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New Zealand superstar Lorde is really very good, but even she has denied suggestions that, after one album, can be considered a 'genius' or compared to tragic poet, Sylvia Plath.

In a new interview with Fashion Magazine, the star deflected such suggestions, denying any attempts to be 'avant garde' with her work and discussing her (literary) influences. Lorde was originally compared to Sylvia Plath by The Guardian in 2013. Plath was famous for her poetry and literature, but also for her untimely suicide in 1963. Lorde has, understandably, shrugged off such comparisons.

"Never for a second would I put myself beside a genius like Sylvia Plath," she tells the magazine. "I may have specific tastes but I’m not trying to be avant-garde with my approach or my music. I like indie, pop and literature. I like to play with them but that doesn’t make me a genius."

Lorde also speaks of taking inspiration from the likes of Annie Lennox and Patti Smith, particularly in how she presents herself as a woman in music.

"Jackets and pants are my power clothes," she continues. "I agree with Annie Lennox when she said, 'wearing a suit is like wearing armour.' I wore pants and a shirt at the Grammys because it made me feel confident.

"I remember looking at early photos of Patti Smith when she was wearing those men’s shirts she chopped off at the sleeve. That, to me, is the strongest look in the world."

The teen star also names US author Tobias Wolff as her 'hero', and praises his work as a writer.

"In terms of creating perfectly formed sentences and paragraphs and paying attention to word selection—Tobias Wolf is awesome," she adds. "He’s been writing short fiction a long time but I read a collection called The Night In Question that blew me away."

Below: the greatest Lorde quotes of her career so far