Lorde has officially returned with the video for her new single titled “What Was That,” marking her first solo release in four years and her first music since her 2021 album Solar Power. Lorde had also released a Talking Heads cover and appeared on a remix of Charli XCX’s track “Girl, so confusing”  (the two artists recently performed that remix live together at Coachella).

The new music is off Lorde’s highly anticipated new album, Virgin, set for release on June 27th — marking her first full-length body of work in four years. Lorde, 28, announced the new album in an Instagram post, featuring the album cover — which appears to be a pelvic X-Ray with a zipper down the center.  She later revealed on her website that the album is produced by Lorde herself alongside Jim-E Stack, with Fabiana Palladino, Andrew Aged, Buddy Ross, Dan Nigro and Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes.

The artist had previously shared the news of her new music via Instagram, posting the single’s cover art.  In the image, shot by photographer Talia Chetrit, Lorde is shown wearing a bright red t-shirt with her hair in double braids, gazing into the camera as water drips down her face. She previously teased “What Was That” on TikTok (Lorde’s first post on the platform) where she shared a video of herself walking through Washington Square Park in New York City. In a voice note to fans, she hinted at her long-awaited return to music after her last album, Solar Power.  She said in the message: “I just wanted to say hi, because everything is about to change. These are the last moments where it’s just us, which is crazy. But so right. I’m so ready.”

Lorde debuted “What Was That” live at New York’s Washington Square Park while playing the song on a small speaker; footage from the event is featured in the new video for “What Was That” which Lorde co-wrote with Jim-E Stack and co-produced with Jim-E Stack and Daniel Nigro.

See the video for ‘What Was That’ – HERE.

Editorial credit: Christian Bertrand / Shutterstock.com