Details
TonalidadD
Compás4/4
Tempo85 BPM
Duración3:10
ISRCNZUM71200031
The story behind
The story behind Royals is fascinating, especially how its title came about. It all began with a 1976 image: Kansas City Royals baseball player George Brett signing autographs with his team's name visible on his jersey. That simple word, "Royals," resonated with Lorde, evoking an idea of something "really cool." This inspiration, along with her interest in aristocracy and historical figures like Marie Antoinette and Henry VIII, laid the groundwork for a song that would challenge pop conventions.
The composition of Royals was a surprisingly quick process. Lorde wrote the lyrics in just half an hour at her home, during July 2012 and a school break. Then, together with producer Joel Little, they recorded the song in a week at Golden Age Studios in Auckland. This studio was also where they created the songs for her first EP, The Love Club EP, in a total of three weeks. The song is described as a minimalist art pop and electropop track, with touches of hip hop, R&B, and indie pop, which criticizes ostentation in popular music, presenting it as a form of modern royalty.
The impact of Royals was immediate and significant. The song reached number one in several countries, including Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In the latter, it remained at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks and earned a Diamond certification. At 16 years and 11 months old, Lorde became the youngest female artist to reach the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 26 years, and the first artist from New Zealand to achieve it as a lead act. Furthermore, she was the youngest artist to top the chart with a song written by herself. The song also broke records on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, where Lorde was the second solo female artist to reach the summit, surpassing the previous record held by Alanis Morissette. The music video, directed by Joel Kefali, premiered in May 2013 and features teenagers in a suburban setting, interspersed with shots of Lorde. The song was recognized with awards such as Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 2014 Grammy Awards.
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