Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known by her stage name Lorde a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Born in Takapuna and raised in Devonport, Auckland, she performed in various singing and drama classes as a child, and at the age of thirteen signed with Universal. Yelich-O'Connor adopted her stage name due to her fascination with "royals and aristocracy", but felt the name Lord was too masculine so added an 'e' to make it more feminine.
Her musical debut was an EP, entitled The Love Club, which was released in November 2012, and her first single, "Royals", debuted at number one on the New Zealand Top 40, and also reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2013, making her the first New Zealand solo artist to have a number one song in the United States. Her debut album, Pure Heroine, was released in September 2013, receiving critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide.
Her work has earned her numerous awards and accolades. In October 2013, she jointly won the2013 Silver Scroll award for "Royals", which celebrates outstanding songwriting achievements in original New Zealand pop music. For the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, Lorde received four nominations, in which she won Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for "Royals" In February 2014 she was chosen International Female Solo Artist at the BRIT Awards.
