When Lorde and Little had finished their first collaborative effort , '' The Love Club EP '' , Maclachlan applauded it as a " strong piece of music " , but worried if the EP could profit because Lorde was obscure at the time . In November 2012 , the singer self-released the EP through her SoundCloud account for free download . UMG commercially released '' The Love Club '' in March 2013 after it had been downloaded 60,000 times , which signaled that Lorde had attracted a range of audiences . It peaked at number two in New Zealand and Australia . " Royals " , the EP 's single , helped Lorde rise to prominence after it became a critical and commercial success , selling more than 10 million units worldwide . It charted at number one on the '' Billboard '' Hot 100 , making Lorde , then 16 years old , the youngest artist to earn a number-one single in the United States since Tiffany in 1987 , and has since been certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America ( RIAA ) . The track won two Grammy Awards for Best Pop Solo Performance and Song of the Year at the 56th ceremony
56th ceremony
56th Annual Grammy Awards
Lorde