Just a day after surprising fans with an in-person preview of her new single, Lorde has officially dropped her latest track, “What Was That.”
Announced by the New Zealand singer just 12 hours before its arrival, “What Was That” serves as Lorde’s first piece of new music since her 2021 album Solar Power. Co-produced by Lorde alongside Jim-E Stack and Dan Nigro, the single arrives as less of a continuation of her previous record and more of a revisiting of her chart-topping 2018 album Melodrama.
“What Was That” received its live debut on Tuesday (April 22) in New York City’s Washington Square Park. The singer initially invited fans to “meet me in the park” for an unspecified event which was soon shut down by local law enforcement due to a lack of appropriate permits for a concert event.
Though it’s unclear if a concert from Lorde was the original plan, patient fans who remained after being told to move on by law enforcement were rewarded by an appearance from the singer. Thanking fans for their support, Lorde didn’t perform the new single live, but danced along to the track as it was played by Dev Hynes of Blood Orange fame.
Footage of this appearance has also appeared in the accompanying music video for “What Was That,” which captures Lorde on location in various areas around New York City.
Lorde has been teasing her new era for two weeks now, first previewing “What Was That” by way of her debut video on TikTok, and later sharing voice memos with fans to raise excitement about what was to come. “I just wanted to say hi, because everything is about to change,” she said in the message. “These are the last moments where it’s just us, which is crazy. But so right. I’m so ready.”
Listen to “What Was That” below:
