Lorde Calls Her Hit Song ‘Disastrous’ and ‘Awful’
Lorde achieved international success in 2013 after the release of her hit single, “Royals.” It seemed the world couldn’t get enough of the New Zealand-born singer-songwriter, as every radio station across the country was playing the hit song.
Despite breaking download records, winning two Grammy Awards, and becoming one of the most-viewed music videos on YouTube, there was one person who didn’t particularly like the song.
Lorde, herself, admitted to thinking “Royals” was “disastrous” and “awful.”
Who is Lorde?
Born Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor, Lorde attained worldwide notoriety after the phenomenal success of her debut album Pure Heroine.
According to Biography, the teen singer attracted the attention of Universal Music Group, who signed her to a development deal in 2011.
Pure Heroine launched the young performer’s career, making her an overnight global sensation. The album’s hit single “Royals” reached certified diamond status within six months of its initial release.
Other popular singles on the debut album included “Tennis Court” and “Team.” Her next hit, “Yellow Flicker Beat,” was nominated in 2014 for a Golden Globe award for Best Original Song. It was used in the blockbuster film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, for which Lorde curated the soundtrack.
Fans have not heard from Lorde since the release of her second album Melodrama. USA Today referred to the Grammy-nominated album as “the best pop release of 2017 thus far, cementing the singer’s status as one of her generation’s most essential stars.”
Blast reported that new music is coming soon. Now, 23 years old, the singer said of her third album, “The work is so (expletive) good, my friend. I am truly jazzed for you to hear it.”
Grammy Award for Song of the Year
In 2013, Lorde’s hit song “Royals” won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year. The phenomenal hit beat out the likes of “Just Give Me A Reason” by Pink, “Locked Out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars, and “Roar” by Katy Perry.
At the age of 17, Lorde also won a Grammy that same year for Best Pop Solo Performance, becoming one of the youngest musicians to ever win the esteemed award.
According to Billboard, when “Royals” came out in June 2013, “not many listeners stateside knew who Lorde was.” They explained, “Even so, the singer-songwriter’s debut single immediately garnered attention for its deep, bass-thumping beat and her vocal delivery that offered a lesser-told pop narrative.”
Lorde wrote the song “Royals” at the age of 15 with producer Joel Little, who has since worked with The Jonas Brothers and Taylor Swift. The song stayed at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks and sold more than 5 million copies in the U.S. alone.
Little told Billboard that he and Lorde “made the minimal beat and finished writing the verses in two days.” He said, “they knew they had something cool but had no idea it would take off the way it did.”
What Lorde had to say about her Grammy Award-winning song
Not everyone was a fan of the critically-acclaimed song, “Royals.”
Gigwise reported that in an interview with The Daily Record, the eclectic New Zealand born singer said, “I listen to people covering the song and putting their own spin on it, and I listen to it in every single form except the original one I put out, and I realize that actually, it sounds horrible.”
The performer continued, saying, “It sounds like a ringtone from a 2006 Nokia. None of the melodies are cool or good.”
Luckily, fans disagreed with the accomplished artist, with the song “Royals” surpassing 800 million views on YouTube and earning an eternal spot in pop culture history.
