Lorde steps back from music industry in search for 'newness' after 'Virgin'

Lorde is ready to cut ties with the old and dive headfirst into the new, and the unknown, after all her moves have been preplanned by a record label she had been signed to, at 12 years of age.

The 29-year-old musician shared a big life update in her recent voice note to fans, revealing that she is now an independent artist after working with UMG for two decades.

The Shapeshifter hitmaker explained that the decision is in line with her search for freedom which she has been immersed in, personally as well as creatively.

“I feel a real hunger for newness and I feel […] like a new leaf is turning or there’s a blank slate that’s been presented, and I feel this way because at the end of last year, my label deal, my record contract with Universal came to an end. I have been in that contract for a very, very long time and some form of that contract since I was 12 years old, when I signed my first development deal with Universal,” Lorde said.

The Favorite Daughter songstress clarified that there is no bad blood between her and her former team and she still “adores” the people working there, she might even have another deal with them in the future, but noted that the decision was necessary.

Lorde said, “The truth is that a 12-year-old girl pre-sold her creative output before she knew what it would be like and before she knew what she was signing away…I knew that I needed to take a second to have nothing being bought or sold that comes from me.”

The Melodrama singer shared that the move has changed her life and her relationship to work as “I’m working and all this stuff but it just feels exciting to have I don’t know remove the container for a second."

She added that "newness" is currently the theme of her life at the moment, as she navigates her path on her own terms, parting ways from her teenage artist persona.