Lorde Announces Bold New Album Virgin, Embracing Vulnerability and Gender Fluidity

28 May 2025

LORDE / Thistle Brown (@thistlebrown)/Republic Records

Lorde is stepping into a fearless new chapter with her upcoming fourth studio album Virgin, slated for release on June 27, 2025. This marks her first full-length project since 2021's Solar Power, and it promises a raw, introspective look into the artist’s evolving identity, both musically and personally.

With Virgin, Lorde departs from her long-standing partnership with producer Jack Antonoff. Instead, she teams up with an eclectic group of collaborators including Jim-E Stack, Dan Nigro (known for Olivia Rodrigo’s breakout success), Blood Orange's Dev Hynes, and Fabiana Palladino. These fresh sonic voices help sculpt an album that's as expansive as it is intimate. In interviews, Lorde described this project as her “most emotionally honest” work to date, filled with stories of vulnerability, growth, confusion, and rediscovery.

The album artwork already hints that candor an X-ray image of a pelvis wearing denim jeans, complete with a visible IUD. The image is startlingly direct, and Lorde herself calls it “a declaration of control, femininity, and openness.” She describes it as a reflection of her state of being: “raw, primal, innocent, elegant, openhearted, spiritual, and masc.” The visual, much like the music, isn’t afraid to challenge conventional norms or societal expectations.

Virgin features 11 tracks, with singles like “What Was That” and “Man of the Year” already generating buzz. The former is a sleek electropop track that explores lingering confusion after a breakup. It dropped in April and has been described as one of Lorde's most infectious songs to date. “Man of the Year,” the album’s second single released on May 29, dives even deeper. It discusses gender identity, with lyrics like, “Some days I’m a woman / Some days I’m a man,” showcasing Lorde’s embrace of gender fluidity. It's not just about her own identity, it's a broader meditation on societal expectations, emotional complexity, and what it means to be seen.

Adding to the anticipation, Lorde has announced the Ultrasound World Tour, which will kick off in Austin, Texas, on September 17, 2025, and close in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 9. She’ll be supported by genre-blurring artists like Blood Orange, Empress Of, The Japanese House, Chanel Beads, and Nilüfer Yanya, turning the tour into a celebration of modern experimental pop and electronic music.

But Virgin isn’t only a sonic shift. It’s a deeply personal journal. In recent interviews, Lorde revealed that she hit a dark period while preparing for the Solar Power tour. Struggling with an eating disorder, she became consumed by extreme dieting and body image issues. “I starved myself into a ghost,” she said. “I thought that was control, but it was a cage.” That battle with self-perception bleeds into the new songs, which focus on rebuilding self-worth and embracing softness as strength.

Critics are already calling Virgin one of the most anticipated albums of the year. Music outlets praise its early singles for their genre-fluid sound and lyrical bravery. Lorde is known for reinventing herself with each album, from the minimalist sharpness of Pure Heroine to the lush heartbreak of Melodrama, and the sun-drenched reflection of Solar Power. Now, with Virgin, she’s diving headfirst into the most complicated theme yet herself.

If Virgin delivers on its promise, it won’t just be an album it’ll be a reckoning. For Lorde. For her listeners. And for a generation still trying to figure out who they are in a world full of shifting mirrors.