolescence from the outside, her 2017 sophomore album Melodrama, led by the single «Green Light», turned inward toward heartbreak, self-discovery and the chaos of young adulthood, earning acclaim for its emotional honesty and inventive production. She continued this introspective streak on 2021's Solar Power, exploring themes of nature and disillusionment with fame.

Known for her literary, metaphor-rich lyrics and unconventional vocal phrasing, Lorde has also left her mark through curation, notably assembling the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, and through friendships and creative ties with peers like Taylor Swift, cementing her place as one of the defining songwriters of her generation.