Saying goodbye is never easy and Lorde [1] has managed to capture that feeling perfectly with "Big Star". The song, which is featured on her latest album Solar Power [2], seems like a breakup ballad until you learn she wrote it about her dog Pearl, who died in 2019. "This song is about my dog, my beautiful boy Pearl who I love so much and miss every day," the 24-year-old shared in the song's storyline on Spotify. "I wrote it before he died, before I knew there was anything wrong with him. I wrote this at home on the piano. I remember he was lying underneath it, I looked down and was like . . . 'You big dummy. You're never going to know that I'm writing this song about how much I love you.'"

Lorde [3] first adopted Pearl in 2018 before sharing the news of his death in a letter to fans in 2019 [4]. "Some of you may know about Pearl [5], my dog. Pearl came into my life in 2018, and almost immediately changed everything for me. As anyone who has had the pleasure of raising a dog can understand, my life grew exponentially. Pearl brought an immeasurable amount of joy and purpose into my world," she said, explaining why she'd delayed the album. "I have lost my boy, and I need some time to see the good again, to finish making this [album] for you. It won't be the same work — as anyone who has felt loss can understand, there's a door that opens that you step through, and everything is different on the other side." You can listen to Lorde's heartfelt tribute to Pearl above.