Lorde is Not a 'Teen Hottie,' is 'Pop Princess'

One thing that's true about class act and all-around cool hope for young people everywhere, Lorde, is that she's all about juxtapositions. And she doesn't care if they surprise you, either (as evidenced by her Reddit AMA earlier this year). The 17 year-old is no stranger to such ballyhoo: her single "Royals" was, after all, a pop megahit highlighting the incongruous nature of glorifying wealth and luxury over the realities of life. So it should come as a surprise to no one that she has some interesting thoughts on the oft-lofted pop star labels of "teen hottie" and "pop princess" that are pretty honest and surprisingly empowering. "I'm a pop princess at heart," the singer explained to Jon Pareles at the New York Times. But before you go thinking her princess sits atop an ivory tower made up of bikini bods and rhyming "love" with "up above," you better check yourself before you wreck yourself, because that's not how she's decided on playing the game. Where pop überstars like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and even Katy Perry had to deal with — and often played into — the idea of Lolita-esque adoration, Lorde is taking a stand for realness instead.

"The phrase 'teen hottie' literally makes me want to throw up," she said. "I'm trying to make something people my age will care about, trying to keep my peers feeling like I'm doing something for them or representing them in some way." Sorry to burst your bubblegum.

Lorde's quick to come correct with what that all means to her. "Pop is about distilling what you want to say and making it easy," she stated. Perhaps it would be easy to hold onto our widely accepted interpretation of the "pop princess" ideal, but that would also be a disservice to her point. Namely, that she's pushing herself — and in turn, pop music — to grow beyond that. "The way I write isn’t about making things easy; it's a weird juxtaposition." It's safe to say the entire world could do with a little bit more of the living in and accepting of the weird juxtapositions. I think my new 2014 resolution is to be more like Lorde, which is a totally normal and cool thing for any 27-year-old woman to admit.