Pure Heroine is the debut studio album by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde. It was released on September 27, 2013, through Universal Music New Zealand, Lava Records and Republic Records, all divisions of Universal Music Group.
The album received positive reviews, with praise for its songwriting, production, and Lorde's vocals. It appeared on several year-end lists and was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. Thematically, it explores youth and critiques mainstream culture, touching on materialism, fame, consumerism, and social status. It has been noted for its influence on modern pop.
Lorde released the lead single "Royals" to critical and commercial success, followed by "Tennis Court", "Team", and "Glory and Gore". The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 with 129,000 album-equivalent units, and topped charts in Australia and New Zealand. Pure Heroine became one of 2014’s best-selling albums, certified platinum in the UK, double platinum in Canada, triple platinum in Australia, and quintuple platinum in the US, with over 5 million copies sold worldwide.
Background[]
Since she was 14 years old, Lorde worked with Universal to develop her sound and artistic vision. She was signed to Universal Music by her manager, Scott Maclachlan, at age 13 and was paired with a succession of songwriters in unsuccessful attempts to develop her own music.[1] Maclachlan told HitQuarters, "Fundamentally I think she understood that she was going to write her own music but would need someone to help with the production side of it".[1] Lorde began writing songs on guitar at the age of "13 or 14".[2] She was eventually paired with New Zealand writer and producer Joel Little in December 2011, and their working relationship clicked almost immediately. Lorde's debut extended play (2013's The Love Club EP) was praised by music critics, who compared the EP to work by other female alternative pop artists such as Sky Ferreira, Florence and the Machine, Lana Del Rey, and Grimes.[3] It reached number one in New Zealand, number two in Australia, where it was certified five times platinum for shipments of 350,000 copies,[4] and number twenty-three on the US Billboard 200.
Composition and writing[]
Before beginning work on Pure Heroine, Lorde stated her intention for the album to be a "cohesive" body of work.[2] As with The Love Club EP, it was recorded with producer Joel Little at Golden Age Studios in Auckland.[5] Initially, Lorde and Little played demos to A&R representative Scott Maclachlan, where they discussed, critiqued, and revised songs. The recording process, overseen by Lorde and Little, was described by Maclachlan as relatively short, with most of what Lorde presented making it onto the final album.[6]
The sessions took place in the modest, tech-light Golden Age Studios and were completed in under a year.[6] Lorde, determined to write her own material, co-wrote the album with Little.[7] Ten tracks were selected for the final cut, with around seven or eight songs left out. The decision to limit the tracklist to ten was made to avoid including "filler material".[6]
Lorde discussed her objectives with Pure Heroine stating:
"The goal for me is to make a body of work that is cohesive, that feels like an album and is something that I'm going to be proud of. I'm working on an album at the moment and it seems a lot of albums lately don’t feel like a cohesive set of songs that complement each other and mean something as a group. If I can make something which does feel like that, and feels right and true and good, then I will have succeeded."[8]
During the recording of the album, Lorde stated that she "didn't really have a specific sound in mind when I started recording", continuing to say she listened to a large amount of hip-hop, electronic and pop music.[9] For influence, she cited James Blake and minimalist music.[9] Lorde also listened to American singer Lana Del Rey, taking influence from her hip-hop genres.[10] Later, Lorde went to show the lyrics to her boyfriend, James Lowe, and stated that sharing things with her boyfriend encouraged much of the album's writing and ultimately inspired and drove her to write the majority of the album. Lorde was a collaborative producer along with Little, in which she listened to a lot of electronic music in order for her to develop a "real taste" of what she wanted the album's production to sound like.[8]
Removal of Pure Heroine (Extended)[]
The extended version of Pure Heroine was removed from all music streaming services in November 2021 for unknown reasons. "No Better" was released onto streaming services as a standalone single following the extended version's removal, with the additional tracks being made available with the re-release of The Love Club EP.
Promotion[]
Lorde posted the album's release date along with its cover art and track listing to her Twitter account on August 12, 2013. The album's release was preceded by an advertising campaign which had the lyrics of her songs displayed on buses and shop windows and faxed to media outlets. On September 23, 2013, "Buzzcut Season" was released as a promotional single in several iTunes Stores in Asia. "Ribs" was subsequently offered as the free single of the week on the iTunes Store during the week of the album's release. An extended version of the album was released on December 13, 2013, featuring "No Better", previously released as a free promotional single, and five tracks from The Love Club EP.
