Lorde Debuts ‘Green Light’ And Dishes On Her Self-Imposed Exile

Lorde is back with a new single for the first time since the release of her 2013 debut album, Pure Heroine, and, after a four-year hiatus, Lorde has something to say about pretty much everything. She talks about her new single, “Green Light,” and her music ambitions, as well as her time away from the spotlight, following the album that produced her memorable hit “Royals.” Lorde’s last hit has already been covered and recovered multiple times, since its 2013 release, but can “Green Light” produce the same fevered thirst for the New Zealand native’s voice and launch her next album to the top of the charts?

Lorde Puts The “Green Light” On For The Next Stage In Her Career

When Lorde made waves with the release of “Royals,” she was the youngest singer to debut on the charts at age 16, reaching the peak of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reports People. Previously, Tiffany had accomplished the same milestone with “I Think We’re Alone Now” in 1987. This feat for Lorde came after she signed with Universal Records as a 12-year-old prodigy. That’s already much to have achieved by the age of 16, so it’s understandable that the singer would need to take time away from the limelight to process everything that has happened in her life.

Lorde did take that time away, but it wasn’t time wasted. As she now reveals with the debut of “Green Light,” Lorde was taking a working break, just stepping away from the media attention, but not from her passion for songwriting. For four years, Lorde has been working hard behind the scenes, writing and recording new music, so, along with the “Green Light” release, she is able to promise a new album, titled Melodrama.

“I am so proud of this song,” Lorde tweeted, announcing her ‘Green Light’ release. “It’s very different, and kinda unexpected. It’s complex and funny and sad and joyous and it’ll make you DANCE. It’s the first chapter of a story I’m gonna tell you, the story of the last 2 wild, fluorescent years of my life. This is where we begin.”

Lorde Was Transformed By Her Encounter With David Bowie

Continuing her talk with People, Lorde reveals that “Green Light” is a song about heartbreak and the loss of love, which seems fitting, considering the now 20-year-old singer feels like she’s living her first year as a “proper adult” in the world. While the beat is fast and perfect for dancing, the words belie a different mood entirely, says Lorde, as she confesses that feelings of heartbreak and forlorn love are themes new to her writing.

“Gren Light” was written after Lorde split from James Lowe, and although she doesn’t say the song is specifically about that failed relationship, Lorde does comment on the effects heartbreak has on one’s life. She comments on how one emotional crisis can change one’s entire life and send a person drifting in an unexpected direction.

For Lorde, that unexpected direction sent her hurtling toward a chance encounter with David Bowie, a meeting that would later have her joining Bowie’s band for a live “Life on Mars” tribute performance.

“That night, something changed in me — I felt a calmness grow, a sureness,” Lorde recalled of meeting David Bowie. “I think in those brief moments, he heralded me into my next new life, an old rock and roll alien in a perfect grey suit.”

Lorde also commented about her instant rise to fame in 2013 and why it sent her running back home, suggesting that she needed something familiar and comfortable. She says she’s grateful for her success with “Royals,” but felt overwhelmed by life as a celebrity in cities like Los Angeles and New York City. Lorde wanted to be back on her home turf, where she could hide and concentrate on her love for music.

“I didn’t come back to this part of town for a while and it was good for me I think,” Lorde explains. “It’s crazy when you are so young to be spending all your time in L.A. or New York. I think it can kind of f— with you if you’re a kid.”

[Featured Image by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]