While the pandemic has affected everyone across the world with stay-at-home orders, difficulties visiting the family, and more, Lorde and other expats have had a very similar, but more isolating, experience. The pop singer shared in a newsletter to her fans on Tuesday (October 26) that she's been in New York City while her family remains across the world in New Zealand, and that it has been hard to communicate.

"The pandemic has continued to make things difficult, lonely, or dangerous for absolutely everyone in varying degrees, but outside of that, 2021 has been tough in completely unexpected ways," Lorde wrote in her newsletter.

Being detached from New Zealand has proven difficult for the singer, who feels isolated from her community. "Being away from home at a time where the country's struggling to contain the virus, feeling isolated from friends and loved ones there. Looking out at the country I'm in and feeling estranged from so much of what I see, and knowing it feels as estranged from me," she said.

The singer reflected on her usage of social media. Lorde famously walked away from the platform earlier this year, citing that she wanted to disconnect and find herself. The theme of doing so was prevalent on her latest album, Solar Power, which saw Lorde setting out on her own to discover who she was amid experiencing a quarter-life crisis. But now, she wonders if she should return to the platform to build more connections.

"I was so sure skipping the negatives (compulsive time-wasting, IV drip of dread, satisfying but hollow validation loop) would outweigh missing out on the positives (feeling like part of a community, hearing your sweet words, hitting you back). But I've really, really missed you."

Lorde has been keeping busy since the release of Solar Power, a record that saw her stepping back from the melancholy tones of her first few albums and into more self-assured territory as the singer began working on herself. Following the album's release in August, Lorde openly stated that she wasn't sure if she would have been able to write Solar Power four years earlier. As she joined Variety for their "Power of Women" issue, she shared that she's been taking on an active role with every aspect of her music and performances, from lighting to graphic design, directing videos, and more.

And while Lorde has been working (and succeeding) on becoming more self-assured, the singer has also been open about what continues to make her nervous. Sitting down with David Byrne as part of Rolling Stone's Musicians on Musicians series, the pop singer revealed that she continues to face stage fright. Byrne reassured her that he had the same problem for a long time, but came up with a routine prior to heading to the stage that helped him. Lorde joked back that she always puts together puzzles before as how, and that it "maybe doesn't help the stage fright. That's too much of a change of mood."

Mark Madden

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