Career Timeline of Lorde: Major Achievements and Milestones
Discover the career path of Lorde, from the first major opportunity to industry-changing achievements.
Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor, professionally known as Lorde, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter celebrated for her unique approach to pop music and introspective lyrics. Her unconventional style has garnered critical acclaim and a dedicated fanbase. She is one of the most successful musicians from New Zealand.
1950: Inspiration from science fiction short story
In 1950, Lorde cited the science fiction short story "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury as inspiration for much of Melodrama's story, relating it to her own realities she faced.
1971: Tribute Performance of "Life on Mars"
At the 2016 Brit Awards in February, Lorde and David Bowie's final touring band gave a tribute performance of his 1971 song "Life on Mars".
1975: Inspiration from the melodic styles of the 1975
In 1975, the band "The 1975" and their song "Somebody Else" inspired the melodic styles of Lorde during her writing for her second album, Melodrama.
1985: Covering "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
In November 2013, Lorde covered Tears for Fears' 1985 song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" for the soundtrack of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
1986: Inspiration from Graceland
In 1986, Lorde frequently listened to Paul Simon's album "Graceland" while riding subways in New York City and on taxi rides on the way home from parties in her hometown of Auckland. This helped influence the writing of her second album, Melodrama.
1987: Youngest Artist to Earn a Number-One Single since Tiffany in 1987
In 2013, with the song "Royals", Lorde became the youngest artist since 1987 to earn a number-one single in the United States since Tiffany in 1987.
May 2009: Talent Show Win
In May 2009, Lorde and her friend Louis McDonald won the Belmont Intermediate School annual talent show as a duo.
November 2009: North Shore Battle of the Bands finals
On November 18, 2009, Lorde was part of the Belmont Intermediate School band Extreme; the band placed third in the North Shore Battle of the Bands finals at the Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna, Auckland.
2009: Signing with Universal Music Group
In 2009, Lorde signed with Universal Music Group (UMG).
2010: Formation of 'Ella & Louis' duet
In 2010, Lorde and Louis McDonald formed a duet called "Ella & Louis" and performed covers live on a regular basis at local venues, including cafés in Auckland and the Victoria Theatre in Devonport.
November 2011: First Performance of Original Songs
In November 2011, Lorde performed her original songs for the first time at the Victoria Theatre.
2011: Collaboration with Joel Little
In 2011, Lorde began collaborating with producer Joel Little.
2011: Vocal lessons and unsuccessful partnerships
In 2011, UMG hired vocal coach Frances Dickinson to give Lorde singing lessons twice a week for a year. During this time, Maclachlan attempted to partner Lorde with several different producers and songwriters, but without success.
November 2012: Self-Release of The Love Club EP
In November 2012, Lorde self-released The Love Club EP through her SoundCloud account for free download.
2012: Self-Release of The Love Club EP
In 2012, Lorde self-released her first extended play (EP), titled The Love Club EP, for free download on SoundCloud.
March 2013: Commercial Release of The Love Club EP
In March 2013, UMG commercially released The Love Club EP after it had been downloaded 60,000 times. It peaked at number two in New Zealand and Australia.
September 2013: Release of Pure Heroine
In September 2013, Lorde's debut studio album Pure Heroine containing the single "Royals" was released to critical acclaim.
November 2013: Signing a Publishing Deal with Songs Music Publishing
In November 2013, Lorde signed a publishing deal with Songs Music Publishing, worth a reported US$2.5 million, after a bidding war between companies.
2013: Inclusion of "The Love Club" in charity album
In 2013, "The Love Club" was included in the charity album "Songs for the Philippines" to support people affected by Typhoon Haiyan.
2013: Commercial Release and Chart Success
In 2013, The Love Club EP was commercially released and its single "Royals" topped charts, spending nine weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. Her debut album Pure Heroine was also released that year.
February 2014: Pure Heroine Sales Milestone
In February 2014, Pure Heroine sold over one million copies in the United States, making Lorde the first female artist since Adele in 2008 to achieve this with a debut album.
April 2014: Performance with Nirvana
In April 2014, Lorde joined the surviving members of Nirvana to perform "All Apologies" during the band's induction ceremony at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
2014: Curating The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 Soundtrack
In 2014, Lorde curated the soundtrack for the film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.
2015: Charity single with Kiwis Cure Batten
In 2015, Lorde recorded "Team Ball Player Thing", a charity single as part of the supergroup Kiwis Cure Batten to raise funds for Batten disease research.
2016: Inspiration from Blonde
In 2016, Frank Ocean's album 'Blonde' inspired Lorde to eschew "traditional song structures" during the recording process of her second album, Melodrama.
March 2017: Release of "Green Light"
In March 2017, "Green Light", the lead single from Lorde's second studio album Melodrama, was released to critical acclaim.
May 2017: Pure Heroine Sales Update
As of May 2017, Lorde's album Pure Heroine had sold four million copies worldwide.
June 2017: Album Sales and Single Units
As of June 2017, Lorde had sold over five million albums worldwide and 37 million certified single units in the United States.
June 2017: Release of Melodrama
In June 2017, Lorde's album Melodrama was released to widespread critical acclaim and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200.
December 2017: Controversy over Israel concert cancellation
In December 2017, Lorde faced controversy after canceling her scheduled June 2018 concert in Israel, following an online campaign by pro-Palestine activists supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. She cited a lack of awareness of the political turmoil as the reason.
2017: Release of Melodrama
In 2017, Lorde collaborated with Jack Antonoff on her album Melodrama, which received widespread critical acclaim and debuted atop the US Billboard 200.
2017: Statement on Genre
In a 2017 interview with NME, Lorde declared "I don't think about staying in my genre lane", highlighting her unconventional pop sound and introspective songwriting.
March 2018: North American Melodrama Tour
In March 2018, Lorde continued her Melodrama tour with the North American leg, featuring Run the Jewels, Mitski, and Tove Styrke as opening acts.
June 2018: Cancelled Israel concert
Lorde's concert in Israel was cancelled in June 2018, following pressure from pro-Palestine activists, although she admitted that she had been unaware of the political turmoil there and "the right decision at this time is to cancel".
November 2018: Became a Patron of MusicHelps
In November 2018, Lorde became a patron of MusicHelps (formerly the New Zealand Music Foundation), a musical charity helping New Zealanders facing serious health issues.
May 2020: Started working on her third studio album
In May 2020, Lorde began working on her third studio album with Jack Antonoff after the death of her dog Pearl.
November 2020: Announcement of book Going South
In November 2020, Lorde announced the release of "Going South", a book documenting her January 2019 visit to Antarctica featuring photos taken by photographer Harriet Were.
May 2021: Headlining act for Primavera Sound
In May 2021, Lorde was announced as a headlining act for Primavera Sound's June 2022 festival, marking her first live performance in over two years.
September 2021: Release of Te Ao Mārama
In September 2021, Lorde released "Te Ao Mārama" as a companion piece to Solar Power, sung entirely in Te Reo Māori, with proceeds benefiting New Zealand-based charities.
2021: Release of Solar Power
In 2021, Lorde released her album Solar Power, which explored indie folk and psychedelic styles and received polarised reactions.
June 2022: Primavera Sound festival performance
Lorde performed at the Primavera Sound festival in June 2022, marking her return to live shows after over two years.
August 2023: Debut of new songs
In August 2023, Lorde debuted the songs "Silver Moon" and "Invisible Ink" during her concert at the Boardmasters Festival in Cornwall, England.
September 2024: Collaboration and UMPG Signing
In September 2024, Lorde collaborated with Charli XCX, performing the track together at Charli XCX's Madison Square Garden concert. Jennifer Knoepfle confirmed Lorde had signed with UMPG earlier that year, with the remix being her first release as a UMPG songwriter.
April 2025: Teasing new music and releasing "WWT"
In April 2025, Lorde cleared her Instagram feed and shared a music snippet on TikTok, later revealed as "WWT" (short for "What Was That"), her first original solo single since Solar Power.
April 2025: Coachella performance and Remix
In April 2025, Lorde performed with Charli XCX at the Coachella music festival, performing a remix of Charli XCX's song "Girl, So Confusing".
June 2025: Release of "Virgin" and Glastonbury performance
In June 2025, Lorde's fourth studio album, "Virgin", was released and she performed the album in its entirety during an unannounced set at the Glastonbury Festival.
October 2025: Support for Palestine and removal from Apple Music Israel
In October 2025, during a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Lorde exclaimed "free fucking Palestine" and later removed all of her songs from Apple Music in Israel as part of the No Music For Genocide movement.
2025: Release of Virgin
In 2025, Lorde worked with Jim-E Stack and returned to electronic-based pop music for her fourth album, Virgin, which garnered more positive reception.
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