To promote the album, Lorde did several performances worldwide. She made her first televised performance in the United States on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, performing "Royals" and "White Teeth Teens". Lorde replaced Frank Ocean, who cancelled due to illness, at the 2013 Splendour in the Grass Festival. In September 2013, Lorde appeared on New Zealand's 3rd Degree and performed on Later... with Jools Holland. Two months later, Lorde performed several songs from the album and her EP on Live with Letterman and at a concert the singer held at the Warsaw Venue in Brooklyn. She further promoted the album by performing "Royals" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on October 9, 2013. The singer also performed "Team" at the 2013 ARIA Awards and opened the 2013 New Zealand Music Awards with "Royals". At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, Lorde performed a stripped-down version of the song.
Tour[]
- Main article: Pure Heroine Tour
The album received further promotion from her first headlining concert tour, the Pure Heroine Tour, which started on July 28, 2013 in Byron Bay, Australia.[10] It was Lorde's first concert tour with North American shows in August, followed by two dates in Europe. The singer returned to North America to perform in eight additional shows before flying to Australia for six shows. In 2014, Lorde performed an additional 40 shows in North America, 19 in Asia, 6 in Europe and 3 in South America.[7] 9 Oceania dates were cancelled; one due to scheduling conflict and 8 for a chest infection she was diagnosed with.[5]
The set list consisted of songs from The Love Club EP and Pure Heroine. Lorde appeared on stage with new outfits to accommodate the mood of the songs. The singer performed most of her songs in a silhouette; her face was frequently hidden from the crowd. She also premiered an unreleased song called "Good Fights".[4] It received positive critical reception with critics complementing her vocal clarity, stage presence and minimalist setting.[3]
Critical reception[]
Pure Heroine received generally positive reviews from critics; review aggregator Metacritic reports a normalized score of 79 based on 28 reviews. Jason Lipshutz of Billboard called the album "immaculate" and "an exploration into the soul of a quiet girl in the Internet age, trying to feel something and not envy everything." In his A− review for Entertainment Weekly, Ray Rahman praised its production, vocals, and lyricism, stating it "signals the arrival of a new kind of star."
In contrast, Spin’s Maura Johnston criticized Lorde for using her age as a "clumsy ploy," calling the music "aggressively okay" and marked by a "(possibly fake) teen-pop-star ennui." Lindsay Zoladz of Pitchfork described Lorde as a "correspondent on the front lines of elegantly wasted post-digital youth culture and working-class suburban boredom."
James Reed of The Boston Globe compared the album’s production to that of R&B artists like the Weeknd and Jessie Ware. Evan Sawdey of PopMatters highlighted its "ethereal, nighttime soundscape" that "congeals into sturdy pop songs." Lydia Jenkin of The New Zealand Herald praised Lorde’s lyrical insight, phrasing, and sonic aesthetic, concluding she is a “musical heroine” with a compelling self-awareness. Adam Offitzer of Pretty Much Amazing gave it a B, noting it was “no masterpiece” but engaging enough to maintain relevance. Robert Christgau gave it a two-star honorable mention, commenting that “her ambition’s in the right place,” though she co-writes because “16-year-olds don’t just crank out hits.”
Pure Heroine was named the best album of 2013 by FasterLouder, The Herald Sun, The Mercury News, and The New York Times. It ranked highly on other year-end lists, placing second on Entertainment Weekly, fourth on Billboard and Slant, seventh on Rolling Stone, and tenth on The A.V. Club. It appeared at number 25 in The Village Voice’s Pazz & Jop critics’ poll with 317 points, and Metacritic ranked it the fifth best-reviewed album of 2013 with 34 points.
In 2014, Pure Heroine won Album of the Year and Best Pop Album at the New Zealand Music Awards, and received the Taite Music Prize.[11] It was also nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.[12]
Commercial performance[]
The album debuted atop the Official New Zealand Chart, and was certified platinum in its first week;[13] it remained at number one for the following two weeks. After eleven weeks on the chart, Pure Heroine rebounded to number two and was certified triple platinum. At week eighteen, it rose from number three to number one and was certified quadruple platinum. The album also debuted at number one on Australia's ARIA Chart. It then fell to number two, but was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). The album was ninth on ARIA's 10 Albums of 2013, with sales of about 100,000 copies.
