16-Year-Old Lorde is New Zealand's New Pop Superstar; To Perform a Free Concert in Auckland in September (AUDIO/VIDEO)
Auckland's new musical talent Elle Yelich-O'Connor a.ka.Lorde has been making waves in the international music scene. At 16, she has written a number of songs good enough to produce an album. Her upcoming debut LP titled 'Pure Heroine' will be released on September 30.
On Monday, she posted the title and cover art of 'Pure Heroine' on Instagram. She also tweeted: "her-o-ine n. 1. a woman noted for courage and daring action. 2. a woman noted for special achievement in a particular field."
According to Billboard, Lorde is the "first lead solo female to rule the ranking since Tracy Bonham in 1996" months before the young singer was born. She was born on November 7, 1996.
Billboard wrote: "No female soloist, in fact, had led the list as a lead artist in Lorde's lifetime until this week. Tracy Bonham was the last to do so when "Mother Mother," her first chart entry (as "Royals" is for Lorde), reigned the weeks of June 8, 15 and 22, 1996."
Lorde grew up in New Zealand's North Shore. Her mother is a poet while her dad listens to a lot of Neil Young. She has been writing songs since she was 13, which found its way to Scott Maclachlan, her current manager, who helped her get a deal with Universal Music.
Her rise to fame happened at the end of 2012 when she released her Love Club EP via SoundCloud for free. It was downloaded over 60,000 times, which led her to become a household name among music fans who stream their music via Internet.
One of her biggest Hollywood fans is entertainment blogger Perez Hilton. The blogger attended Lorde's Los Angeles gig and tweeted:
Afterwards, major news sites such as The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and the Daily Beast were all praises for the 16-year-old singer.
Lorde is slated to perform a free concert at the Vector Arena in Auckland on September 7. Fans can have the chance to grab a limited double pass ticket to the show once they sign up at iHeartRadio by 11 p.m. on September 1.
This will be her only show in New Zealand this 2013.
Listen to Lorde's tracks below: