Lorde’s Awaited Return

Lorde’s return to music with a new purpose and strategy.

Lorde has recently returned from her music hiatus with a whole new concept. She released her new single ‘Solar Power’ and music video on June 10th, nearly four years after the widely successful ‘Melodrama’.

Her return to music was first announced with a confirmed performance at Primavera Festival in 2022 and later an Instagram post of the ‘Solar Power’ album cover by her producer and collaborator, Jack Antonoff. An email was later sent to Lorde’s mailing list written by herself, announcing the upcoming single with a music video, the album under the same name, and that there are many surprises to come.

She’s always been one to limit her social media use, even when promoting new music, but in this era of her music, she plans to avoid it even more. She explained that she plans to communicate instead almost completely by these emails every couple of weeks, describing the method as “part news bulletin, part diary, part old-school fan site”. Here she posts tour dates, pictures she’s taken, and even random thoughts she has, all sent exclusively to her fans subscribed to her mailing list.

She uses Easter eggs and cryptic website posts, seemingly targeting her highly engaged fan base, as opposed to new audiences who may not have listened to her previous albums. These are personal emails written directly to her fans, talking to them as though they are her good friends and even encouraging them to reply to her. Despite being gone for four years, her fans feel closer to her than ever when they receive each bulletin.

After spending years in Antarctica, Lorde created ‘Solar Power’ as a concept album centered around the beauty of the natural world and making statements on climate change. She took the concept of the album to heart with her marketing strategy, hinting to release dates signified by nature (summer solstice) and selling a “music box” her team created as an environmentally friendly alternative to CDs. She’s also only using small venues and ethical companies for her merchandise, playing into an overarching social responsibility theme that’s seen in this era of hers.

With each album she’s released, Lorde has had several chart-toppers. It will be interesting to see if ‘Solar Power’ continues the trend without using social media as a marketing tool. She may not be directly targeting new audiences, but she’s building a very personal connection with her current fans.