Lorde’s new video has dropped on YouTube for her single What Was That.
It comes after weeks of cryptic messages, teasers and surprise pop-ups, and is her first solo release since Solar Power in 2021.
The video was filmed in various locations in New York, including her surprise pop-up performance at Washington Square Park this week.
The Royals singer is seen in the video riding a bike through the city, wearing a white shirt and jeans, silver jewellery and key chain fob, at times with the shirt open to reveal a black bikini top.
She then climbs through a manhole, arriving on stage in front of the pop-up crowd.
The song’s lyrics are likely to cause some controversy, with references to cigarettes and drug use:
“MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up / We kiss for hours straight / Well baby, what was that / I remember saying then, this is the best cigarette of my life.”
The song also appears to reference a previous relationship:
The video’s release comes after weeks of anticipation and teasers. At 3am today, a five-second clip was posted to her social media accounts of her breathing heavily, her mouth close to the camera.
She pulls back from the camera to show her side profile, before text pops up reading “What Was That out Midnight ET”.
Fans gathered at the pop-up this week after Lorde posted on her Instagram and Whatsapp group chat for her fans, telling them to meet her “in the park at 7pm”, with a photo of Washington Square Park.
The recent fan frenzy began when Lorde posted a cryptic story to her Instagram.
Fans started flooding the park an hour before her appearance, with many sharing photos online of eager fans scaling trees to catch a glimpse of the hitmaker.
However, they were left disappointed when Lorde posted again just before she was due to appear, explaining that the police were shutting it down.
“Omg @thepark the cops are shutting us down,” the message read.
“I am truly amazed by how many of you showed !!!
“But they’re telling me you gotta disperse ... I’m so sorry.”
An hour later, producer Dev Hynes, who goes by the stage name Blood Orange and was rumoured to have been working with Lorde on her new album, showed up with a speaker and started playing the full version of her new track, according to fans online.
An hour later, the hardcore fans were still waiting for Lorde’s surprise appearance.
They went crazy when she appeared on a makeshift platform in black jeans and a white button-down, the same outfit she wore to tease the song a few weeks ago.
Previously, fans were only given a 15-second snippet of What Was That but a few wable to listen to it in full while they chased the producer through the park.
A post last week included a headshot of Lorde, presumed to be the single’s cover art, in a red shirt with a dripping wet face. It was taken by New York-based photographer Talia Chetrit.
Lorde’s social media revival and the sudden string of cryptic messages sparked excitement and speculation among fans eagerly awaiting new music from the singer.
Her last release was her 2021 album Solar Power, her third full-length record since breaking on to the music scene with her hit single Royals and the accompanying album, Pure Heroine, in 2013.
Since then, Lorde has released a new album every four years.
