NEW YORK, NY (June 26, 2017) – GRAMMY® Award-winning multiplatinum-selling artist LORDE has claimed the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart with the release of her highly-anticipated sophomore album MELODRAMA.  This marks the singer’s first No. 1 album in the U.S., with Lorde becoming the first New Zealand artist to have a No. 1 album in the United States.  The album continues to break records across all platforms, spending 7 consecutive days at #1 on the worldwide iTunes album chart and reaching #1 in 45 markets.  Lorde is the first female artist to have 6 songs in Spotify’s Global Viral Chart, and also had 7 songs on Spotify’s Global Top 100 chart on Melodrama’s release day.

Melodrama garnered widespread critical acclaim, with USA Today crowning it, "the best pop release of 2017 thus far, cementing the singer’s status as one of her generation’s most essential stars.”  Variety insists Melodrama is, “the great weird-pop album 2017 has been waiting for,” while The New Yorker likens the release to the work of Elton John, Freddie Mercury, and Kate Bush, and Entertainment Weekly succinctly declares it, “holy.”  Pitchfork describes Melodrama as, “a masterful study of being a young woman…crafted with the utmost care and wisdom,” before concluding, “It’s not enough to say Lorde is one in a generation.”

LISTEN to Melodrama HERE

Lorde will take her latest No. 1 album on the road with her across Europe, Australia and New Zealand with support from Khalid – and most recently announced her 2018 North American tour dates, with support to be announced. The singer’s North American dates are set for March 2018, kicking off in Milwaukee before heading to 30 dates and concluding in Nashville, TN.  The singer has been heating up festival stages all season with acclaimed performances at Coachella, Governors Ball, Bonnaroo and most recently, Glastonbury.  Her Glastonbury appearance was met with praise from fans and critics alike, with NME describing it as, “a masterclass in how to wow a festival crowd.”

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES:

International tour dates can be found at https://lorde.co.nz/

ABOUT LORDE: In 2013, a 16-year-old LORDE quietly, yet confidently asserted herself as the voice of a generation with her full-length debut, Pure Heroine. The album would go triple-platinum, win two GRAMMY® Awards, and spawn the seven-times platinum record-breaking international juggernaut single, “Royals,” and quadruple-platinum follow up “Team.” The former cemented LORDE as “the youngest solo artist and the only New Zealander to achieve #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 since 1987.” Time exalted her amongst the “Most Influential Teenagers in the World,” she landed on Forbes’s “30 Under 30” List, graced the cover of Rolling Stone and performed alongside Nirvana during the 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. She also curated the official soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and recorded “Yellow Flicker Beat” as the lead single. This year LORDE makes her anxiously awaited return with the new single “Green Light,” from her second full-length album due this summer, marking the first taste of new music that will set the tone for her highly anticipated performances at marquee festivals including Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, Life Is Beautiful, and more.

ABOUT REPUBLIC RECORDS: A division of Universal Music Group, the world's leading music company, Republic is home to an all-star roster of multi-platinum, award-winning legends and superstar artists such as Aminé, Ariana Grande, Black Sabbath, DNCE, Florence + the Machine, Godsmack, Gotye, Hailee Steinfeld, James Blake, James Bay, John Mellencamp, Julia Michaels, Keith Richards, Kid Cudi, Marian Hill, Of Monsters and Men, Post Malone, Seth MacFarlane, Stevie Wonder, and more. Founded by brothers and chief executives Monte and Avery Lipman, it is also comprised of innovative business ventures, including American Recordings (The Avett Brothers), Brushfire (Jack Johnson), Casablanca Records (Afrojack, Tïesto,), Cash Money (Drake, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj), Hollywood Records (Sofia Carson, Zendaya), John Varvatos Records, Lava Records (Jessie J, Lorde), Monkeywrench (Pearl Jam), NBC's The Voice, XO (The Weeknd), Roc Nation (Belly, Justine Skye, The Dream, T.I.), among others. In addition, Republic maintains a long-standing strategic alliance with country powerhouse Big Machine Label Group, which is comprised of Big Machine Records (Taylor Swift), and Dot Records (Maddie + Tae). In addition, Republic has expanded to release high-profile soundtracks for Fifty Shades of Grey, The Hunger Games, Lee Daniel’s STAR, Pitch Perfect, SING, and The Voice (NBC TV), as well as other notable film and television franchises.