Recently, Lorde made it into the headlines with her freshly released five songs. The songs themselves weren’t a headline, but the fact that it was sung in the Maori language made people wonder about Lorde and her parent’s ethnicity.

An online debate was sparked quickly after its release, questioning Lorde’s ethnicity.

Questions like, Are her parents of Maori Descent?

For a person who isn’t of Maori descent, is she allowed to speak the language? 

Perhaps one of her parents is of the Maori Descent? 

Questions were circling in people’s minds, trying to justify why a certain language was used even if the person isn’t directly associated with it.

Lorde’s Ethnicity

Lorde was born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand. She has been on everyone’s playlist since 2013 after the release of her single ‘Royals’.

Since then, she has been in the news for her creativity and her quirkiness.

Who can forget her running an undercover Instagram account dedicated to rating Onion Rings? Not me!

Lorde’s recent release

After a hiatus, Lorde recently blessed us with her song titled ‘Solar Power’, which was inspired by Primal Screams. A critically acclaimed 80s Rock band from Glasglow.

The video for the said song features a few Maori routines into their choreography. Those dance moves provide freshness, complimenting well to the soothing tune.

Lorde’s parents and their ethnicity

Sonja Yelich and Vic O’Connor are the parents of Lorde.

Together they have four children including Lorde: daughter Jerry, India, and son Angelo.

Her mother Sonja Yelich is a poet based in New Zealand. Sonja is of Croatian heritage. Her family had immigrated from Croatia to the region of Dalmatia, where she was born.

Sonja has many published and critically acclaimed poetry collections to her. Her poems were chosen as Best New Zealand poems series in 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006.

Her works include, AUP New Poets 2, Clung, and Get Some.

Lorde’s father Vic O’Connor is a civil engineer from Auckland. He is the major inspiration for Lorde’s music creation. She revealed that he’s a first-verse and chorus kind of guy. who knows what a good song sounds like.  She credits her father for her path to music stardom.

Are Lorde’s parents Maori?

The answer is no. Lorde’s parents are both immigrants who came from different nations and later settled in Auckland.

Her mother is of Croatian descent and her father is of Irish descent.