Melodrama is the second studio album by New Zealand singer Lorde, released on 16 June 2017 through Republic Records. Writing for the album began as early as December 2013 and continued through "false starts, fruitless detours and stretches of inactivity" as Lorde stepped back from the public spotlight, taking shape after her breakup from her longtime boyfriend James Lowe in 2015. 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 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. It also received a Grammy Award nomination for Album of the Year at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. Background and recording Jack Antonoff (pictured) co-wrote and produced a majority of Melodrama with Lorde. In December 2013, Lorde announced that she had b…