Lorde Releases “What Was That,” A New Intimate Song
Lorde unveiled her new single, “What Was That,” on April 24, accompanied by a reflective note to fans, also with a minimalist video that captures the raw energy of New York City and her intimate connection to it.
The track is co-written and co-produced by Lorde, and longtime collaborator Jim-E Stac finds the 28-year-old pop queen diving into the aftermath of a breakup with both pain and poetry.
In a heartfelt message shared on her website, the New Zealand-born singer recounts the song’s genesis. It is based on late 2023, back in New York, newly untethered by heartbreak and physical upheaval. The first struggle is “stopping birth control,” she noted, alongside visceral recollections of “grief’s vortex,” missed meals, and recording whatever spilled out in the process. “Opening my mouth and recording what fell out,” she wrote.
“What Was That” is a pulsating, electronically textured track, deceptively upbeat in tone while lyrically steeped in nostalgia and loss. Lorde sings of adolescent intimacy and bittersweet revelations with characteristic honesty:
“MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up / We kissed for hours straight, well, baby, what was that? / … Since I was seventeen, I gave you everything / Now, we wake from a dream, well, baby, what was that?”
The accompanying music video is stripped-back and spontaneous. It showcases Lorde walking and biking through Manhattan. She is in a surprise gathering at Washington Square Park on April 22. The impromptu event saw a crowd of fans descend on the park after Lorde teased the location on Instagram. “I am truly amazed by how many of you showed up,” she wrote as officers intervened, urging dispersal.
Lorde and Sharing The Moment Whit Her Fans
But the story didn’t end there. According to Vulture, fellow musician and frequent collaborator Dev Hynes (a.k.a. Blood Orange) played “What Was That” on a handheld radio at 8 p.m., and Lorde returned later that night to join the remaining fans in a communal dance under the spring night sky.
“You guys are so amazing,” she told the crowd, smiling wide. “I love you so much.”
“What Was That” feels like a rebirth — not only in the sonic textures that nod to her past eras while forging something new but in the vulnerable clarity that’s become a hallmark of Lorde’s storytelling. It’s a question, a memory, and a moment suspended in time — and for the first time in a while, Lorde sounds ready to share the next chapter.
