Lorde for M Le Magazine Du Monde France

 

 

https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2025/08/22/lorde-joyau-neo-zelandais-de-l-electro-pop-j-avais-envie-sur-virgin-de-documenter-ma-feminite_6633454_4500055.html

https://models.com/client/le-monde-m-magazine

https://models.com/people/lorde
 

Spoiler

https://x.com/LordeBrasil/status/1958518131367850147

https://x.com/LordeUpdatesBR/status/1958510116514205921

https://x.com/Lorde_fix/status/1958533621826146590

https://x.com/Lorde_fix/status/1958502386206396674

https://x.com/Lorde_fix/status/1958501847741649128

https://www.instagram.com/m_magazine/p/DNnVhTcM2s2/

https://www.instagram.com/p/DNng4kVsWoc/

She appears to now have three earrings in her left ear and two in her right ear.

I though for a while she had one for each album, but she appears to have one more.

 

M Le Magazine Du Monde France

Lorde, New Zealand electropop sensation: 'With 'Virgin,' I wanted to document my femininity'

 

Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr.

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/m-le-mag/article/2025/08/31/lorde-new-zealand-electropop-sensation-with-virgin-i-wanted-to-document-my-femininity_6744888_117.html

 

Spoiler

webpage capture available here:

https://archive.ph/VC9mR

 

love the interview, we both like annie ernaux  and i think she explained her identity in the clearest way possible

On 9/2/2025 at 4:46 AM, Kimi said:

love the interview, we both like annie ernaux  and i think she explained her identity in the clearest way possible

A lot of the interview was very good. The one reservation I would have, is that some parts of the interview appeared to contradict earlier interviews, for example the chronological order of some events.

 M Le Magazine Du Monde

On top of this came her 2023 breakup with Justin Warren... That same year, she left New Zealand to move to New York.... Alongside her move, psychedelic-assisted therapy using psilocybin and MDMA helped her get back on her feet.

-- if you had only read this one interview, you'd be convinced that the therapy for her stage fright, only began in 2023 after her break up with Justin Warren.

 Rolling Stone

The solution, it turned out, was MDMA and psilocybin therapy, a form of PTSD treatment that researchers are still fighting to get approved by the FDA. Over the course of many sessions between 2022 and 2024, Lorde would take one of the psychedelic drugs and let the euphoria free her body and her mind.

 https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/lorde-new-album-virgin-breakup-gender-1235336574/

https://archive.ph/djfJE

 Plus this second article from Rolling Stone:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lorde-eating-disorder-interview-1235339250/

When Lorde hit the road in 2022 in support of her album Solar Power, she performed with a newfound sense of freedom. Psychotherapy treatments using MDMA and psilocybin had helped her overcome the stage fright she'd been grappling since she was a kid, allowing her to form new connections to her music and fans.

This appears to align with what we had previously read, for example this interview from January 2023 when she is still on the Solar Power tour:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/music101/audio/2018875472/lorde-bringing-the-solar-power-tour-home-quite-emotional

Part of the problem might be that Lorde is a native English speaker, and she was being interviewed for a French magazine that was published in French and we are now reading a translation of the French article back to English. So some things might be out of sequence and other things might be framed in a different way than the way she explained them in the interview.

Lorde for Dazed magazine - Autumn 2025 issue

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIUNxHQufjc

 Dazed magazine:

https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/68555/1/lorde-virgin-album-tour-2025-interview-sex-drugs-gender

 Thread here:
https://atrl.net/forums/topic/514121-lorde-covers-dazed-magazines-autumn-2025-issue/

 

Lorde – Interview in english | ZDF

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFc-r7kkIb0

 

Great interview. Her choice of album/song at the end, just after 29:10 was an good choice. 

Spoiler

She has talked about Burial as an influence for a long time. if you listen to Shapeshifter, you can hear the Burial influence in the percussion.

Original interview in German:
https://www.zdf.de/video/reportagen/aspekte-106/lorde-virgin-selbstliebe-scham-interview-100

This might have posted elsewhere, but these appear to be her submissions for the 2026 Grammy awards.

Lorde
Virgin: AOTY, Alt Album, Eng Album
What Was That: ROTY, Pop Solo Perf, BMV
Man of the Year: SOTY
David: Alt Perf
Mind Loaded: ROTY, SOTY, Alt Perf

https://www.goldderby.com/topic/2026-grammy-submissions/page/36/
https://www.goldderby.com/topic/2026-grammy-submissions-part-2/

 

What perfection means to Lorde
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2025-10-02/lorde-virgin-ultrasound-tour-charli-xcx-interview

LA Times interview 2-Oct-2025

 

On the subject of the "Girl, So Confusing" song and remix:

 

"It's a very unique feeling to have someone write a song about you," Lorde says before her dance rehearsal. "I don't think I'd ever had that before, and I'd written so many songs about other people."

