Royals — Lorde (2013)

At 16, Lorde's minimalist critique of opulence outperforms #6's peers by reshaping pop's lyricism entirely. 'Royals' spent nine weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, a feat unmatched by any other debut single from a teen artist that decade. The track's sparse production—featuring only a single keyboard riff and a muted drum machine—proved 50% more influential on indie-pop than the average hit, spawning a wave of stripped-down chart-toppers. Lorde's vocal range, spanning two octaves, injects a warmth that contrasts sharply with the era's auto-tuned excess. The song sold over 10 million units globally and won two Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year. Its lyrical takedown of rap's gold-and-diamond clichés made it an anthem for austerity-minded youth, and it remains the most-shazamed song from 2013 on Shazam.