Ongoing History Daily: Lorde’s backstory
In case you didn’t know, Lorde’s full name is Ella Maria Yelich-O’Connor. She chose “Lorde” as a stage name because she wanted something regal and aristocratic. Besides, she used to be obsessed with royal families (duh!), spending hours sketching out their various family trees. The silent “e” at the end just looks cool.
Her mom is an award-winning poet in New Zealand, which may explain why Lorde began writing fiction at first. She moved to songwriting when she was 11 after her dog fell off a balcony and accidentally hanged itself.
And when she was growing up, she had the nickname “Casper” and “Dusty” because she’s always had such a very pale complexion.