Melodrama by Lorde

Melodrama is the second studio album by New Zealand singer and songwriter Lorde. It was released on 16 June 2017 by Lava and Republic Records and distributed through Universal. Following the breakthrough success of her debut album Pure Heroine, Lorde retreated from the spotlight and traveled between New Zealand and the United States to examine the world around her. Initially inspired by her disillusionment with fame, she wrote Melodrama to capture heartbreak and solitude after her first breakup. Melodrama has been described by critics as a loose concept album that explores the theme of solitude, in the framework of a single house party with the events and moods that entail it. Lorde wrote and produced the album alongside Jack Antonoff, with additional production contributions from Frank Dukes, Malay, Andrew Wyatt, Joel Little, and Flume, among others. The album topped the charts in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, and Canada. Melodrama received widespread acclaim from critics, with some publications citing it as the best album of the year. The album was Lorde's first number-one in the United States and Canada and also peaked atop the charts in Australia and New Zealand. It received gold or platinum certifications in the said countries and the United Kingdom. Melodrama received widespread acclaim from contemporary critics and was featured on various year-end and decade-end lists. It won a New Zealand Music Award for Album of the Year and received a nomination for Album of the Year at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in 2018. In 2020, Melodrama ranked at number 460 on Rolling Stone's revision of their 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time list. Inspired in part by the “emotions and insights” gained after her breakup with longtime boyfriend James Lowe, Lorde calls Melodrama “a record about being alone… The good parts and the bad parts”. Lead single Green Light was released on March 2, 2017, following a mysterious marketing campaign culminating in a seven-second preview of the song. The second single Liability was released on March 9, 2017, without any publicity or promotion. The piano-driven ballad showcases a softer side of Lorde as she opens up about a more personal time in her life. ℗ 2017 Universal Music New Zealand Limited