After four long years of musical silence, Lorde is finally back—and she’s doing it in a big way.
On Thursday (April 24) at midnight, the Grammy-winning singer dropped her brand new single “What Was That,” along with a moody, city-lit music video that takes fans on a surreal journey through New York. And yes, it’s as emotional, cryptic, and devastatingly gorgeous as you’d expect from the queen of melancholy pop.
“What Was That” is Lorde’s first solo release since her 2021 album Solar Power, and it kicks off a brand-new era for the 28-year-old star. And based on the lyrics? It’s already clear she’s not holding anything back.
“MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up / We kissed for hours straight, well, baby, what was that?” she sings. “I remember saying then, ‘This is the best cigarette of my life.’ Well, I want you just like that.”
The track is full of Lorde’s signature poetry—aching nostalgia, hazy memories, and moments that hit like a sandstorm. There’s a sense of yearning threaded through every verse, a pull toward something lost but still lingering.
In the accompanying video—filmed just this week—Lorde drifts through New York City with a dreamlike detachment, a solitary figure against flashing lights and shadows. She looks lost, but in that very Lorde way: as if being lost is just part of the point.
“What Was That” also marks the lead single off her upcoming fourth studio album, though there’s no title or release date just yet. Still, if this track is any indication, the next chapter will be raw, vulnerable, and entirely worth the wait.
Check out the lyrics…
[Verse 1]
A place in the city
A chair and a bed
I cover up all the mirrors
I can’t see myself yet
I wear smoke like a wedding veil
Make a meal I won’t eat
Step out into the street, alone in a sea
It comes over me
[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, I’m missin’ you
Yeah, I’m missin’ you
And all the things we used to do
[Chorus]
MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up
We kissed for hours straight, well, baby, what was that?
I remember sayin’ then, “This is the best cigarette of my life”
Well, I want you just like that
Indio haze, we’re in a sandstorm and it knocks me out
I didn’t know then that you’d never be enough, oh
Since l was seventeen, I gave you everything
Now, we wake from a dream, well, baby, what was that?
[Post-Chorus]
What was that?
Baby, what was that?
[Verse 2]
Do you know you’re still with me
When I’m out with my friends?
I stare at the painted faces
That talk current affairs
You had to know this was happenin’
You weren’t feelin’ my heat
When I’m in the blue light, down at Baby’s All Right
I face reality
[Pre-Chorus]
I tried (I tried) to let (To let)
Whatever has to pass through me
Pass through, but this is stayin’ a while, I know
It might not let me go
[Chorus]
MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up
We kissed for hours straight, well, baby, what was that?
I remember sayin’ then, “This is the best cigarette of my life”
Well, I want you just like that
Indio haze, we’re in a sandstorm and it knocks me out
I didn’t know then, but you’d never be enough, oh
Since l was seventeen, I gave you everything
Now, we wake from a dream, well, baby, what was that?
[Post-Chorus]
What was that?
‘Cause I want you just like that (When I’m in the blue light, I can make it alright)
What was that? (When I’m in the blue light, I can make it alright)
Baby, what was that?
