Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor born 7 November 1996, known by her stage name Lorde, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. Born in Takapuna and raised in Devonport, Auckland, she became interested in performing as a child. In her early teens, she signed with Universal Music Group and was later paired with the songwriter and record producer Joel Little, who co-wrote and produced most of Lorde's works. Her first major release, The Love Club EP, was commercially released in March 2013. The EP reached number two on the national record charts of Australia and New Zealand.

In mid-2013, Lorde released her debut single "Royals". It became an international crossover hit and made Lorde the youngest solo artist to achieve a US number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 since 1987. In late 2013, she released her debut studio album, Pure Heroine. The record topped the charts of Australia and New Zealand and reached number three on the US Billboard 200. Its following singles include "Tennis Court", "Team", "No Better" and "Glory and Gore". In 2014, Lorde released "Yellow Flicker Beat" as a single from the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.

Lorde's music consists of the subgenres of electronica, pop and rock, including dream pop and indie-electro. In 2013, she was named among Time‍ '​s most influential teenagers in the world, and in the following year, she was in the Forbes‍ '​s "30 Under 30" list.