By the time Virgin came out in 2026, Lorde had already cycled through Melodrama's arena-ready synth-pop and Solar Power's lighter indie-folk turn — and by most accounts, she'd come around to seeing Solar Power's breeziness as a detour more than a destination. Virgin, made with Jim-E Stack, swings back toward electronic sound and became her first album to hit No. 1 in the UK.
The Ultrasound tour built around it strips an arena show down to almost nothing on purpose: a speaker stack at the back, the band sunk into pits on either side of the stage, a thrust extending into the crowd, and little else besides lasers and a live camera crew shooting angles most pop stars would never allow. She walks out into the audience during the show. Her outfit is a t-shirt and jeans, and in one recurring bit she performs part of the set with her chest taped, which she's said in interviews is less a shock tactic than something that actually makes her feel less exposed, not more.