Pure Heroine entered the Canadian Albums Chart at number two, with first-week sales of 15,000 copies, and was later certified platinum by Music Canada (MC) for shipments of 80,000 copies. The album sold 18,294 copies in its debut at number four on the Official Charts Company's UK Albums Chart, where it was later certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 100,000 copies.
It debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 129,000 copies. In its second week on the chart the album fell to number six, with a 51-percent drop in sales to 63,000 copies. Pure Heroine fell to number seven in its third week, selling 48,000 copies, but rose to number five the following week and sold 40,000 copies. According to Nielsen Soundscan, the album sold 413,000 copies by 3 December 2013; by 19 December, it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of 541,000 copies. Pure Heroine had a 14-percent US sales increase during the holiday season, selling 78,000 copies and moving from number eleven to number seven on the Billboard 200. On 9 January 2014, the album rose from seventh to fifth on the chart and sold a further 46,000 copies; it held its position the following week, selling 33,000 copies. In July 2014, Billboard released a mid-year chart; Pure Heroine was number four, selling 641,000 copies in the first half of the year. It was the sixth-bestselling album of 2014, selling 841,000 copies and 6.8 million tracks.
Pure Heroine had an 86-percent increase in sales after Lorde's performance at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, rising from number five back to number three on the Billboard 200 and selling 68,000 copies. After slipping to number eight for the week ending 19 February, Pure Heroine rose to number seven with 39,000 copies sold (a nine-percent increase). It rose to number six the following week, selling 30,000 copies and passing the one-million mark with 1.01 million copies sold. Pure Heroine was the first debut album to reach the one-million mark since October 2013; Lorde was the first woman whose debut album sold a million copies since April 2011 and Adele's 19. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the album sold 1.4 million copies in 2013 and two million copies in 2014, with 3.4 million combined copies for both years.
Singles[]
- The album's lead single, "Royals", was released on June 3, 2013, marking Lorde's debut and breakthrough. Issued through Lava Records, Republic Records, UMG, and Virgin Records, the song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first chart-topping single. It was written by Lorde and Joel Little, and produced by Little. "Royals" earned nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance at the Grammy Awards.
- The album's second single, "Tennis Court", was released on June 7, 2013, through Lava Records, UMG Records, and Virgin EMI Records. To promote the single, Lorde released an accompanying Tennis Court EP in UK digital stores. The song debuted at number one in New Zealand and charted in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was written by Lorde and Joel Little, with production handled by Little.
- The album's third single, "Team", was leaked on September 12, 2013, and subsequently released on September 13, 2013. It was issued by Universal New Zealand, Lava Records, and Republic Records, and accompanied the launch of the album pre-order. The song achieved commercial success, peaking within the top 10 in New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
- The fourth and final single released from the album was "Glory and Gore". The song was released on March 11, 2014. It failed to match the success of the previous singles, charting outside the top 10 in New Zealand, and at low-tier positions in Australia and the United States.
Track listing[]
The album's standard edition contains 10 tracks. An additional 3 bonus tracks are included exclusively on the Japanese edition, while the Extended edition features 6 extra tracks. All 19 tracks have been officially titled and released digitally.
- 🅴 indicates the song is explicit.
