Lorde Says Reception Of Her Album 'Solar Power' Was 'Really Confounding' and 'Painful'

Superstar singer Lorde is finally unpacking her feelings about the reception and success of her most recent album, "Solar Power." The 25-year-old singer recently marked the first anniversary of the album's announcement through a lengthy newsletter to her fans. 

In the newsletter, Lorde revealed that she struggled for a while with the lukewarm and critical response to the album. She said she agreed with a friend who recently said that Solar Power was simply one of those albums that float in between an artiste's peaks. 

Read on to find out more.

In the newsletter Lorde sent out to celebrate the one-year anniversary of her announcing the album, she wrote, "It's been a year since I announced the release of Solar Power. I can honestly say it has been the year with the highest highs and the lowest lows I think I've ever experienced."

She continued, "It took people a while to get the album — I still get emails every day from people who are just coming around to it now! — and that response was really confounding and at times painful to sit with at first."

"Solar Power" is Lorde's third studio album, and it was the highly anticipated sequel to her 2017 album, "Melodrama." Unlike its predecessor, the songs in "Solar Power" had a more folk vibe and a soft, relaxed sound. Many fans were expecting songs with the synth-heavy heartbreak vibe of her previous songs.

"Solar Power" actually performed quite well on music charts peaking at No.5 on the Billboard top 200. However, its success is nothing compared to the success of "Melodrama," which topped global music charts and even received a nomination for album of the year at the Grammy Awards.

One contributing factor to the album's limited success was the reviews from critics. Entertainment Weekly rated the album a B, commenting that the songs had a "subdued quality." British magazine The Line of Best Fit also reviewed the album and called it "somewhat of a swing and a miss."

In her newsletter, the "The Path" singer also said she had spent her last year embracing the different lessons from the album's release and performance. She wrote, "I learned a ton about myself and how I'm perceived by making and releasing this album, and I feel significantly more connected and alive in my art practice and life than pretty much ever before. Sounds dry, but it's true!!!"

Lorde also shared that she and a friend recently talked about "Solar Power" while out together and that the friend pointed out that the album is simply "one of those works that gets made between peaks." She explained that its performance is necessary for Lorde to achieve more peaks in the future.

Lorde wrote, "I think this is true of the record. I needed to go low, roll a neon ball through tall grass and see what happened. Playing songs from SP live each night in what is undoubtedly my best live show ever is also an incredible feeling — it all makes sense there, both to you and me, in a new and vivid way."

The "Green Light" singer also wrote that the album helped her "work through some big personal stuff" that had affected her ability to travel and perform at live shows "without getting completely overwhelmed."

She wrote, "I used to sit alone in my hotel room on show days, binge-watching Bake Off, Ambien and Vitamin D on the bedside, my skin pale, my stomach knotted in fear. These days, I'm out the door in every city, walking for miles, eating gelato after dark, finding tiny wine bars, trying on vintage clothes down secret streets, laughing with friends, and playing better and better shows for you as a result."

Towards the end of the newsletter, Lorde shared a new music video for fans. The video is for the song "The Path," which she said is a prequel to the music video for the song "Solar Power."