On Sept. 27, Lorde, also known as Ella Yelich-O’Connor, released her debut album on iTunes, Pure Heroine. This album features the New Zealander’s number one hit, “Royals.”

The main problem of this album is the overuse of background singers. They hide O’Connor’s beautiful voice, causing the music to be confusing and disoriented. This happens in the songs “White Teeth Teens,” “Ribs,” and “A World Alone,” where the background singing is the worst.

Also, some of the songs have a strange beat and boring tune. This happens mostly in “Still Sane,” where it sounds like O’Connor is tired of singing, and the song gets frustrating to listen to.

The song that is the worst by far is “Buzzcut Season,” because the singing is too soft, there are gaps between the song, and there are awkward pauses. Parts of the song where she should be singing are empty, as if O’Connor forgot the words.

Although there are some problems with the background singing, and strange tunes, there are various highlights to this album. The first song, “Tennis Court,” features rapid singing, and is the perfect song to keep the singer listening to the rest of the album. Songs such as “Team” and “Glory and Gore” have a great tune and perfect vocals and high notes.

Lastly, “Royals” is the best song of this album due to the pleasant combination of O’Connor’s smooth voice with the unique sound of music.

Overall, this album proves to be mediocre because of the overuse of background singers and unnecessary vocals. Only a few songs captured my attention, and the rest tempted me to plug my ears.