Lorde's ups and downs over the years: music, friendships and more

Lorde has been given the green light to shake up the music industry.

Since captivating fans with her debut studio album, pure heroine, In 2013, the Grammy winner has earned her space on any stage.

But almost three years after Lorde released her last album solar energyhis followers have been waiting patiently to find out what's next.

In September 2024, Lorde drew attention when she deleted everything from her Instagram profile except new black eye photos. “DIHTS? © 𝑳ĿŁု⑷♶⚤.” she wrote through social media application on September 30, 2024, with a photo of a hat that said “Do you have the stones?”

While the bruises may seem concerning to some, some fans didn't seem to be too worried about the “Royals” singer. Instead, they hoped the title's initials, which match the words on his hat, were a sign of new music on the horizon.

“She's hinting that she has a 'hit' coming,” one fan speculated in the comments section. Another user suggested: “Great way to get back into social media. He leads with the black eye and the enigmatic baseball cap. I like it, Lorde. I like it. Keep these people on their toes.”

While fans wait for more information, take a look at all of Lorde's ups and downs as she navigated the music industry in the spotlight:

Lorde's Grammy wins

The 56th Grammy Awards was a night Lorde won't soon forget. In addition to performing on music's biggest night for the first time, the singer won Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for “Royals” at the show. “This is the one thing I wasn't expecting the most from tonight,” Lorde shared while accepting her awards in January 2014. “Thank you to everyone who allowed this song to explode. “It's been crazy.”

Lorde's friendship with Taylor Swift

Amid their tours around the world, Lorde and Swift have been able to maintain a friendship. In fact, the “Shake It Off” singer threw Lorde a 20th birthday party in 2016.

During an interview with the guardianLorde spoke about the difficulty of maintaining a close friendship with someone as famous as Swift. “It's like having a friend with very specific allergies. There are certain places you can't go together. Certain things can't be done,” he said in June 2017. “There are different sets of considerations within friendship. “It’s like having a friend with an autoimmune disease.”

After fans pointed out that Swift's friend, Selena GomezYou have lupus, Lorde he apologized for the comments. “I didn't mention Taylor but anyway, yeah…I did and that was really insensitive,” he wrote via X. “I'm sorry.”

Lorde's private dating life

Throughout her career, Lorde has tried to keep her romantic life out of the spotlight. In February 2018, however, Lorde addressed rumors that she was dating. Jack Antonoff after his separation from Lena Dunham. “Guys, no! “Jack and I are not dating,” she said during an Instagram Live Q&A session with her fans. “I love it. It's amazing, but we're not dating!”

Lorde's bad luck with the MTV Video Music Awards

Although Lorde was initially announced as one of the most anticipated performances at the 2021 VMAs, MTV confirmed that the “Solar Power” singer's set was cancelled. “Due to a change in production elements, Lorde can no longer perform at this year's show,” the official VMAs announced. Twitter account announced in September 2021. “We love Lorde and can't wait for her to perform on the VMA stage in the future! ”

During the 2017 VMAs, Lorde came down with the flu before her performance, but she was determined to continue. Instead of singing his single “Homemade Dynamite,” he did an interpretive dance while the recorded track played.

Lorde's personal letter to fans

In September 2023, Lorde opened up about her challenging year in a heartfelt letter published via tumblr. “I am living with a broken heart again. It is different but the same,” he shared. “It hurts all the time, I forget why and then I remember. I'm not trying to hide from the pain, I now understand that pain is not something to hide from, that there is actually great beauty in moving with it. But sometimes I'm tired of being with myself.”

Lorde said she would stay in London where “things feel clear” and planned to return to New Zealand for some time. “Don't worry about me, I still laugh every day, everything moves, even when it's slow,” he added. “I have accepted the mission; I have a self to recover.”

Lorde and Charli XCX collaboration

Charli and Lorde released the studio version of their collaboration “Girl, So Confusing” in June 2024, shortly after Charli's sixth album, Golf clubdebuted.

The duet also came after rumors circulated that the pair were more competitors than friends.

However, when the song was released, Lorde explained in a verse of the song that she turned down Charli's previous invitations to hang out because she was afraid of being photographed. “I was trapped in hate / And your life seemed so wonderful,” Lorde sang. “I never thought for a second / My voice was in your head.”