What happened to La Roux 10 years after disappearing from spotlight

Nearly two decades after she dropped a series of bangers that a lot of people still blast through their speakers today, La Roux is making her return to music.

Although she has ditched her trademark quiff, her pipes are just as impressive these days as they were when she first burst onto the scene back in 2009 with the hits 'Bulletproof' and 'In For The Kill'.

Ahead of the release of her new album, the Grammy-winning singer - whose real name is Elly Jackson - has now opened up to fans about why she 'disappeared for ten years'.

Announcing that she is 'back now' after taking a hiatus from the spotlight, La Roux shared a clip to Instagram on Wednesday (16 September) which offered an explanation about why she took a prolonged break.

In the tongue-in-cheek video that featured a mix of her track 'Bulletproof' in the background, the hitmaker said: "You think you can hurt me?

"I literally wrote and sung this song, lost my voice, had a nervous breakdown and disappeared for 10 years."

As well as offering their sympathies to La Roux amid the tough time she experienced over the last decade, social media users filled the comment section with praise for the music star amid her impending return.

One person wrote: "I had no clue! Ironically, your music got me through some rough times also. Thank you."

Another said: "CERTIFIED BANGER. WELCOME BACK."

A third joked: "Appreciate you postponing the breakdown so I could enjoy this song for a decade."

A fourth added: "Omg the memories. I was called La Roux for years, literally because I had short hair."

And a fifth chimed in saying: "I was obsessed with this song and you! Welcome back!"

La Roux herself then commented under the post and seemingly suggested she's coming back stronger than ever, as she referenced her infamous lyrics and wrote 'this time baby' alongside the folded hands emoji.

While preparing for her comeback, the London-born artist sat down with Another magazine in August to discuss why she has revamped her look, while updating fans on how her life has changed.

The 'In For The Kill' singer, 38, explained that she has been 'slowly morphing' over the years and ditched her quiff as the 'engineering involved to actually make it stay up was so intense'.

She said that the name of her new album, which is set to be released in November, was a reference to relationships and 'letting go of the previous version of La Roux'.

Her upcoming project, titled 'Old Flames', has been a work in progress over the last few years.

La Roux explained that she hit a serious rough patch towards the end of the Covid pandemic, and in hindsight, she thinks she was in a 'state of stasis' and said her mental health was 'possibly not the best'.

The album is centred on a 'very long, drawn-out and painful breakup' she experienced after a relationship which spanned the best part of 20 years came to an end, La Roux said.

"It’s about being free of something that I never really wanted to be free from," La Roux said.

"But if you don’t know any of this stuff, if you’re just listening to it as a fun pop record, that totally works too. You don’t have to know the deep undertones – it’s pop, not emo."

The star also revealed that she thinks people had a lot of misconceptions about her when she first entered the music industry.

"I think people think I’m really harsh," La Roux went on. "When I first started, I think people thought I was a b**ch. But I was actually just really nervous and quite shy. I was arrogant in lots of ways – it was a messy blend of being terrified but also really sure of myself. Now people are like 'Oh, you’re really nice and grounded!' And I’m like…yeah."

So, to recap - La Roux went off the map while she was busy recovering from a nervous breakdown and a monumental heartbreak. I think we can all agree that taking a ten-year break is fair enough, under these circumstances.