Fans Report Issues With The Transparent CD Of Lorde's New Album 'Virgin'

Lorde’s new album—and her first in four years—was released last week (27 June), and while it’s already received praise from critics and fans, the rollout of the CD copies of the album hasn’t exactly been smooth.

• Lorde Surrenders To Rawness On ‘Virgin’: “Compassion Is The Answer”

Fans who purchased the transparent CD version of her new album, Virgin, are reporting issues with getting the songs to play, per conversations on Reddit and a now-viral TikTok video.

The fans claim that they’ve been unable to play the transparent CD on some players, including car stereos, boomboxes, Walkmans, and traditional sound systems.

According to Consequence Of Sound, the manufacturing process for the clear disc could be causing the issue. The process for a transparent CD reportedly uses a “different kind of reflective layer” compared to the usual aluminium we see on standard CDs and can lead to some players failing to register the disc or read its data.

At the time of publication, no issues with vinyl editions of the album have been reported.

In other Virgin news, Lorde recently revealed that there were a couple of tracks that didn’t make the cut of the album, teasing some “really good” B-sides.

“We cut a song last minute because I thought it diluted the vision,” the Royals singer wrote in an Instagram post where she shared behind-the-scenes facts about the album on Tuesday (1 July). “One of my absolute favs that I wrote with [collaborator] Fabi [Fabiana Palladino]. Couple really good B sides knocking around actually.”

She added that the album track Favourite Daughter was the hardest “to write, to produce, to sing”. You can see the post below.

Lorde’s upcoming Ultrasound World Tour begins in September. In a recent interview with The Music, Lorde responded to the question of whether there would be good tour news for her Australian and New Zealand fans. “No news coming soon,” she said.

However, she followed up her answer with: “I have never not toured Australia and New Zealand, so hopefully, people can click that all together.”

While Australian and New Zealand tour dates may not be arriving just yet, fans can rest assured that they won’t be left out of the mix and can anticipate Lorde making her return likely in 2026.

Lorde last toured Australia in March 2023, in support of her 2021 album Solar Power. That tour marked her first shows Down Under in six years.

@elyxirtalkssmack

yeah so the Lorde CD doesn't work on CD players, particularly car ones and walkmans because the design ain't fit for purpose and Lorde doesn't offer any other CD options. So back to JB Hi Fi I'll have to go for a refund. @LordFoxPuppy any way we can get a not clear disc, or do we have permission to burn it onto a disc we can actually read. #lorde #cd #cdplayer #music

♬ Man Of The Year - Lorde

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