A devastating loss has forced Lorde to delay the release of her third studio album. In an email update to fans, the Grammy-nominee revealed that the recent death of her dog has caused her to delay the new album indefinitely.The singer, born Ella Yelich-O’Connor, opens the letter by explaining she's made a conscious decision to share less with fans and the media, but that doesn’t mean she’s ungrateful towards those who have supported her career. “When we first met I would write little notes for you online, and they would form a big map that you would use to chart the constellations in my work,” said Lorde. “I realized a couple of years ago that I needed to rethink my relationship with posting random shit online all the time, so here we are, a little less in contact than we once were.”Lorde goes on to say that since wrapping the tour for her 2017 album Melodrama, which featured the singles “Green Light” and “Perfect Places,” she’s spent most of her time at home in New Zealand. That’s also where Lorde adopted Pearl in 2018. Saying that her new dog ‘changed everything’ for her, Lorde adds “As anyone who has had the pleasure of raising a dog can understand, my life grew exponentially. Pearl brought an immeasurable amount of joy and purpose into my world.”The singer reveals that she and Pearl spent all their time together, with Pearl seemingly always present during Lorde’s creative process for her next record. “We spent almost all our time alone together, him asleep under the piano as I played, or on the porch together, or in the park, where he became a blurry speck of gold in the green, far away,” said Lorde.Unfortunately, Pearl suffered various health issues throughout his life. Numerous visits to specialists and the use of medications appeared to be helping Pearl heal, but Lorde writes that unfortunately her pup suffered a severe setback. “One day we woke up and I knew, in that way mothers do, that he was sicker than we had realised, and that we were nearing a point where his body wasn’t going to be able to cope. I rushed him to the specialists. Pearl had two cardiac arrests about an hour apart, and after the second one, he died,” writes Lorde. “I was holding him when he went, and I know he knew that I was there.”Labelling his death as ‘indescribably painful,’ Lorde says, “A light that was turned on for me has gone out. The bright energy I was trying to communicate to you has gone, for now. He was instrumental to the discovery that was taking place. I felt he led me towards the ideas. And it’s going to take some time and recalibration, now that there’s no shepherd ahead of me, to see what the work is going to be.”The emotional letter ends with Lorde saying that Pearl still visits her in her sleep and that she hopes that once she’s better able to grasp the loss of her dog, she’ll be able to begin writing once again. Asking fans to have patience as we near 2020, Lorde thanks her followers for their kindness.
[video_embed id='-1']A capella students and their Professor cover 'Royals' by Lorde[/video_embed]
