Lorde (real name Ella Yelich-O’Connor) celebrated her 20th birthday yesterday, and to mark the occasion, the singer-songwriter took to Facebook to pen a heartfelt note about having “crossed over” to the world of adulthood.
Writing from New York, where the time zone meant she was writing a few hours in advance of her birthday, the star reflected about having made a choice to step back from the spotlight as part of her transition into adulthood.
“If I’m being real with myself, in some ways I stopped feeling like a teenager a while ago. 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,” she wrote.
“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.”
The star (pictured here at the Met Gala) says she has made a decision to step back from the spotlight as she works on her album. Photo: Getty
Instead, the ‘Royals’ singer says, she “turned inwards” to focus on friends and family, experiencing what she describes as “a colossal year”. She also shared an update on the progress of her highly anticipated second album, which she has been working on now for over a year.
“I maxed out every single emotion I have in the best possible way,” she wrote.
“My heart broke. I moved out of home and into the city and I made new friends and started to realize that no-one is just good or bad, that everyone is both. I started to discover in a profound, scary, blood-aching way who I was when I was alone, what I did when I did things for myself,” she continued.
“And then I wrote a record about it, all of it, so much more than what I’ve written down here, and I’m in new york getting it done.”
The update on her new album will be welcome news to many Lorde fans, who have been eagerly awaiting her follow-up to 2013’s Pure Heroine.
For some, the delay has seemingly been too much to bear – but the Kiwi star has previously made it clear she will only release the album when she’s happy with it.
Two months ago, the singer responded directly to a fan who had asked her on Instagram, “Do you think we will ever get another album or should we just give up on you as an artist?”
Lorde – pictured here on a night out with gal pal Taylor Swift last month – has been working hard on her upcoming album. Photo: Getty
“Give up on me if you want to!” She fired back.
“I write a record when I have enough special stories to tell, and it’s all me, every melody every lyric, not some team who just start the machine up every eighteen months like clockwork.
“The record is written, we’re in the production stage now. I’ve worked like a dog for a year making this thing great for you guys.”
In her Facebook post yesterday, Lorde explained that while she was very excited to share her new album, fans would have to “hold on” for the actual release, which she said would be coming “soon”.
“What I’m trying to say is: this is a special birthday. The party is about to start. I am about to show you the new world.”
