Lorde Shares 49 ‘Virgin’ Demos Alongside Unusually Candid Anniversary Note

Lorde has marked the first anniversary of her album Virgin by releasing 49 demos dating back to 2022, along with personal notes and photographs. The move breaks months of public quiet from the New Zealand singer, who writes in an accompanying letter that she “hasn’t really known how to talk about Virgin since it came out.”

Describing the album as “raw and exposing in a new way,” Lorde admits to poor interviews and an almost total retreat from public writing. She frames the demo release as a deliberate counter to over-polished presentation: “True X-rays of Virgin would be realer, funnier, more revealing of crookedness and slant.” The collection spans early skeletal versions of tracks, composite drafts, and fragments that weren’t forced into finished form.

The letter also offers the most direct account yet of the period that shaped the record. Lorde details navigating a breakup, an eating disorder, and a PMDD diagnosis while working on the album. She recalls forcing herself to drink smoothies each morning and relying on the care of friends who let her stay on their couches. “Every single day making Virgin was a total gift,” she writes. “I was trying to heal myself.”

Lorde is currently in the final leg of her Ultrasound World Tour, with summer festival appearances scheduled at Lollapalooza, Hinterland, and Austin City Limits.