The song later won Song of the Year at the 2014 Grammys.
She has toured all over the world and picked up several other Grammy Awards (viaBillboard).
Lorde shot to fame when she was still a young teenager.
Here is the stunning transformation of Lorde.
Growing up near Auckland, Lorde had a quiet, normal childhood.
As Lorde toldRolling Stone, she is one of four children.
“I’m much more within myself,” Lorde explained in comparison.
It seems that Lorde’s New Zealand roots still have a strong hold on her.
I don’t have security or anything like that."
In fact, she liked her own company more than being in the spotlight.
Despite her introversion, Lorde was clearly exceptional from a young age.
AsThe Guardianreported, a New Zealand journalist found out that Lorde was an extremely gifted child.
When Lorde was 10,Stuffreported, she won a district-wide school speech competition.
One year later, her team came second in the world final in South Africa.
“She had this amazing voice,” he recalled toRolling Stone.
Instead, she was given a two-year developmental deal to work on herself.
As she explained, having voice lessons helped her to get rid of her nasal twang.
As the singer told60 Minutes, “It’s that kind of nobility, aristocracy obsession that I had.
And so that’s exactly what she did.
In 2013, Lorde toldThe Faderthat the moniker helped her create an on-stage alter ego.
By being “Lorde” rather than “Ella,” she was able to get past her shyness.
Over the years, the two sides of her personality have mixed.
“Royals,” written by Lorde and Joel Little, was released on Soundcloud in 2012.
It quickly became a chart-topping, record breaking song.
AsTimeexplained, the song showed she was “intellectually credible,” which set Lorde apart from her peers.
“Royals” was a huge success and Lorde was suddenly catapulted into stardom.
Luckily, her friends stood by her.
As Lorde put it, they were “super supportive.”
Lorde’s new fame also brought with it plenty of opinions about her work.
As she toldVogue, “People decided that I was the teenage perspective …
It’s no wonder Lorde found this wide lens a little confusing.
Even at the time, she felt that her writing was hyper personal.
As Lorde toldThe Faderin 2014, Swift helped her learn how to be famous.
Later, in 2017, Lorde explained that her relationship with Swift was still going strong.
“It’s like having a friend with very specific allergies,” she explained.
“There are certain places you’ve got the option to’t go together.
Certain things you might’t do.”
Since Lorde frequently took time out of public life, too, it seems this pair was perfectly suited.
Lorde handpicked songs for the album and contributed a few of her own as well.
As she toldThe Fader, being a producer was a whole new experience.
The project was also a lot more pressure than her first album had been.
Lorde explained her preparation process toRookie: “Usually I need a couple minutes by myself.
As she toldVogue, 2015 was a particularly pivotal year.
The pair had been together for three years at the time of their severance.
While these changes weren’t always easy, they helped Lorde to grow and mature as an artist.
“I just couldn’t write it all down fast enough,” she added.
As she toldZane Lowe’s Beats 1 radio show, the break was carefully calculated.
There was a lot of discovery that went on,” she shared.
“I was like, ‘This is incredible, nobody cares about me,'” she explained toStuff.
“I definitely wasn’t bothered.”
In fact, Lorde disappeared for so long that she felt completely refreshed when she finally came back.
“I’ve been so off the beaten track.”
As she toldThe Guardian, her second album “Melodrama” was a collaborative effort with Jack Antonoff.
“He was the ultimate tour guide,” Lorde toldThe Guardian.
He was with her while she wrote her third album and for Lorde, his presence became extremely meaningful.
“To feel this energy that was not being generated by me was really profound,” she recalled.
Sadly, Pearl died in 2019, which deeply affected the singer.
As Lorde later told The Guardian, Pearl’s death ended up changing her.
“Grief is a really transformative force,” she explained.
“I’d never experienced it fully like that, and it makes you question everything.
It overturns a lot.”
She added, “But I also spend a tonne of time in the studio …
So, between the studio and a perfect beach somewhere, that’s kind of my vibe.”
Additionally, as Lorde shared withThe Guardian, she alsoquit social mediaduring the pandemic.
“I think it was altering my neural pathways and homogenising my trains of thought,” she revealed.
Her first single, also called “Solar Power,” has already made a gigantic impact.
In fact, it quickly went to number one (viaBillboard).
Lorde’s newfound passion for the natural world was the major inspiration for the project.
The fascination began when she traveled to Antarctica in 2019.
As she toldThe Guardian, “It was the middle of summer in New Zealand” when she left.
Her new music, she explained, would attempt to capture the power and mystery of nature.
It sounds like a real departure from the moody introversion of “Melodrama.”
Another major influence for Lorde was the death of her beloved dog Pearl and the grieving process that followed.
As she put it, “This record is about how precious life is, really.”
