A little-known 16-year-old from New Zealand owned the summer of 2013 with a catchy song that criticized lifestyles of the rich and famous. Naturally, she was rewarded with riches and fame. But Ella Yelich-O’Connor, aka Lorde, has handled her sharp ascent over the last three and a half years with grace, sensitivity, and humor. Since ceasing touring behind her 2013 debut Pure Heroine in late 2014, she has mostly laid low.
Of course, throughout this time frame, there have been plenty of questions regarding her sophomore album, starting as early as December 2013, when Lorde toldBillboard, “I’ve been writing but I haven’t really had time to hit the studio as of yet.” Since then, she’s collaborated with Disclosure, curated a soundtrack for The Hunger Games, posted vague Instagram and Tumblr updates from the studio, and even chilled by the beach.
Then yesterday, on her 20th birthday, Lorde finally posted the first major update regarding her currently unnamed second record. She explained that the album, which is almost finished, will chronicle her transition away from her teenage self. Let’s look at how Lorde got here, and what we know about the album so far.
April 2014
Along with Kim Gordon, Joan Jett, Annie Clark, Dave Grohl, and Krist Novoselic, Lorde performed Nirvana’s “All Apologies” at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Upon airing in June, the highly-praised rendition was briefly dampened by —of all people—Iggy Azalea, who felt Lorde was the wrong choice for the number because of her age. Lorde did what any sensible person forced into responding to Iggy Azalea should do, shrugging off the hate like, “I had a good time. That’s all that mattered.”
June 2014
Lorde told the BBC that her sophomore record would be “totally different” and an “improvement,” thanks to her growth as a songwriter. “I wrote the last album about that world, which was the suburb where I grew up and populated by my friends and people who were really familiar to me,” she explained. “Now I’m in a different place every day and I’m with new people every day and it’s a different vibe.”
In keeping the same vibe, though, Lorde turned her signature look—heavily lined eyes and dark purple lips—into a small makeup set for MAC. She told Vogue that both the Pure Heroine Lipstick and the Penultimate Eyeliner should be able to be worn by regular girls. Goth lite for all!
September 2014
Lorde released “Yellow Flicker Beat,” the first taste of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 soundtrack (which she curated), and her first song since Pure Heroine. The full soundtrack, released that November, featured songs by Chvrches, Charli XCX, Grace Jones, the Chemical Brothers, and more, along with a Kanye rework of “Yellow Flicker Beat” and Lorde’s Bright Eyes cover (teens, stay teen-ing). “Yellow Flicker Beat” went on to be nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song the following year.
December 2014
While trawling through her archives, Lorde discovered and shared “Lost Boys,” a Pure Heroine song that wound up on the cutting room floor. Later that month, she appeared in a very silly skit for the Australian radio program Triple J along with Diplo, Disclosure, Skrillex, Courtney Barnett, Flume, and more.
February 2015
On Triple J, Pure Heroine producer Joel Little said that within a month or so, Lorde would be in the studio. “We’re just going to start writing some songs. We haven’t got some planned out ‘this is what it’s going to sound like,’” he explained. “I think we’re just going to start writing and when it starts to feel right, we’ll know that it’s right. It’s pretty simple really.”
March 2015
Photo by Patrick Kovail/AFP/Getty Images
Lorde attended the Dior show in Paris with Kanye West, blessing the world with that famous goth pals pic. Lorde previously referred to West as “like my school principal, if the school is pop.” (Yes, this is relevant to her new album—when are these two going to collaborate beyond a remix already?)
April 2015
At the ASCAP Pop Music Awards, Joel Little updated Billboard on Lorde’s mysterious second record. “We’ve written a couple of songs,” he said. “We haven’t done a whole lot of production on it yet, we just want to make sure the songs are really good and try and experiment with some new things—just different beats and whatever occurs in the studio.” Little insinuated that the pair were not limiting themselves and were taking the time to explore “every option.”
May 2015
Lorde wrote a Tumblr note explaining what she’s been up to, which mostly consisted of chilling by the ocean. She also discussed Robyn’s perfect “Dancing on My Own,” which led her to the realization that music is her “most important friendship.”
