Lorde Becomes First Solo Female To Top Alt Charts Since 1996

Get ready for the Lorde invasion. The 16 year old singer from New Zealand has slowly been building buzz since the release of her first single, ‘Royals’, with the track getting near unanimous praise from online press and countless YouTube covers. Now she’s ready to take over the States with an upcoming tour and a full album in the works. In the meantime, Billboard reports that ‘Royals’ has shot to the top of Alt charts, making her the first solo female act to do so since 1996.

Tracy Bonham was the last solo female to top the chart back in June 1996 with ‘Mother Mother’. That was a few months before Lorde was born. Since then, there has been a drought of solo female singers topping the charts, although bands with female vocals like Florence and The Machine, Paramore, and Of Monsters and Men have made the #1 spot.

You can expect to hear a lot more from Lorde in the coming months. She’s put out some great music so far, and expectations are going to be extremely high for her debut full length. You can check the new US version of the video for her debut single, ‘Royals’, below.