Song by Song: "Royals" Trivia Quiz

Answer: New Zealand

Lorde was born Ella Marija Lani Yeilich-O'Connor on November 7, 1996 in Auckland, New Zealand. She has dual citizenship in New Zealand and Croatia. She was only 15 years old when she recorded "Royals."

Answer: Pure Heroine

Lorde's "Pure Heroine" was released September 17, 2013. The song was earlier contained on "The Love Club LP," which was independently released in November of 2012. "Royals" was released as a single on June 3, 2013 with "Tennis Court," "Bravado" and "400 Lux" on the B-Side.

Answer: Joel Little

Joel Little was born February 13, 1983 in Auckland, New Zealand. He is also known for his work with Taylor Swift, Imagine Dragons, and the Jonas Brothers, among other musicians. Little won a New Zealand Music Award in 2014 as Best Engineer and Best Producer for Lorde's "Pure Heroine" album. He also won for Best Engineer and Best Producer for Brood's "Conscious" album in 2016.

Answer: Hot Rap Songs

It peaked at number one on all of these charts except Hot Rap Songs. It peaked at number three, however, on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Airplay. The song is, as Rolling Stone magazine describes it, a "playful resistance against rap and pop's obsession with wealth and status." The song also peaked at number one on singles charts in the UK, Sweden, Spain, Scotland, New Zealand, Italy, Israel, Ireland, Canada, and Belgium.

Answer: A Kansas City Royals baseball player signing baseballs

Though her interest in aristocracy inspired many of the lyrics to the song, in interviews with Vevo Lift and VH1, Lorde said it was the Kansas City team name "Royals" emblazoned on George Brett's shirt as he signed baseballs that gave her the idea for the title. Lorde claimed to have written the lyrics to "Royals" in a mere half hour.

It took only a week to record the song at Golden Age Studios in Auckland, New Zealand.

Answer: Spotify

The list was curated by Sean Parker, the American entrepreneur who co-founded Napster, a file-sharing computer service. The song peaked at number one on Spotify's Viral Chart in May of 2013, and from there, it went on to make its mark on alternative radio stations in the U.S.

Answer: Diamond

"I've never seen a diamond in the flesh.
I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies
And I'm not proud of my address
In a torn up town, no postcode envy."

In the U.S. "Royals" was certified "diamond" by RIAA. This certification was first introduced in 1999 for singles or albums selling at least ten million units.

At the 2014 Grammy Awards, "Royals" won for Best Pop Solo Performance and Song of the Year.

Answer: Grey Goose

"But every song's like
Gold teeth, Grey Goose, trippin' in the bathroom
Bloodstains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room."


The mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, used this song during his November 2013 victory speech to reflect his campaign theme of class inequality. The song has been covered by artists ranging from Selena Gomez to Bruce Springsteen.

Answer: tigers

"But everybody's like
Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece
Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash."

In addition to being ranked number 30 on Rolling Stone magazine's 2021 list of the greatest songs of all time, "Royals" came in at number 77 on the Daily Telegraph's list of the 100 greatest songs of all time. NPR included it on their list of the 200 Greatest Songs by 21st Century Women, at number six.

Answer: your love affair

"We don't care
We aren't caught up in your love affair
And we'll never be royals (royals)
It don't run in our blood
That kind of luxe just ain't for us
We crave a different kind of buzz."

"Royals" won the 2013 APRA Silver Scroll Award, which honors outstanding achievement in original songwriting in New Zealand pop music.

Lorde's song was an international hit. The record was certified 9X platinum by ARIA in Australia, 7X Platinum by Music Canada, 6X platinum by RMNZ in New Zealand, 5X Platinum by IFPI in Norway, 4X platinum by GLF in Sweden, and 2X platinum by BPI in the UK.