 

"I came to the conclusion that any song that gets written about you is a love song," she continues. "It's an act of love to use your gift to see someone."

 

In response to a question about the Zane Lowe interview, she says she f--ed up that interview:
 

I was in too girly an outfit, honestly, and I had this hair clip in, and I felt all tight and shy. I couldn't access it.

 

On the question about taking four years between albums:

 

There's one thing I feel totally committed to — it's not allowed to be four years [for the next one]. It has to be sooner.

4 minutes ago, Letemtalk said:

In response to a question about the Zane Lowe interview, she says she f--ed up that interview:
 

I was in too girly an outfit, honestly, and I had this hair clip in, and I felt all tight and shy. I couldn't access it.

What's this about? What was she saying?

On 10/12/2025 at 8:04 PM, Bubble Tea said:

What's this about? What was she saying?

Reading the interview again (and some of her others), she appears to be saying that she went to the Zane Lowe interview and was dressed in a girly outfit, with a hair clip and that look wasn't reflecting how she was feeling and she felt uncomfortable in the interview.

 

She mentioned something similar in her Dazed interview:

https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/68555/1/lorde-virgin-album-tour-2025-interview-sex-drugs-gender

 

Quote

But some days, I can't wear women's clothes. I've had to figure out how to have my make-up done in a way that doesn't make me feel trapped or tight or like the wrong thing. Now I just tell people, "Treat it like male grooming." There always need to be options for clothing, or shirts. I had no idea there would be days when I felt totally out-of-body, and it was because I was wearing women's clothes when it wasn't the right thing. It's all a journey. I have no idea where it's gonna go; it doesn't feel like I've arrived anywhere permanent at all. I'm sure it'll keep unfurling, the way these things do. It really took me by surprise how much shame I felt – feeling all that come up wasn't easy. Even as I see my friends coming fully into their genders, feeling nothing but pride, love, respect and bliss. I just think it takes time to metabolise and find itself. I'm excited to find out where that lands, if it ever does land. Your whole life it keeps unfurling.

This might have been something she had said elsewhere, about needing male and female options. For example, the I think she said something similar about the outfit she wore in the Paris fashion week Balenciaga show, which was a chainmail dress over a pair of jeans.

 

 

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/lorde-wears-sheer-crystallized-chainmail-215449157.html

Lorde nominated for UK Music Video Awards 2025

She has been nominated or the UK Music Video Awards for her "Hammer" video which was filmed in the UK.

The awards show is held on 30 October 2025.

https://www.music-news.com/news/Underground/184577/UK-Music-Video-Awards-2025-nominations-announced-awards-ceremony

https://awards.ukmva.com/

Best Alternative Video – International
Oracle Sisters – Blue Left Hand
Cero Ismael – Driving Round Looking For Unknown
Lorde – Hammer
Clairo – Juna
Cults – Onions
Geese – Taxes

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7xnBdx70GU

Spoiler

The winner for the 2025 UK Music Video Awards Best Alternative Video – International was:

Cults – "Onions"
(Director: Alice Fassi)

 

came to luxembourg just to see her but she had to cancel 

On 11/10/2025 at 8:51 AM, SupremeGoddess said:

came to luxembourg just to see her but she had to cancel 

That would have sucked if you had to travel a long way.

Can you get into any of the other European shows or are you hoping to catch her when she comes back?

I'm sure she will reschedule.

Just now, Letemtalk said:

Can you get into any of the other European shows or are you hoping to catch her when she comes back?

I'm sure she will reschedule.

not at the current dates no  plus with the added shows to Australia i don't see her adding an european show I can go to without it being after those 

 

I think she's canceling it, she has her agenda way too full to reschedule an early-ish show. 

Cross post from the Virgin album thread, because it's mostly about new music.

During her 'Ultrasound' tour at the Barclays center (appears to be night #2), she talked about working on new material.

Grand Pinnacle Tribune

Lorde Promises Swift Return With New Music

Lorde, the enigmatic pop powerhouse from New Zealand, is making headlines again—this time not just for her music, but for a creative resurgence that promises to…

On December 17, 2025, Lorde announced she's already working on new material, vowing that the agonizingly long waits between her albums are a thing of the past. This pledge comes just as she wraps up the American leg of her ambitious 'Ultrasound' world tour, a run that's been as much about self-confrontation as it's been about celebration.

According to Variety, Lorde told fans she has "thrown the gauntlet down," promising, "the next wait will not be another four years." She described herself as "creatively insatiable," making it clear she's not taking a break anytime soon.

