Latest news with #EllaMarijaLaniYelich-O'Connor
Hypebeast
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hypebeast
'Virgin': Lorde's Embrace of Her Internal Enigma
Summary You can tell a lot about aLordealbumfrom its cover art. When Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor chooses to grace us with a studio project around every four years, she ensures each project's visual language lays the groundwork for the time capsule of a narrative she's ready to tell. Her studio debut and encapsulation of her tumultuous yet romantic teenage years,Pure Heroine,kept it simple in visual style, the young musician still finding her footing as a human, let alone an artist. Four years later cameMelodrama,which features a still-life painting of the singer in shades of blue, giving way to the free-spiritedSolar Power,which sees Lorde lean into something evocative of … happiness? Now, we haveVirgin,Lorde's most introspective record to date, fronted by an infrared X-ray image of Lorde's pelvis – IUD and just that: the New Zealand songstress's self-performed internal examination of not only the last four years, but the feelings that came long before that shaped her into the grown-up 16-year-old New York City-living girl she is today. Virginwas written between 2023 and 2025 and features production from Jim-E Stack across all of its 11 tracks – including singles 'Hammer,' which invites us into the chaos about to ensue as track one, 'What Was That' at track two, and 'Man Of The Year' at track four. 'Shapeshifter' spotlights the dualities deeply rooted at her core, as she croons on the chorus: 'I've been the siren, been the saint / I've been the fruit that leaves a stain / I've been up on the pedestal / But tonight I just wanna fall.' 'Favorite Daughter' is another high point, hearing Lorde look back on childhood traumas that she takes a different angle on two tracks later in 'Clearblue' (yes, after the pregnancy test.) Virginis about feeling all of those messy, misunderstood feelings, many of which come to light on the streets of NYC – Canal Street, Baby's All Right and outside on the Westside Highway. 1. Hammer2. What Was That3. Shapeshifter4. Man Of The Year5. Favourite Daughter6. Current Affairs7. Clearblue8. GRWM9. Broken Glass10. If She Could See Me Now11. David StreamVirgin– out everywhere now.
Elle
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Elle
Lorde's Birth Chart Reveals So Much About Her New Album, 'Virgin'
What was that? Oh, just Lorde dropping her fourth studio album at the very moment that her Saturn return begins. If, like the Scorpio songstress, you were born between April 7, 1996, and Feb. 28, 1999, there's a good chance you're entering this cosmic rite of passage too. (Find out for yourself with this calculator.) Lorde was born Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor on Nov. 7, 1996, reportedly at 10 A.M. in Takapuna, New Zealand. That was the last time that Saturn was at 1° Aries in the sky—just as it will be again on June 27, the day that her full Virgin album drops. The first Saturn return, which happens around 29 years old, represents your astrological entrance into adulthood. Yes, kind of like a bat mitzvah or a quinceañera. In astrology, Saturn is the planet of wisdom and maturity, the kind that we can only gain through lived experiences—and overcoming challenges. It's been four years since Lorde's last album, Solar Power, was released in 2021. She's been quietly growing up since then, emerging with a nuanced perspective, as one often does during a Saturn return. The lyrics of her Virgin single 'What Was That' unspool like a retrospective as Lorde looks back on her younger days with wonder at her naiveté. While the Saturn return emphasizes wisdom, it's not the end of anyone's youthful era. Anyone lucky enough to be wandering through New York City's Washington Square Park this past April 22 may have caught Lorde's public performance of 'What Was That,' footage of which was captured for the song's music video. It was also the kind of gritty, daring, in-the-moment move that's a hallmark of people born with Saturn in the fiery sign of Aries. Naming an album Virgin as one crosses the Saturn return threshold might sound like an ironic choice. But Lorde's birth chart reveals otherwise. Along with her sultry, mysterious Scorpio sun sign, she was born with the moon in Virgo, the sign of purity. While the sun directs your outer personality, your moon sign reveals your emotional nature. Where Scorpio is passionate and investigative, Virgo tends to be measured and innocent. It's definitely a paradox. The way Lorde describes Virgin actually resonates with her birth chart. True to the Scorpio sun, she said the album was '100% written in blood.' In accordance with her Virgo moon, she even named the color of the project as 'clear,' 'like bathwater, windows, ice, spit.' And if that's not enough of a cosmic parallel, the album art pays homage to the body parts ruled by Scorpio: an inky blue X-ray of a pelvis with a zipper and belt buckle. Rounding out Lorde's Big Three is her Capricorn ascendant. Also known as your rising sign, this placement is like your cosmic PR agent. It reveals how you project yourself to the outside world—your body, your style, and your image—and how you come across to other people. While this ambitious placement no doubt imbues Lorde with a tireless work ethic, it also nods to her recent comments about 'broadening' her gender, as Capricorn is the sign associated with masculinity. As the New Zealand artist sings in her latest single, 'Hammer,' 'Some days, I'm a woman, some days, I'm a man.' With tracks like 'Shapeshifter' and 'GRWM' awaiting their June 27 release date, we're sure this Scorpio has more surprises up her sleeve. What could that mean for Lorde, who was already an international success with the release of 'Royals' at the tender age of 16? As she moves into her Saturn return era, a three-year journey that lasts until April 2028, we can't wait to see what Lorde is actually getting ready for. Check out Lorde's full birth chart analysis by The AstroTwins here.
