“Lorde Summer”: Why her album is the most anticipated pop comeback of the year

Welcome to “Lorde Summer”: Why the New Zealander’s new album captures the zeitgeist so perfectly.

2024 was the year of the "Brats": With her bright green album, Brit Charli xcx turned the pop world upside down. It was all about wild parties, smudged eyeliner, and a brief respite from the eternal self-improvement marathon. Chances are good that things will be a little quieter this summer (at least in terms of pop), because 2025 is the year of "Lorde Summer."

After four years, the New Zealand artist is releasing her highly anticipated album "Virgin" at the end of June, her first solo record since "Solar Power." And the whole thing is nothing short of a genuine pop masterpiece, if you ask us.

With obscure sounds to the big breakthrough

Lorde, whose real name is Ella Yelich-O'Connor, first appeared on the scene in 2013. Back then, she stood out from the pop landscape: While stars like Miley Cyrus appeared in classic teen pop style, wearing skimpy stage outfits and relying on provocation, the then 16-year-old Lorde was completely different. She wore turtlenecks, her lyrics were profound, and her music was minimalist, intimate, and melancholic. Alternative, yet somehow pop.

At the beginning of her career, many considered her sound "obscure"—so much so that Lorde had to release her first EP on SoundCloud instead of with a record label. After "The Love Club EP" impressed with surprisingly high download numbers, things quickly changed. The fact that Lorde's music is anything but obscure to millions of fans became clear to the last doubters with the resounding success of "Royals" and the album "Pure Heroine."

What Lorde sang about back then—and, in her own unique way, still sings about today—hit a nerve. It was about self-discovery, teenage angst, growing up in the suburbs, the illusions and disappointments of adulthood. All of this was also the subject of her second, equally successful album, "Melodrama." Her third album, "Solar Power," heavily influenced by folk music and psychedelic sounds, was well-received by die-hard fans, but didn't quite match the success of its predecessors; it was too niche for the masses.

Comeback with “What Was That”

Things have been relatively quiet around Lorde in recent years – but fans always believed she was working on something truly big. Lorde is one of those musicians who can't help but push the boundaries of her art and try new things.

With "What Was That" (released at the end of April), the first preview of the new album, fans' hopes were confirmed. The Lorde revealed here is unfiltered, vulnerable, and brutal at the same time. On the song, Lorde processes a breakup, singing about the memories of a relationship that she carries with her like a veil. The accompanying music video prompted a police operation in New York: Because Lorde summoned her fans to Washington Square Park via social media and apparently hadn't expected so many to show up, the area had to be evacuated.

Things get even more intimate on her song “Man of the Year” (released on May 29th). This track makes it clear: Lorde leaves no stone unturned with “Virgin,” neither musically nor in terms of her own identity. She wrote it after attending the 2023 “GQ Man of the Year” party, where she wore what Lorde describes as a “hot girl dress.” During the event, she said she didn’t feel like herself and realized , “Oh, I’m one of those guys. Sometimes, when I want to be.” The very day after the party , she posted on Instagram : “Some days I'm a woman, some days I'm a man.” And today, with her album “Virgin,” everything suddenly makes sense.

With Charli xcx towards freedom

In interviews surrounding her new music, Lorde speaks more honestly than ever about her relationship with her body. In "Rolling Stone," she opened up about her eating disorder. During the years surrounding "Solar Power," she barely ate, so strong was her desire to be as thin as possible. She constantly thought about her body and her calorie intake, becoming obsessed with the subject. It took years for her to find the strength to step out of this spiral of dangerous thoughts. She's still working on it, she says.

The topic also found musical expression thanks to Charli xcx. The British singer wrote her song "Girl, So Confusing" about her relationship with Lorde: The two were constantly compared because they became established parts of the pop landscape around the same time. Charli had apparently been trying to make music with Lorde for some time, but Lorde repeatedly stood her up and couldn't bring herself to do it due to her eating disorder and a breakup. Before the song's release last year, Charli xcx contacted Lorde to tell her about it, and in doing so, ignited something within her.

So Lorde recorded a verse for a remix of the song that says: “'Cause for the last couple years I've been at war with my body / I tried to starve myself thinner and then I gained all the weight back / I was trapped in the hatred and your life seemed so awesome.” Lorde would later say in interviews that this collaboration taught her a lot about courage, communication and friendship. Another step towards “Virgin.”

“I am a woman – except on the days I am a man”

At some point, she realized that her eating disorder was a way of minimizing herself, because she thought that was what women were meant to do. This realization helped her draw strength for new music and consciously give herself more space. This led Lorde to suddenly think about her gender identity: "As I gave my body more space, my gender expanded as well."

"Virgin" is about her own definition of femininity. And while she continues to identify as a cisgender woman and keeps her pronouns unchanged, for Lorde, gender is a fluid concept that can function without labels. While writing "Man of the Year," she taped her breasts—and alluded to this with her outfit at this year's Met Gala .

Lorde's approach to topics so familiar to so many of her fans is not only refreshing, but incredibly important in such critical social and political times. Of course, Lorde knows that as a white , wealthy cisgender woman, she is privileged and secure. While the rights of queer and trans* people are being curtailed in the US and Europe, with "Virgin," she nevertheless creates visibility for gender outside the binary spectrum that conservative forces like to invoke.

Lorde is no longer a “good girl” – and that’s a good thing

She says she no longer wants to be a "good girl." "For some people, I'll be history, and for some, I'll have arrived. I'll be where they always hoped I'd be," she explains to "Rolling Stone" about the release of her new album.

When do you ever truly arrive? Lorde is certainly more open, authentic, and relevant than ever—and always fabulously otherworldly. Singer Gracie Abrams , a longtime Lorde fan herself, sums it up: "This person is from another planet. And I want to live there with her."

Lorde's album "Virgin" will be released on June 27. Her "Ultrasound World Tour" will also see her perform in Germany: on December 1, 2025, in Munich, on December 3, 2025, in Cologne, and on December 5, in Berlin.

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