“I think that’s a cool, intense revelation to have, going into your second record. First records are like meeting someone and feeling that need to do everything, just in case for whatever reason, you run out of time, or they stop feeling the same way as you. I feel much calmer, more comfortable in my love of doing this, and its apparent love of me, this time around.”
That same month, news surfaced that Lorde and her manager Scott Maclachlan, who signed her when she was 13, had parted ways. Though he said there was no animosity between them, Maclachlan warned that the real test of the manager-less Lorde would arrive after the release of her second album.
July 2015
I know what you (and every other pop star) did last summer: Lorde reprised her role in Taylor Swift’s squad for a performance of “Royals” during the 1989 Tour.
September 2015
Lorde turned up on “Magnets,” a sultry highlight off Disclosure’s Caracal. In the months following the album’s release, she performed with the Lawrence brothers on “Saturday Night Live” and at Coachella back in April.
December 2015
Lorde and singer/songwriter/producer Jack Antonoff each posted studio photos featuring or mentioning the other on Instagram, which suggested they were collaborating. Almost a year later, the pictures have not stopped, and the pair have been spotted outside Manhattan’s Electric Lady Studios.
January 2016
whispered the album name to my mum in the car today
— Lorde (@lorde) January 1, 2016
March 2016
Following the passing of David Bowie, who had told Lorde that listening to her “felt like listening to tomorrow,” Lorde performed “Life on Mars” at the Brit Awards. It remains a highlight among countless Bowie tributes this year.
A few days later, Lorde posted a quick note to Tumblr re: her next album: “I am so fucking psyched to play you this new music holy shit. That’s all back to my cave. I love you xxx.” She elaborated on Twitter.
sometimes i think someone must have counted up the numbers wrong, added a zero or two. it still hasn't sunk in, how much you've done for me
— Lorde (@lorde) March 30, 2016
i know it's been a minute since we touched hands, and i miss it all so much - the hugs and tears and shouted songs
— Lorde (@lorde) March 30, 2016
trying with everything in me to make a record good enough to fulfil all your highest hopes
— Lorde (@lorde) March 30, 2016
June 2016
Broods released “Heartlines,” co-written by Lorde.
July 2016
took a helicopter out into the wilderness spent 3 days alone writing and made some of the most exciting breakthroughs on this record so far
— Lorde (@lorde) July 14, 2016
August 2016
Prompted by a rude question from an Instagram follower, Lorde divulged vague details about her sophomore record. “Give up on me if you want to!,” she wrote. “I’m an artist, I write a record when I have enough special series to tell, and it’s all me, every melody every lyric, not some team who just start the machine every eighteen months like clockwork. “The record is written, we’re in the production stages now. I’ve worked like a dog for a year making this thing great for you guys.”
November 2016
On the occasion of her 20th birthday, Lorde wrote a long note to fans on Facebook, explaining what’s gained in her absence from the public eye
Since 13 I’ve spent my life building this giant teenage museum, mausoleum maybe, dutifully wolfishly writing every moment down, and repeating it all back like folklore. And now there isn’t any more of it… Sometime in the last year or so, part of me crossed over. For one thing, I made a very deliberate choice to withdraw for a little while from a public life. I haven’t had my hair or makeup done in a year, the free handbags dried up LONG ago, and the paparazzi at the airport are almost always for someone else. And let me tell you, as much as I love being full noise album cycle girl, it's been a motherfucking joy. (Every once in a while I am recognized on the street - one of you breathlessly clutches my hand, shaking and speaking quickly, and I feel this SHOCK of love.)
She continued, saying that after moving away from home, enduring heartbreak, and discovering an “intimate, empire-sized inner power,” she wrote her next record about it.
Writing Pure Heroine was my way of enshrining our teenage glory, putting it up in lights forever so that part of me never dies, and this record - well, this one is about what comes next. I want nothing more than to spill my guts RIGHT NOW about the whole thing - I want you to see the album cover, pore over the lyrics (the best I’ve written in my life), touch the merch, experience the live show. I can hardly stop myself from typing out the name. I just need to keep working a while longer to make it as good as it can be. You'll have to hold on. The big day is not tomorrow, or even next month realistically, but soon. I know you understand.