Lorde - Pure Heroine

Pure Heroine is the 2013 debut that introduced the world to Lorde, a then-16-year-old from New Zealand whose spare, minor-key production and razor-sharp lyrics about suburban teenage life upended pop's usual maximalism at a moment when radio was dominated by bigger, brasher sounds. Built entirely with producer Joel Little, the record trades big hooks and glossy arrangements for hushed, bass-heavy minimalism, giving Lorde's precise, observational songwriting room to sit front and center.

"Royals" became the breakout single almost immediately, spending nine weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually earning Diamond certification. At the 2014 Grammys, it won both Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance, making Lorde, at just 17, the youngest artist ever to win Song of the Year. "Tennis Court," "Ribs," and "Team" round out the record's standouts, each carrying the same wry, teenage-outsider perspective that made "Royals" resonate so widely, an album about ordinary suburban life delivered with the confidence of someone twice her age.

Pure Heroine debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and topped the charts in Australia and New Zealand, and its influence has only grown since, its stripped-down, bass-forward sound echoing through a generation of pop artists that followed, from Billie Eilish to countless others who took Lorde's minimalist blueprint as a starting point.

This gatefold LP reissue includes a 20-page lyric booklet, a fitting presentation for one of the most influential pop debuts of the decade.