Lorde Tops Billboard’s 21 Under 21 List; Aussies 5SOS, Cody Simpson and Troye Sivan Included

Lorde performs at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada May 18, 2014. REUTERS/Steve Marcus REUTERS/Steve Marcus

Lorde is the queen of her peers. The Kiwi music superstar has topped the Billboard 21 Under 21 list, which also includes 5 Seconds of Summer, Cody Simpson, Troye Sivan and Justin Bieber.

The annual list ranks music’s most powerful minors who are below 21 years of age. Last year, the UK boy band One Direction beat Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Earl Sweatshirt and Lorde, who were in second to fifth place respectively.

This year is “perhaps the most impressive crop of under-21 stars we’ve ever assembled,” and 17-year-old Lorde, rose above them all.

“Royals” started it all. Her debut single catapulted her to success, earning her countless international awards, including the prestigious Grammy. But far from being a one-hit wonder, the Auckland teen followed up her initial success with the smash hit “Team,” and she was just 16 at that time.

She’s chums with her peers, including the former teen queen Taylor Swift (who is now ineligible to be included in the list at 24), but she has also impressed some of music’s more established stars. Dave Grohl once praised Lorde in an interview, saying she’s the role model his kids should look up to. And when Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Grohl and the surviving members of Nirvana invited her to sing Kurt Cobain’s “All Apologies.”

But there’s more to Lorde than her music achievements.

“Most importantly, she’s consistently demonstrated an influence that extends well beyond music, championing an image free of touch-ups and letting young girls know that they don’t have to dress provocatively to capture the public’s attention,” Billboard said of Lorde.

Australian pop rock band 5 Seconds of Summer debuted at number two in the list. The boys – Michael Clifford (18), Luke Hemmings (18), Calum Hood (18) and Ashton Irwin (20) – had their big break when they opened for One Direction on their “Take Me Home” tour in 2013. After just one year, they gained their own massive following.

At number 3 in 2014, 20-year-old Bieber slipped once place from second last year. He topped the list in 2012.

“The slide has been understandable, given the arrests, the various tour fiascos and the unearthing of a long-forgotten racist video by TMZ, among many other recent debacles,” Billboard explained. However, it continued that “the Biebs is still a superstar,” hence his name on the list.

Australians Cody Simpson and Troye Sivan also made the list at 13 and 17 respectively. Simpson, 17, isn’t a 21 Under 21 list newbie. This is his fourth consecutive year on the list, “and it doesn’t seem like he’s disappearing anytime soon.”

Sivan, on the other hand, is new. He has over 2.7 million subscribers on YouTube, where he uploads his weekly Vlog. It is also on YouTube where he sings song covers before he released his major label debut “TRXYE” in 2014.

Billboard’s 21 Under 21:

1. Lorde

2. 5 Seconds of Summer

3. Justin Bieber

4. Martin Garrix

5. Fifth Harmony

6. Austin Mahone

7. Earl Sweatshirt

8. Shawn Mendes

9. Becky G.

10. Chief Keef

11. Luis Coronel