Kiwi singer-songwriter Lorde has opened up about her struggles with disordered eating, following her Glastonbury performance last month.
In an interview with BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders on Monday (7 July), the 28-year-old, real name Ella Yelich-O’Connor, revealed that she had not been able to focus on creating new music in 2023 as a result of her mental health.
The “Royals” star recently performed a secret set at Glastonbury Festival, during which she admitted there was a time she thought she would “ever make music again”.
Adding to her previous comment, Lorde told Saunders: “At the beginning of 2023, I was just not in a great way in a lot of ways, and I’d never felt more distant from my creativity. I didn’t think I had anything to offer and I hadn’t had an idea in a while.
“All I was thinking about was trying to weigh as little as possible,” she added. “Going to sleep thinking about food, waking up thinking about food and exercise – that was my creative pursuit.”
She explained that “once that went away it [her artistry] all started to come back!”
The news comes after the Grammy-winning artist surprised fans at a release party for her fourth studio album, Virgin, in Berlin last Wednesday.
Virgin, which was released on 27 June, debuted at No 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
In a three-star review of the album for The Independent, critic Helen Brown wrote: “Virgin isn’t a mere pale imitation. For where [Charli] XCX’s Brat Summer vibe was ALL in the moment – sticky dance floors and cloakroom collapses – 28-year-old Ella Yelich-O’Connor is more about looking back and reaching forward.
“She’s grieving the highs (romantic and chemical) shared with her ex (music industry exec Justin Warren, 17 years her senior, with whom she was linked from 2016 until 2023) and looking forward to being ‘ready to feel I don’t have the answers’.”
Lorde began her comeback earlier this summer at Coachella, where she performed alongside Charli XCX for their collaborative remix of the song “Girl, So Confusing”.
The track, which has over 180 million streams on Spotify, touches on the theme of disordered eating, with Lorde singing the lines: “I’ve been at war with my body / I tried to starve myself thinner / And then I gained all the weight back.”
For anyone struggling with the issues raised in this article, eating disorder charity Beat’s helpline is available 365 days a year on 0808 801 0677. NCFED offers information, resources and counselling for those suffering from eating disorders, as well as their support networks. Visit eating-disorders.org.uk or call 0845 838 2040
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