Born on November 7, 1996, Lorde (Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor) is a singer/songwriter born in the Auckland suburb of Takapuna and raised in neighboring Devonport, New Zealand. She is of Irish and Croatian descent. She became an international crossover hit in 2013 with her debut studio album, Pure Heroine. The album’s debut single, “Royals,” soared to no. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 100 – making her the youngest pop star to achieve this feat since 1987 – and won two Grammys. In 2017 Lorde released her sophomore album Melodrama to widespread critical acclaim, earning a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. Her poet mother encouraged Lorde to immerse herself in reading in a variety of genres, and it was through her constant consumption of books that the seeds of her lyricism began to grow. In 2009 Lorde and her friend won their school’s talent show and from there, they were invited to sing on a local radio show and sing covers. She was eventually signed to a development deal with Universal Music Group in her early teens and began performing her own songs in 2011. That same year she teamed up with producer Joel Little and within a few weeks, they produced her first EP, The Love Club.