It didn’t take much more than one Billboard chart-topping single to call Ella Yelich-O’Connor “the queen of alternative.” Not long after releasing her EP “The Love Club” last March, the New Zealand singer-songwriter saw her single “Royals” claim the No. 1 spot in the New Zealand Top 40. Then, in August, she topped Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart, and just days after releasing her full length album “Pure Heroine” in September, “Royals” occupied the No. 1 spot of the Top 100 Billboard charts for more than two weeks.
“Royals” is a song about lack of wealth. Lorde begins, “I’ve never seen a diamond in the flesh,” which is likely more of a rhetorical truth than an honest statement. She continues, listing items of luxury she lacks and lifestyles she has never experienced — “I cut my teeth on wedding rings — in the movies.” Attuned to a certain anxiety about this lack of wealth, she suggests that the music industry has encouraged unrelatable displays of excess: “But every song is like gold teeth, Grey Goose, trippin’ in the bathroom / Bloodstained ballgowns, trashin’ the hotel room / We don’t care.”
Of course, not “every song” glorifies wealth and partying, but a lot of them do. Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop” comes to mind, as does Kanye West and Jay Z’s “N**gas in Paris” or anything by Ke$ha. Alcohol, drugs and extensive partying are common themes. Lorde isn’t much of a critic, though, as she incorporates the same music tropes to generate appeal for the song.
Lorde, who was recently endorsed by Kanye West himself, does not reject the concept of wealth and popularity entirely but instead welcomes a new version of the “royal.” Her version of is the alternative to songs that explicitly display of wealth, but also to luxurious lifestyles: “That kind of luxe just ain’t for us,” she says, “We crave a different kind of buzz.” Lorde’s buzz lies in the parties of suburbia with her friends and she is “fine with this,” she assures us.
But Lorde’s self-confidence isn’t the only thing that separates her from your average 16-year-old. The New Zealand suburbanite, like Taylor Swift, started playing her guitar and singing as a young teen, and at 13, she signed with Universal records. This is where Lorde’s path diverged from other popular singer-songwriters.
In her distinctly creepy performances on “Ellen” and “Jimmy Fallon,” Lorde wears dark colors, hides behind her hair and doesn’t move around very much — almost making viewers find a new appreciation for Miley’s, ahem, energetic antics.
Despite her lack of stage presence, Yelich-O’Connor’s music does convey a message of authenticity that separates her from most celebrities. Her worries and struggles are relatable. “Ribs,” a story of teen angst, resonates with listeners much older — “It feels so scary getting old,” she sings. And a number of tracks off “Pure Heroine” describe a romantic relationship that epitomizes high school: driving around, hanging out and otherwise doing nothing. They may “never” be “done with killing time,” but at least they’re killing it together. Whereas Swift’s love song to a high school crush spoke to the 9th grade misfit, Lorde’s music speaks to a girl about two years older who has just seemed to figure out how to maneuver suburbia.
Ushered into the music industry by Universal, Lorde’s style is not completely untapped by studio culture. Where Taylor Swift initially claimed the country genre, Yelich-O’Connor seems to have claimed the alternative.
But “alternative” is hardly a genre like “country” or “rock.” It’s a broad catch-all that has increasingly seen crossover with the Top 100. When Lorde topped the Billboard Alternative chart, she situated herself among other hit crossovers like “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People or “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons.
Clean, polished and well produced, “Pure Heroine” offers one of the most poetic and sincere coming-of-age pictures since Taylor Swift’s first album. Yelich-O’Connor, however, seems to possess a comfortability and wisdom beyond her years. Hopefully, that self-assurance and raw, emotional voice will propel her to other great efforts in coming years — whether they make the leap to Top 40 or not.
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