25
Dec
9. Lorde - “Royals”
Partially inspired by pop music’s penchant for expensive things, plus a photograph the then-16-year-old singer saw of Kansas City slugger George Brett (hence the song’s title), 2013’s surprise import was snappy, slow tempo-ed, written in a half-hour’s time, and ambitiously designed to realign the zeitgeist. The young lady formerly known as Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O'Connor became the first New Zealand solo artist to have a number one hit in the US, thanks to her take on the universal tale of middle-of-nowhere teens thinking they’ve got it all figured out, this time around, slyly packaged as an anti-excess statement, and a fittingly punk message for the holiday season.
“My friends and I, we’ve cracked the code / We count our dollars on the train to the party / And everyone who knows us know / That we’re fine with this, we didn’t come from money”