Overview

• Virgin was released on June 27 as Lorde’s first album in four years, marking a return to her signature synth-pop after the folk tones of Solar Power.
• The record offers unflinching reflections on gender fluidity, body-image battles and personal growth, framed by bold choruses and distorted electronic textures.
• Lorde’s choice to stop taking birth control shortly before completing the album infused tracks like “Hammer” with heightened physicality and autonomy.
• Its cover art—a jeans-clad X-ray of Lorde’s pelvis featuring her IUD—visually underscores the album’s focus on femininity and bodily autonomy.
• She surprised festivalgoers by premiering Virgin in full at a secret Glastonbury Woodsies stage set on release day.