She has said this a few times before and some think she means Virgin deluxe, but she seems to be hinting about a new album. She appears to have stayed in NYC over Christmas instead of heading back to New Zealand early, so maybe she was planning to work on music there, before she has her first New Zealand show in February.

5 hours ago, Letemtalk said:

Cross post from the Virgin album thread, because it's mostly about new music.

During her 'Ultrasound' tour at the Barclays center (appears to be night #2), she talked about working on new material.

Grand Pinnacle Tribune

Lorde Promises Swift Return With New Music

Lorde, the enigmatic pop powerhouse from New Zealand, is making headlines again—this time not just for her music, but for a creative resurgence that promises to…

She has said this a few times before and some think she means Virgin deluxe, but she seems to be hinting about a new album. She appears to have stayed in NYC over Christmas instead of heading back to New Zealand early, so maybe she was planning to work on music there, before she has her first New Zealand show in February.

L5 is coming.

On 1/7/2026 at 11:32 PM, Kayseri Mantisi said:

L5 is coming.

Does anyone know what sort of contract she is on with Universal?

If you have the video of her Glastonbury 2025 performance, at the start of the set before she sings "Hammer" she talks to the audience and said "I didn't know if I'd make another record to be honest, but I am back here, completely free".

She might have meant free of her ex or something like that. But I'm wondering whether she had a 4 album contract, maybe 5 albums (one to go) and whether she was now an independent artist, or something like that.

She has a lot of Ultrasound tour shows and festivals coming up, but assuming there are a few gaps, she might be more motivated to come back soon and release her first independent album (or perhaps her last album under Universal).

She went back to New Zealand, and judging from the map on wall of the fish and chips place, she was on Great Barrier Island again.

From the IG story, she appears to be back in Auckland and will be preparing for her first New Zealand show in a couple of weeks.

Edit: she went to Los Angeles and attended the premiere of 'The Moment' (film with Charli XCX in it) and went to Charli XCX's after-party on Thursday, January 29, 2026.

On 1/28/2026 at 7:25 AM, Letemtalk said:

Does anyone know what sort of contract she is on with Universal?

If you have the video of her Glastonbury 2025 performance, at the start of the set before she sings "Hammer" she talks to the audience and said "I didn't know if I'd make another record to be honest, but I am back here, completely free".

She might have meant free of her ex or something like that. But I'm wondering whether she had a 4 album contract, maybe 5 albums (one to go) and whether she was now an independent artist, or something like that.

She has a lot of Ultrasound tour shows and festivals coming up, but assuming there are a few gaps, she might be more motivated to come back soon and release her first independent album (or perhaps her last album under Universal).

She went back to New Zealand, and judging from the map on wall of the fish and chips place, she was on Great Barrier Island again.

From the IG story, she appears to be back in Auckland and will be preparing for her first New Zealand show in a couple of weeks.

Edit: she went to Los Angeles and attended the premiere of 'The Moment' (film with Charli XCX in it) and went to Charli XCX's after-party on Thursday, January 29, 2026.

How did you know? She's out of the contract according to her new voicenote. Interested to what she ends up going for.

11 hours ago, pitysmith said:

How did you know? She's out of the contract according to her new voicenote. Interested to what she ends up going for.

I had no inside information, but it just seemed likely. She might have made her mind up before Virgin was released, but decided to delay any announcement until after the official Virgin tour was over.

Rolling Stone Australia

Lorde Goes Independent After Deal With Universal Ends

Lorde has revealed she is now operating as an independent artist after her deal with Universal Music Group came to an end late last year.

The alleged advantages of being signed to a label (following her recent announcement):

• They promote your music and you will be having smash hits.

• You will be winning Grammys (and other major awards), and the record label does a great job at promoting you to the Grammy voters, and does a great job when dealing with the Recording Academy, e.g. ensuring you get a Grammy performance when you are nominated for major awards.

Universal hasn't really done much of those things for her since the Pure Heroine era, and were quite useless when it came to the Melodrama Grammy nominations, performance and wins.

From the wording of her voicenote, she probably doesn't have her masters.

"a 12-year-old girl pre-signed and pre-sold her creative output before she knew what it would be like and before she knew what she was signing away."

You might want to stay with your record label, if they are is giving you your masters, so the work your label does to promote your music makes YOUR masters more valuable in the long run. But this probably isn't the case here.

There are some pop artists in the following categories that probably need a record label:

• They have no idea how to write, produce or come up with an album concept on their own and need a record label to do everything.

• They simply want to be famous and be seen with all the famous people.

She doesn't fit into those categories either.

