Lorde

Lorde (birth name: Ella Yelich-O’Connor) is a singer-songwriter from Auckland, who emerged as an unlikely pop phenom in 2013 with her highly influential album, Pure Heroine. With its strong songs, dark tones, lyrics that hit the spot for a generation, as well as its sparse arrangements (see Tennis Court, Royals), the album had ripple effects in pop music in the following years. When she came back in 2021 after a long hiatus, she had moved away from her original minimalist sound and was tacking closer to conventional pop, accompanied by a full band with a full-bodied sound. Instead of keyboards and electronic tools driving her music, she had multiple guitars strumming some lively chords, leading into big, uplifting choruses that conveyed a more relaxed vibe, while still retaining her distinct voice and instantly recognizable point of view, both lyrical and melodic.