| Standard version | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Tennis Court 🅴" | Ella Yelich-O'Connor, Joel Little | Joel Little | 3:18 |
| 2. | "400 Lux" | Yelich-O'Connor, Little | Joel Little | 3:55 |
| 3. | "Royals" | Yelich-O'Connor, Little | Joel Little | 3:10 |
| 4. | "Ribs" | Yelich-O'Connor, Little | Joel Little | 4:18 |
| 5. | "Buzzcut Season" | Yelich-O'Connor, Little | Joel Little | 4:06 |
| 6. | "Team" | Yelich-O'Connor, Little | Joel Little | 3:13 |
| 7. | "Glory and Gore" | Yelich-O'Connor, Little | Joel Little | 3:32 |
| 8. | "Still Sane 🅴" | Yelich-O'Connor, Little | Joel Little | 3:09 |
| 9. | "White Teeth Teens" | Yelich-O'Connor, Little | Joel Little | 3:37 |
| 10. | "A World Alone" | Yelich-O'Connor, Little | Joel Little | 4:55 |
| Total length: | 37:08 | |||
| Japanese version (bonus tracks) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 11. | "Bravado" | Yelich-O'Connor, Little | Joel Little | 2:50 |
| 12. | "Swingin' Party" | Yelich-O'Connor, Little, Paul Westerberg | Joel Little | 3:41 |
| 13. | "Bravado" (Fffrrannno remix) | Yelich-O'Connor, Little | Joel Little | 2:19 |
| Total length: | 56:44 | |||
| Digital extended version (bonus tracks) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 11. | "No Better" (iTunes Store edition) | Yelich-O'Connor, Little | Joel Little | 2:50 |
| 12. | "Bravado" | Yelich-O'Connor, Little | Joel Little | 3:41 |
| 13. | "Million Dollar Bills" | Yelich-O'Connor, Little | Joel Little | 2:19 |
| 14. | "The Love Club" | Yelich-O'Connor, Little | Joel Little | 3:21 |
| 15. | "Biting Down" | Yelich-O'Connor, Little | Joel Little | 3:34 |
| 16. | "Swingin' Party" | Yelich-O'Connor, Little, Paul Westerberg | Joel Little | 3:43 |
| Total length: | 56:44 | |||
Outtakes[]
See Also: Unreleased
- "Good Fights"
- "Lost Boys"
Gallery[]
Photoshoot by Charles Howells[]
Credits[]
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Pure Heroine.[14]
- Ella Yelich-O'Connor – vocals, additional production (tracks 5, 6 and 10)
- Joel Little – production, mixing, engineering, instrumentation
- Stuart Hawkes – mastering
- Charles Howells – photography
- Mario Hugo – design, illustration
- Ania Nowak – design support
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20190222152225/http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview%2Fopar%2Fintrview_ScottM.html
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 White, Caitlin (21 May 2013). "Taking Flight: 16-Year-Old Ella Yelich-O'Connor vs. Lorde, Popstar". Pigeons and Planes. Archived from the original on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0002512787
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054850/http://www.ariacharts.com.au/chart/singles
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/lorde-behind-the-success-story-audio/D27THFHDB3C6PJT5GJEWWXHUZ4/?c_id=1501119&objectid=10880718
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20190222152225/http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview%2Fopar%2Fintrview_ScottM.html
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/24/lorde-pop-royals-ella-yelich-oconnor
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Taking Flight: 16-Year-Old Ella Yelich-O’Connor vs. Lorde, Popstar - Pigeons and Planes
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Meet Lorde: She's a Talented Teenage Badass | NOISEY
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 NZ Music Sensation, Lorde, Releases First Music Video For "Royals" - The Diplomat
- ↑ https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/taite-prize-lorde-taketh-and-then-giveth-back-10k/ULVSYCBN33M3IPP2S4MV666LYE/?c_id=1501119&objectid=11239442
- ↑ https://www.cnn.com/2014/01/26/showbiz/grammys-winners-list/index.html
- ↑ http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11134905
- ↑ Pure Heroine (CD liner notes). Lorde. Universal Music New Zealand. 2013. 3751900.
[]
Explore more of Pure Heroine[]
- Booklet
- Secret Messages
 | |
|---|---|
| Discography | |
| Performing Artist(s) | Lorde |
| Official Release(s) | Pure Heroine • Pure Heroine (Extended) • Pure Heroine (Japan Exclusive) |
| Album Track Listing | "Tennis Court" • "400 Lux" • "Royals" • "Ribs" • "Buzzcut Season" • "Team" • "Glory and Gore" • "Still Sane" • "White Teeth Teens" • "A World Alone" |
| Bonus Tracks | "No Better" • "Bravado" • "Million Dollar Bills" • "The Love Club" • "Biting Down" • "Swingin' Party" |
| Live Tour | Pure Heroine Tour |
| Related | |
| Scrapped Tracks | "Good Fights" • "Lost Boys" |
| EPs | Live in Concert (EP) • Tennis Court EP • The Love Club EP |
| Other Eras | |
| Pure Heroine • Melodrama • Solar Power • Virgin | |
