Some Lorde fans who purchased a transparent CD copy of her new album, Virgin, are reporting issues with getting it to play. According to Reddit discussions and a viral TikTok video, the disc isn’t being recognized by certain players, including some car stereos, traditional systems, and boomboxes.
The playback issue could be caused by the clear disc’s manufacturing process, which uses a different kind of reflective layer than the typical aluminum in a standard CD. This variation can cause the lasers in some players to fail to read the disc’s data properly.
Some Redditors have shared that they were able to play their transparent Virgin CD by switching from a player with a clear lid to a tray-loading model. However, this solution has not worked for everyone, and playback results seem to vary by user and device.
Separately, fans have also noted that this physical CD release is a marked departure from Lorde’s previous album, Solar Power, for which she created “an environmentally kind, forward-thinking alternative to the CD.”
In other Lorde news, the Kiwi singer will kick off the North American leg of her “Ultrasound” tour in September, which will be followed by dates in the UK and Europe. See the full list of dates below, and get tickets here.
@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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Lorde 2025 Tour Dates:
09/17 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center *
09/19 – Chicago, IL @ United Center *
09/20 – Nashville, TN @ The Pinnacle *
09/23 – Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center *
09/24 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena *
09/26 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden # !
09/27 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre # !
09/30 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center # !
10/01 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden *
10/03 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Petersen Events Center *
10/04 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem *
10/05 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem *
10/07 – Duluth, GA @ Gas South Arena * ^
10/09 – St. Louis, MO @ Chaifetz Arena * ^
10/10 – Milwaukee, WI @ UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena * ^
10/11 – Minneapolis, MN @ Armory * ^
10/14 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre # !
10/17 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena # !
10/18 – Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum # ! ^
10/19 – Berkeley, CA @ The Greek Theatre * ^
10/21 – Portland, OR @ Moda Center * ^
10/22 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena * ^
11/09 – Luxembourg, LU @ Rockhal $
11/10 – Paris, FR @ Zénith de Paris – La Villette %
11/15 – Manchester, UK @ AO Arena # %
11/16 – London, UK @ O2 Arena & %
11/19 – Glasgow, UK @ OVO Hydro & %
11/20 – Birmingham, UK @ Utilitia Arena & %
11/22 – Dublin, IE @ RDS Simmonscourt & %
11/24 – Amsterdam, NL @ AFAS Live &
11/27 – Brussels, BE @ Forest National *
11/29 – Bologna, IT @ Unipol Arena *
11/30 – Zurich, CH @ Halle 622 *
12/01 – Munich, DE @ Zenith *
12/03 – Cologne, DE @ Palladium *
12/05 – Berlin, DE @ Max-Schmeling-Halle *
12/06 – Lodz, PL @ Atlas Arena *
12/08 – Copenhagen, DK @ K.B. Hallen *
12/09 – Stockholm, SE @ Annexet *
# = w/ Blood Orange
! = w/ Japanese House
& = w/ Nilüfer Yana
* = w/ Chanel Beads
^ = w/ Empress Of
% = w/ Jim-E Stack
$ = w/ Oklou
