Behold the glory of Lorde .
Since emerging from a roughly four-year hiatus in June with her luminous, psychedelic single « Solar Power, » the two-time Grammy …
Behold the glory of Lorde. Since emerging from a roughly four-year hiatus in June with her luminous, psychedelic single « Solar Power, » the two-time Grammy winner has been omnipresent online: spawning memes with the song’s cheeky cover art and music video, thoughtfully answering « 73 Questions » for Vogue, and getting delightfully day drunk with late-night host Seth Meyers. Her appearance on web series « Hot Ones » went viral, as she calmly sampled the spiciest wings on deck without breaking a sweat, earning the title « the Lorde of the Wings » from Twitter users. « I feel like it should’ve been a couple levels (hotter), » jokes the singer (real name: Ella Yelich-O’Connor), curled up by a window on a recent Zoom call. Traveling stateside from her native New Zealand to promote new album « Solar Power, » out now, « it’s such a different mode for me, coming from being at home to wearing makeup all the time and being on camera. But I’m enjoying myself. Full pop-star mode has been activated. » « Solar Power » marks Lorde’s third album and her first since 2017’s « Melodrama, » a Grammy nominee for album of the year. While « Melodrama » mined heartbreak and teenage revelry for its pulsing pop anthems, her latest 12-song effort is a decidedly mellower affair. Once again collaborating with producer du jour Jack Antonoff (Taylor Swift, St. Vincent), her influences ranged from classic rock greats the Eagles and The Mamas & the Papas, to pop/R&B artists from her youth, including Natasha Bedingfield, TLC and All Saints. Their music « sounds so sunshiny and so outdoors, » says Lorde,24. And coming off an exhaustive world tour in 2018, she was in dire need of both those things. « I was tired after ‘Melodrama,’ » Lorde admits. « It was a very intense album and I felt I’d given it my all.
