Lorde was a big winner at the Grammys Sunday night, thanks to her hugely successful “Royals,” a track that lit up the charts in 2013. Now, the 17-year-old New Zealander is getting a chance to enjoy her moment in the spotlight, as is the country where she was born. Even Prime Minister John Key had something to say after her wins.
Lorde, whose real name is Ella Yelich-O'Connor, won Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for “Royals” and she’s still shocked by the song’s success. "So phenomenal and moving," she told the Hollywood Reporter just before the ceremony. “It has been quite weird; I never saw myself as a Top 40 princess.”
During the show, Lorde wowed audiences with a stripped-down version of “Royals.” Twitter said she was the most-tweeted about performer, topping even Beyonce and Taylor Swift.
On Monday, Key took the time to congratulate her for doing what no other New Zealander had ever done, reports The New Zealand Herald. Other politicians also praised the Pure Heroine singer.
"And it has happened so quickly and so comprehensively that it has taken the world by surprise,” Key said during a session of Parliament. “She is just 17 years old but what is most remarkable about Ella is that she has done it all in her own way - typically Kiwi, an unassuming way. If there were rules, no one told Lorde.”
Her parents, Sonja Yelich and Vic O'Connor, were also surprised. “As a mum when I sat there, I was in shock. I have to tell you I was absolutely in shock,” Yelich told Radio New Zealand. “We were on the rooftop having our own party, a good big bunch of us up there, and it culminated in us all jumping into the pool in our Grammy clothes.”
Meanwhile, her school friends and principal at Takapuna Grammar told Radio New Zealand that Lorde made them all proud. “Who would've dreamed a year ago that she would be the top of the pops in LA, a double Grammy award winner. Really, it is a historical moment for us all,” acting principal Brian Wynn said during an assembly.
Lorde now has two Grammys on her resume and her friends and family are probably hoping that this is just the start of her success.
image: CBS