AceShowbiz - Lorde has put plans for her long-awaited third studio album on hold following the death of her beloved dog, Pearl.

The singer-songwriter sent a candid update in a fan club newsletter on Saturday, November 2, in which she revealed that she is mourning the loss of her pet, and had been forced to delay work on the followup to 2017's "Melodrama" as a result.

Lorde, who got Pearl in 2018, explained the time spent with the pup "after years on the road" influenced the direction of the new tracks, adding: "I was receiving huge amounts of energy I can only describe as divine, and I was working hard to communicate it all to you by way of the album. I felt I had been given this great gift that I needed to share with you all."

However, Pearl had been ill and, realising his condition had worsened and "his body wasn't going to be able to cope," the Royals star revealed the pooch passed soon after.

"I rushed him to the specialists. Pearl had two cardiac arrests about an hour apart, and after the second one, he died," she wrote. "I was holding him when he went, and I know he knew that I was there. But this loss has been indescribably painful, and a light that was turned on for me has gone out."

Explaining the delay, Lorde, real name Ella Yelich-O'Connor, continued: "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."