Lorde performs "Royals" at The Grammy Nominations Concert Live - Countdown to Music's Biggest Night event in Los Angeles CREDIT: REUTERS

The year 2013 was indeed a breakout year for Ella Maria Lani Yellich O'Connor, also known as Lorde, after gaining so much recognition in her home country New Zealand and beyond.

It all started when her extended play album "The Love Club" and its single "Royals" captivated the hearts of Soundcloud members home and away. So much that in New Zealand, "Royals" debuted at number one in the New Zealand Top 40 charts. A few months later, both the physical and digital formats of the EP flew off the shelves and "Royals" peaked at number one at the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, and later at the Hot 100 chart. Success also came in the form of her first full-blown album "Pure Heroine" which landed in top record charts all over the world.

Lorde may have predicted it all along, as she has said in an interview that 'I had a sneaking suspicion that it might do all right.'
As if that was not enough, Lorde eventually found herself in shows all over the world -- from the Splendour in the Grass festival in Australia to an appearance at The Late Show with David Letterman last month.

And to top it all off, she has been nominated to four categories in the Grammy awards in the US.

But despite having the capacity to live like a royal, Lorde still manages to keep things in her life as simple as possible. She remains outspoken and 'wise for her age,' finds time to attend school dances, and as she has told V magazine, she finally gets her own room after sharing one with her older sister for years.

'I definitely don't feel like I'm living in a particularly extravagant sort of way - which I think is good because... if I was thrown into that kind of thing, I wouldn't know how to deal with it,' said Lorde to Huffington Post.

Her being outspoken, ironically, has made her gain the admiration of her folks at the recording outfit Lava Records.

'No one's ever going to tell her what to say,' says Jason Flom of Lava Records. 'It's not going to happen. And when she says things, it comes from a place of honesty... I don't think anyone can get mad at her for that.'

Lorde also has some tricks up her sleeves -- a few weeks ago, she released the single "No Better" over iTunes while the rest of the world are ogling over Beyonce's surprise release of her visual album.

Actually, Lorde herself is the biggest pleasant surprise the music industry has received this year. And we might expect more of that in the years to come.