Perth Now
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Lorde reveals why she 'felt scared' at the height of her fame
Lorde "felt scared" at the height of her early fame. The 28-year-old singer had barely finished school when she released the hit single Royals and recalled feeling "really overwhelmed" following the launch of her second album because she realised that her hobby had very quickly become her job and become "too big" for her liking. Speaking on the Therapuss podcast, she said: "I feel like at the end of Melodrama, I had this kind meltdown but I remember feeling all of a sudden that this thing that was my hobby that I did after school was now my employment. "It had gotten too big. I was a kid and I just felt this like like 'Aah!', I felt scared. I didn't know...I was getting that little bit older, and that new crop was coming in. I was like 'I don't know if I wanna do this at this level...' I felt really overwhelmed and went home to New Zealand, got a dog, and had this moment of 'I don't know if I wanna do all of that.' I thought I could just be this girl who was off the map and really mysterious, even more distant. It came from a place of feeling really joyful, very chill." The What Was That hitmaker - whose real name is Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor - had struggled touring her album and found the whole thing very "intense" but and ended up "sort of disappearing" from the music scene for a little bit until she realised that she needed to get back to her craft. She said: "It was also very crazy touring Melodrama, like I found it for that whole time, very intense. Endless, hardcore music. I for some reason found it very intense and wanted something that felt very light and easy after that. But it was cool. I love Solar Power so much, I truly needed to make it. I wouldn't be here with another album if I hadn't made Solar Power but I think it showed me that you have no choice but to be who you are supposed to be. "Me sort of disappearing and being all wafty and on the beat, I thought 'I just don't think this is me...' I'm just meant to be this person that makes these bangers that f*** us all up and, like, that just like, rip across a festival ground. I'm supposed to do that to our bodies. I'm not supposed to vibe out, and I love to vibe out. I, like, love to vibe out. In an alternate universe, I just lived in New Zealand and worked at an organic farm or something but that's not the vibe for me right now."
Otago Daily Times
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Lorde announces first album in four years
The album cover for Lorde's upcoming fourth album, Virgin. The wait is over - Lorde has announced a new album. The 28-year-old singer has not released a record since Solar Power in 2021, but following the release of her single What Was That earlier in 2025, it has been confirmed that Virgin will be available from June 27. The Grammy-winning star - who shot to global fame as a teenager with her signature track Royals - has released three albums and, according to a media release, Virgin will showcase a "bold evolution in her sound and storytelling". The announcement comes just more than 18 months after the Green Light hit maker revealed she had been working on new music while living in London. The New Zealand pop star - whose real name is Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor - revealed in an email newsletter to fans that she had been living in the British capital since mid-2023. "Things feel clear here. I haven't seen many friends; mostly, I'm alone with my thoughts," she said. "I go swimming, I go to work, I walk home or take the train, I eat in my kitchen, I go to bed thinking about what I'm making. I'm starting to miss my friends and family, like a vitamin I'm deficient in." Lorde also revealed in the same update that she has been battling a mystery illness. At the time, she noted that she had stopped taking her regular medication after spending more than a decade on it and found herself becoming ill on several occasions. "The little yellow pill I took every morning for thousands of mornings since I was 15. My gut isn't working properly, my skin is worse than ever, I've gotten sick half a dozen times." The Royals hit maker went on to explain to fans that she has "never really listened" to her body and has used this year to focus on her health after "ignoring" it for so long. Virgin will be released on June 27.
Perth Now
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Lorde announces new album Virgin
Lorde has announced a new album. The 28-year-old singer - whose real name is Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor - has not released a record since 'Solar Power' in 2021, but following the release of her single 'What Was That' earlier this year, it has now been confirmed that 'Virgin' will be available from June 27. The GRAMMY Award-winning star - who shot to global fame as a teenager with her signature track 'Royals' - has so far released three albums, and according to a press release, 'Virgin' will showcase a "bold evolution in her sound and storytelling" as she moves on in her career. The announcement comes just over 18 months after the 'Green Light' hitmaker Lorde revealed she was working on new music whilst living in London. The pop star revealed in an email newsletter to fans that she has been living in the British capital since May 2023 when she made the announcement that September. She began: 'Things feel clear here. I haven't seen many friends; mostly, I'm alone with my thoughts. 'I go swimming, I go to work, I walk home or take the train, I eat in my kitchen, I go to bed thinking about what I'm making. I'm starting to miss my friends and family, like a vitamin I'm deficient in.' Lorde also revealed in the same update that she has been battling a mystery illness. At the time, she noted that she had stopped taking her regular medication after spending more than a decade on it and found herself becoming ill on several occasions. She penned: "The little yellow pill I took every morning for thousands of mornings since I was 15. My gut isn't working properly, my skin is worse than ever, I've gotten sick half a dozen times." The 'Royals' hitmaker went on to explain to fans that she has "never really listened" to her body and has used this year to focus on her health after "ignoring" it for so long. She said: "I realised earlier this year that listening to my body is hard for me, it's something I never really learned how to do. I've been trying to teach myself that this year, but it's been hard actually, pretty confronting, has made me fully aware of all the times I ignored it or didn't give it what it needed, shamed it for a fight or flight response, took a handful of pills and pushed through."