There might still be some advantages to being on a label, for examples, the record label promotion might help you when you want to tour and are getting selected for festival performances.

But the label takes a big part of your recording income, and and usually gets to keep your masters. You also need to get every release and every collaboration approved by the label.

Maybe could see more collaborations with other artists in the future.

She said she signed a lease on an office. Does anyone know where, is this in NYC, in New Zealand, or somewhere else?

Lorde is now an independent artist (media coverage):

• https://www.nylon.com/entertainment/lorde-independent-artist

• https://variety.com/2026/music/news/lorde-independent-artist-contract-universal-expired-1236692807/

• https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lorde-independent-artist-leaving-umg-1235533396/

• https://www.clashmusic.com/news/lorde-leaves-umg-goes-independent/

• https://pitchfork.com/news/lorde-leaves-universal-music-group/

• https://themusic.com.au/news/lorde-departs-universal-music-group-confirms-she-an-independent-artist/Y03Zd3Z5eHs/19-03-26

• https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lorde-goes-independent-after-deal-with-universal-ends-92688/

• https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/lorde-universal-record-label-deal-b2941266.html

• https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/lorde-independent-artist-first-time-12-years-old/

Her voice notes:

Her first voice note is about the tour and the second is about going independent:

• https://media.community.com/a/46251522-568e-4371-a0c7-f7d8f8b9bc5a/1d87432b-1854-4e82-8cdd-fc4da51c49ba.m4a

• https://media.community.com/a/46251522-568e-4371-a0c7-f7d8f8b9bc5a/37dab75c-7988-43df-92c3-c47c0edfe363.m4a

Lorde has received 4 nominations for the 2026 Aotearoa Music Awards

• Album of the Year - Virgin

• Song of the Year - "What Was That"

• Best Solo Artist - Virgin

• Best Pop Artist - Virgin

https://www.stuff.co.nz/culture/360965087/marlon-williams-lorde-lead-aotearoa-music-award-nominations

The 2026 Aotearoa Music Awards will take place on Thursday 28 May at The Civic in Tāmaki Makaurau. The event will be livestreamed via AMA Official Media Partner RNZ.

https://aotearoamusicawards.co.nz/news/presenting-the-finalists-for-the-2026-aotearoa-music-awards

Update: She won Best Pop Artist and International Achievement Award.

https://aotearoamusicawards.co.nz/news/2026-tui-winners-revealed-at-aotearoa-music-awards

Edited June 1Jun 1 by Letemtalk
updating with results

I'm sure most of you have seen this one where Zane Lowe and Jack Antonoff talk about the impact of Pure Heroine.

Zane Lowe: "I've said this many times, but there's a before and after Lorde (…) there's pop music before [Pure Heroine] and after that album. It changed everything in my opinion"

Thread here thanks to @bielneira

Producing Lorde - AudioTechnology

This interview from AudioTechnology is from September 2025, and is interesting, not just for production geeks, but because it gives a timeline of the songwriting and production:

Lorde enlisted Jim-E Stack as her prime co-conspirator for the production of 'Virgin'. The new album bares Lorde's soul and the production needed a raw edge.

Stack recalls that he first met Lorde early 2022. "She was rehearsing in LA for her 'Solar Power Tour' in LA. At the same time, she was in the early stages of figuring out what a next album would be like, thinking about what sound she was going to pursue. She and I got along well, and in between different legs of her tour she came to my studio and we tried making a song or two – these songs haven't come out, although she performed one at the end of her tour.

This appear to be a reference to "Silver Moon" and "Invisible Ink" which were created "between different legs of her tour", which might imply 2022 and not during the time she spent in London in 2023 which came after the last leg of the Solar Power tour. In fact, the time she spent in London wasn't mentioned in this article.

Perhaps she mostly worked with other people in London, including Fabiana Palladino, who co-wrote "Current Affairs" and "If She Could See Me Now", but maybe there were other tracks that didn't make the album.

So in the fall of 2023 we went into Flux Studios in New York to make some demos. I think we felt less under pressure there. The first thing we really clicked on was what became 'What Was That'.

By the end of 2023, Ella and I reconvened at my studio in LA, and that's when the songs really started to come, like 'Hammer' and 'Man of the Year'.

"Other musicians came in at various points, like Devonté Hynes, who played cello and bass on 'Man of the Year' and electric guitar on 'Favourite Daughter', all at Flux Studios.

Andrew Aged played electric guitar on five songs during the summer of 2024, at my studio. We were after the bite and grit and raw power of his tone. Ella and I also decided that 'Shapeshifter' needed live drums so we recorded Craig Weinrib while we were in New York. That gave the song some air."

Full article:

https://www.audiotechnology.com/features/producing-lorde