Lorde Shares Why She Chose an Album Cover So Racy It Can't Be Shown on TV

THE SINGER'S THIRD ALBUM, "SOLAR POWER," HAS A "JOYFUL" AND "SEXY" COVER.

Lorde is back in action. Four years after releasing her second album, Melodrama, the 24-year-old New Zealand singer has returned with her upcoming release Solar Power. But while the full album won't be out until Aug. 20, one aspect of it already has people talking. The cover of Lorde's new album Solar Power features the star wearing a bikini bottom and yellow rash guard on a beach, shot from a very low angle. Because the photo is taken from beneath her, you see a lot of Lorde's body and apparently, the picture is too racy to even be shown on network TV.

During Lorde's June 21 appearance on The Late Show, host Stephen Colbert confirmed that, saying that while he usually shows the album art of his musical guests, he wasn't allowed to show hers. Lorde then explained how the photograph came to be and the reason she chose the revealing shot as the cover of her long-awaited third album. Read on to see what she had to say.

The photo on the album cover was taken by a friend.
Universal

"Ordinarily, I would hold up a picture of the album right now," Colbert said during his interview with Lorde. "But CBS' standards and practices will not let me hold up the album because, ironically for an album called Solar Power, there's a photo on it of, well, where the sun don't shine." He added that "it's a beautiful album cover" and asked Lorde about the inspiration.

"My friend just took it," the star responded. "It was just me jumping over a friend on a beach. For those who don't know, it is my butt, kind of from below, and I'm in a bikini. So, it's, like, a little hardcore."

Lorde previously shared some details about the photo in her newsletter album announcement, according to Seventeen. "I made everything with friends here in New Zealand," she wrote. "My best mate Ophelia took the cover photo, lying on the sand as I leapt over her, both of us laughing."

Some countries will get a different album cover.
Universal

As reported by Vice, a different version of the album cover has popped up on some platforms, such as Apple Music and Spotify, in other countries. This second version is less revealing, with sunlight obscuring the partial nudity. Fans have so far noted that this secondary cover is being used in China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.

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Lorde chose the photo because of how it makes her feel.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert/YouTube

"It was so joyful to me," Lorde said of the picture in her Late Show interview. "It felt, like, innocent and playful and a little bit, like, feral, and, I don't know, sexy."

Colbert added, "I think it matches the moment, because it's so free and happy. If I had a butt like that, I'd be jumping over somebody. too."

Lorde then shared another reason for choosing the shot: "You gotta do it while you've got it, you know?"

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The photo pairs well with the vibe of the album.
Lorde/YouTube

In her newsletter, Lorde described Solar Power using some of the same words she did on The Late Show. "Her feet are bare at all times," Lorde wrote of the album, according to Seventeen. "She's sexy, playful, feral, and free. She's a modern girl in a deadstock bikini, in touch with her past and her future, vibrating at the highest level when summer comes around. Her skin is glowing, her lovers are many. I'm completely obsessed with her, and soon you will be too."

The first single sets the tone for this era.
Lorde/YouTube

The first single from the album, also called "Solar Power," is already out. The music video features Lorde dancing around on a beach, singing lyrics about the ease of summertime. As on the album cover, Lorde also wears yellow in the video—this time, a crop top and matching maxi skirt.

Lorde is excited to go on tour again.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert/YouTube

With the new album coming out soon, Lorde is ready to tour next year, especially since the pandemic made live shows impossible.

"I'm really excited, yeah," Lorde told Colbert of going on the road. "It sort of doesn't seem real. But I'm super keen. I think this album is just joyful and big and such a good thing to experience with a bunch of people. So I'm glad the timing worked out and I can do a tour. Seems crazy."

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