Croatian-Kiwi star Lorde goes No 1 around the world with new album ‘Virgin’
- by croatiaweek
- in Entertainment
Singer-songwriter Lorde, who proudly claims Croatian heritage, is celebrating a major career milestone this week as her new album Virgin reaches number one on the UK’s Official Albums Chart for the very first time.
The chart-topping release is also sitting at number one in Australia and New Zealand, making it a global success.
It is the first time the 27-year-old has topped the album charts in the United Kingdom, despite previously achieving huge international acclaim with singles such as Royals.
Born Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O’Connor in New Zealand, Lorde has Croatian roots through her mother and holds both Croatian and New Zealand citizenship.
She has previously spoken with pride about her heritage during a visit to Croatia in 2022, where she performed two sold-out concerts in the coastal city of Šibenik.
“My parents are here tonight, my mum and dad. My mum is the Croatian one in our family,” she told the crowd during her performance, prompting an emotional response and chants of her mother’s name. “Your passion, your creativity, your grace – these are the qualities I have inherited from you, Croatia,” she said to loud applause.
Virgin is Lorde’s fourth studio album and has made a strong debut. It opened at the top of the UK charts with over 18,800 units sold, including more than 8,600 vinyl records, nearly 3,300 CDs and thousands more via digital downloads and streaming. The album also tops the Official Vinyl Chart in the UK.
This marks Lorde’s best chart performance in Britain to date. Her previous albums Pure Heroine (2013), Melodrama (2017), and Solar Power (2021) peaked at numbers 4, 5 and 2 respectively.
Lorde’s ‘Virgin’ officially debuts at #1 on the UK albums chart.
— chart data (@chartdata) July 4, 2025
It marks her first ever #1 album. pic.twitter.com/yf1EKAtAio
Lorde rose to global fame in 2013 with her breakthrough single Royals, which earned her a Grammy Award and quickly became an international hit.
The song was also certified 14-times platinum in the United States, making it the highest certified song by a female solo artist in RIAA history at the time – a title she briefly held alone until Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You matched the total.
With the success of Virgin, she adds another remarkable achievement to her already impressive career.
