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MUSIC FEATURE

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GOOD LORDE New Zealand’s biggest solo star delivers her eagerly awaited fourth album.

Lorde

Photo credit: Thistle Brown

W hen Lorde released her breakthrough blockbuster Royals , David Bowie hailed her as “the future of music”, while Dave Grohl described the song as “revolutionary”. Some critics

continuing her tradition of releasing a new album every four years, teasing the record with the single What Was That . “I’m proud and scared

THE NAME GAME

CHART FACT

were tipping that the New Zealand

of this album,” Lorde says. “There’s nowhere to hide. I believe that putting the deepest parts of ourselves to music is what sets us free.” The album is called Virgin . Explaining the title, Lorde – who loved literature when she was growing up, particularly the works of J.D. Salinger, Raymond Carver, and Janet Frame – says she wanted to create a document that “reflected my femininity: raw, primal, innocent, elegant, openhearted, spiritual, masc.” Jeff Jenkins

Lorde’s real name is Ella Yelich-O’Connor. She came up with the name Lorde when she released her first EP in 2012 called The Love Club . “I didn’t feel that my birth name was any thing special. I basically chose Lorde because I wanted a name that was really strong and had this grandeur to it.”

teenager would be a one-hit wonder, but she has proudly proved them wrong. Lorde’s first three albums – 2013’s Pure Heroine , 2017’s Melodrama, and 2021’s Solar Power – all topped the Australian charts. The artist – who is now 28 – is

At 16 years and 11 months, Lorde was the youngest artist since Tiffany in 1987 to top the US charts. said: “It feels like a combination of my birthday, Christmas, and washing my hair after a month of not doing so.” When Royals hit number one, she

Virgin by Lorde is out Jun 27 via Universal

GRAMMY WATCH

Lorde is the only Kiwi artist to win ‘Song of the Year’ at the Grammys. Royals took the award in 2014.

HAIM RUN

The singing sisters declare “I Quit” on their new album.

I t’s a powerful title: I Quit . When the Haim sisters

COVER ME

I Quit by Haim is out Jun 20 via Universal

– Este, Danielle and Alana – revealed the title of their fourth album, projecting the words on a screen behind them at a gig in Los Angeles, they declared: “I quit overthinking. I quit shame. I quit nicotine. I quit fear. I quit d-ck. I quite judgement. I quit avoiding emotional intimacy. I quit my job. I quit caring about what you think. I quit waiting for an apology. I quit f-cking around. I quit f-cking everything. I quit f-cking you. I quit wondering if someone will save me.” Fortunately, the sisters are not quitting making music. Jeff Jenkins

Film director Paul Thomas Anderson ( Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Licorice Pizza ) again shot the cover for this Haim album. Alana Haim will also appear in his new movie, One Battle After Another , which will hit cine mas in September.

Haim (L-R)

Danielle, Este, and Alana Haim

CHART FACT Haim are yet to have a number one album in Australia, though all three studio albums have hit the Top 10: 2013’s Days Are Gone (number 2), 2017’s Something to Tell You (number 4) and 2020’s Women in Music Pt. III (number7).

HOT COLLAB

Haim wrote I Quit ’s second single, Everybody’s Trying to Figure Me Out , with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon.

GRAMMY WATCH

Haim were nominated for ‘Best New Artist’ at the 2015 Grammys. The award went to Sam Smith. Their third album was up for ‘Album of the Year’ in 2021 when Taylor Swift’s Folklore won.

42 JUNE 2025

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