They have nothing in common. Billie lowkey took her place in music as the young alt-pop prodigy tbh. If Lorde had released stronger material and not been acting weird, she'd be fine, but she's having growing pains. Her trajectory reminds me 90s artists, like Alanis with a dash of Jewel. She should've kept her distance from Jack Atonoff tbh.

yeah as others have said: it was very much Billie who overtook Lorde, if we're being technical about the commercial and critical success viewpoint. Billie took the minimalism Lorde was working with and made it more progressive sounding and a bit more overarching. Pure Heroine, Melodrama, and Virgin are all excellent records. Pure Heroine and Melodrama are perfect chicken soup for a former teenage soul, and Virgin really successfully built upon the coming-of-age vibes of those two albums and made it more for a late 20s crowd. so now what do we think Lorde will do? it could be another great album or it could be another uncertain-what-it-wants-to-be mixed bag like Solar Power. Billie is only gonna continue going up from here, on the other hand. I do love Lorde too but being so honest: Billie kinda knocked Lorde off of the throne she had been on for a bit. of course they're all great artists and they all deserve to coexist, but the spotlight ended up going more towards Billie than it did Lorde. I think Hammer should've been a huge hit last year tbh

i don't really think lorde is much less acclaimed than she's ever been,, obvs virgin hasn't been a melodrama type era critically but i think most artists probably only have one of those and it was still very well received (it's her best album by far imo)

and as others have noted, the more brat soaks into mainstream culture, the less 'credible' it becomes to a certain kind of person, give it two years and all those people will be taking about virgin as an unsung masterpiece and calling charli a talentless hack (unless she flops, then she'll be good again)

It has taken longer for Charli to be acknowledged critically the way she was for Brat, so her "imperial phase" is just more recent. A good portion of Charli's career has involved her reaching for more recognition. In order to make Brat I think she had to shed a lot of the tension built up around her image, the humility that was expected for her level of fame, and very intentionally rewriting the narrative that explained herself as an artist. It was a lot easier to follow her in the Brat era, now having such a rich history to look back on, and with album lyrics that were much more vulnerable and specific. At some point, it just became a strange viral moment that lacked context or even a strong connection to Charli as an artist. I don't know if we'll get a sense for her credibility until she releases the true follow-up album. If anything, I do think she has made herself more favorable. This could not be possible if you look at where she was at even a few years ago.

The obstacle Lorde has faced, and mostly resolved with Virgin, is reckoning the contrast between her own self perception and public opinion. Whereas Charli was fighting for how she wanted to be seen, Lorde was assuming along the way that she would be understood or at least accepted for her artistic output. Charli's greatest strength has been her interest in the machinery surrounding the pop star. It is that perspective that allowed her to see the bigger picture and get to where she is now. Lorde has really only recently had to step outside of herself. I'd say she is currently on track to having her own interests, fan expectations, and critical appreciation in alignment again.

Other comments are mentioning Billie, but I think Billie's career has had the trajectory that people projected onto Lorde. I'm sure Lorde hoped for success when she first started, but most of her early achievements were much grander than her actual ambitions. I don't think she would ever aim to have a moment like Brat then, and especially, not now.

Yes she alienated what was left of the public with Virgin.