Lorde: Ultrasound in Seattle

Lorde
Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
10.22.25

Lorde’s arrival in music in 2013 was nothing short of a meteor strike. At just 17, the New Zealand native shifted the landscape of modern pop with her monumental hits “Royals” and “Team”, her debut album catapulting to the top of many year-end charts. In the 12 years since, she has continued to push the envelope for more than music – culturally and artistically she’s a force with few, if any, equals. Her long sold-out, North American tour ending show at Seattle’s Climate Pledge was another undeniable feather in her cap of continued superstardom.

Touring in support of her new album, Virgin, Lorde kicked off the two hour set with album opener, “Hammer”, emerging in a hazy mist of strobes and lasers. It’s astonishing how many in the capacity audience knew every word to the track, with the album having been released only a few short months ago. Following up with “Royals” let the crowd know that, while Virgin would be performed in its entirety, this was a set that was going to serve as a reminder of her historic and continue excellence – there were no filler tracks to be had in this all gas, no breaks performance.

As the set progressed, it was clear that the decision to perform the new album in its entirety, buoyed by half of the tracks coming from Pure Heroine, Melodrama, and Solar Power, elevated the night. She could’ve easily leaned on only cherry-picked hits, and the crowd would’ve undoubtedly been satisfied. It made Virgin into a new experience as a living, fresh document laid bare.

Mid-show, Lorde addressed the audience with rare intimacy. She spoke of how this tour has been “completely transformational” for her, how performing these songs night after night has revealed truths she was only beginning to name. She admitted she’s striving to be more truthful—with herself, and with her songwriting. “I promise you”, she proclaimed to the audience, “I’ll never stop peeling back the layers, and I’ll never stop excavating every part of me to get deeper and deeper to the truths I hold.” The declaration felt earned: you could sense the rawness behind the pop draw, the weight of lived experience behind phrase and chorus.

Musically the show was a tightrope walk—edgy electronics meeting vulnerable lyricism. Songs that on record sound spare and haunting were rendered in the live space as urgent and immediate. The band and production at times pulled back into minimalism, letting Lorde’s voice carry the moment; other times they surged, lighting up the arena with washes of colour, fog and rhythmic pulses. Through it all, her presence anchored the room—unpretentious, self-aware, completely intentional and grounded in the present moment.

Highlights of the night included her earnest rendition of “Liability”, the bouncing anthem “Team” and Virgin album closer, “David.” As she navigated through the crowd in a light-adorned vest, she made a point to stop every couple feet so the adoring fans could savor the proximity to her, which made “David” all the more intimate. It was genuine, moving, and a perfect send off for her encore tracks “A World Alone” and “Ribs.”

Clearly, tonight proved that this was not the Lorde of Pure Heroine or Melodrama or Solar Power. This is an artist, in the truest sense, continuing to push the bounds of music, culture, and art in every sense. Lorde didn’t just play her new album—she lived it on stage and invited us in.

Setlist:

Hammer
Royals
Broken Glass
Buzzcut Season
Favourite Daughter
Perfect Places
Shapeshifter
Current Affairs
Supercut
No Better
GRWM
The Louvre
Oceanic Feeling
Big Star
Liability
Clear Blue
Man of the Year
If She Could See Me Now
Team
What Was That
Green Light
David
A World Alone
Ribs