Lorde

We bunch Aussie teen phenoms with the new wave of gothic pop ingenues. Like Sky Ferreira and Charli XCX, Lorde is connecting with people by eschewing brash bubblegum sounds and the trite trapping of modern radio. "Royals" is explicitly a middle finger to the saturated brain fat of, say, Ke$ha. Her pale visage, raccoon eyes and ebony tresses signal a more honest reflection of the zeitgeist. Her debut, Pure Heroine, cleverly reappropriates junkie chic as female power. All this wrapping would be cool but meaningless without the tunes to back it up, and her songs manage to go big by sounding spare, small and nocturnal. In other words, she's kind of the xx-meets-Cyndi Lauper for the Monster High generation. It'll be interesting to see how the ominous synthesizers and humble hip-hop beats translate to big, big rooms. But at least Aragon is appropriately dark and ornate, as opposed to the bright, open Lollapalooza stage she is so obviously destined for.