Ella Yelich-O'Connor, a.k.a. Lorde, didn't have the reaction you'd expect when she learned her song "Royals" had cracked the Top 10: "I was like, 'Oh ****.' The irony was not lost on me." The irony is this: Her electro-pop jam decrying the excesses of pop's upper echelons (Maybachs and all) quickly became the song of the summer. And even though she now occupies the same rarefied air as the Robin Thickes of the world, the 16-year-old "weirdo from New Zealand" (her words) says that if she's gonna give in to indulgence, it'll "just be geeky ****—first-edition books and rare pressings of records." Lorde (it's pronounced lord, by the way) is still warming up to the financial freedom afforded by her fame. "I am so used to not having money that spending over $200—I don't even think I could do it," she says with a laugh, calling from her hotel room in Paris.

One thing she's having less trouble wrapping her head around? Missing school for her world tour. Her mom is chaperoning, mostly because Lorde's 16, but also because she never traveled outside New Zealand before "Royals" blew up: "It trips me out. I made this song, and now, a year later, I am in Paris performing it on a TV show."

While we are certainly used to teen pop stars conquering America, Lorde is another thing altogether. Adults needn't be ashamed of putting her full-length album, Pure Heroine, on repeat; there's nothing guilty about this pleasure. Though Lorde's deep, soulful voice is made for radio, the acerbic, literate wit of her lyrics (she cites Arcade Fire's Win Butler as a fave songwriter) and her musical references (she dropped a cover of the Replacements' love song "Swingin' Party" in June) are a far cry from those of the standard Disney-groomed teenage nightmares.

"The difference between those kids and me," she says, "is that I grew up completely normally and went to parties and had that experience. I am way less inclined to be like, 'Look! I'm ****ing mental!'



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I'd consider dragging everyone in sight mental but alrighty.

"is that I grew up completely normally and went to parties and had that experience. I am way less inclined to be like, 'Look! I'm ****ing mental!'

she cites Arcade Fire's Win Butler as a fave songwriter

Originally posted by Ramos *Inserts gif of her acting crazy while performing*

Originally posted by ontherocks At how many parties has she exactly been with just 16 when she had a normal upbrining? My parents didn't let me go to parties when I was 14 or 15. She sounds like she is 40 and seen it all.

Originally posted by rbautz My guess is that New Zealand is as liberal as Germany, so if parents trust their kids, girls can go out at parties with 13 - 14.