Lorde defends her pop star putdowns

Lorde performs on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Lorde has defended her critique of other pop stars in the industry, saying her views are "backed up".

The 16-year-old New Zealand pop star has quickly shot to fame after releasing her debut album, Pure Heroine, in September.

The album's first single, Royals, reached No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first New Zealand solo artist to have a No. 1 in America.

Although relatively new to music, Lorde hasn't been shy with talking about her views concerning the music industry and other artists.

She's accused Justin Bieber of providing a false depiction of what it's like to be a teenager, and criticised Taylor Swift for seeming flawless and unattainable - though she later said she regretted that comment in an explanatory post on her Tumblr blog.

Read: Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton hypes Lorde's 'feud' with Taylor Swift.

More recently, she turned down the chance to open for Katy Perry on the singer's Prism tour because she said it "didn't feel right".

But the rising Kiwi star has defended her opinions, saying she had 'reasonable grounds' to back her views.

"I think there's a funny culture in music that's only happened over the last 15 years, that if you have an opinion about something in music that isn't 100 per cent good, you're a 'hater'," she told MTV News.

"Even if you have perfectly reasonable grounds for that critique.

"People will say exactly what they think about a movie, but as soon as you say it about a record, you're like some little zombie in a funny dungeon."

Lorde has even incurred the wrath of Miley Cyrus fans after knocking Wrecking Ball off the number one spot on US iTunes.

"wo #1 on US itunes. even if it lasts an hour i feel HAPPY. downside is all these miley fans telling me they're gonna stab my rotting corpse," Lorde tweeted.

While it appears the singer will continue her tongue lashings, Lorde admitted she could be outspoken at times.

"I have pretty strong morals and opinions being in pop music, and I can't help but express those, which I think people appreciate.

"I don't think I say anything that isn't backed up. Most of the time I will stand by things that I've said.

"I just want to continue making music; it's the reason I'm here in the first place," she said.

- Cover Media