Lorde Royals Amidst a world of calculating contest winners, manufactured show ponies and cheap knock offs - Lorde is a true original. Born Ella Yelich-O'Connor on 7 November 1996 in Auckland's North Shore, Lorde listened to the likes Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, The Smiths and Nick Drake, alongside soul artists such as Etta James and Otis Redding when she's growing up. With a mother who is a celebrated poet herself, she became quite familiar with the likes of T.S.Eliot, Ezra Pound, Allan Ginsberg, Raymond Carver and Sylvia Plath.