Everything we know about Lorde's new single What Was That and fourth studio album

The New Zealand singer-songwriter is gliding into her fourth album era with style

It's official: Lorde is back, baby.

In early April, the New Zealand pop queen joined TikTok – always a sign that an artist means business – and immediately began teasing her comeback single, What Was That.

On 22 April, she gave the single its (sort of) live debut when she sang along to What Was That while blasting the recorded version from a speaker in New York's Washington Square Park.

Check out fan footage of her impromptu New York performance below.

🚨 Lorde at Washington Square Park playing "What Was That"!!pic.twitter.com/SnH2XOsVSB
— Lorde Updates 🧬⛓️ (@LordeUpdatesBR) April 23, 2025

MORE: See where every Lorde song and album has charted in the UK

Lorde also thrilled pop fans when she joined Charli xcx during the Brit's Coachella festival set on April 12. They sang their duet version of Girl, so confusing, from Charli's zeitgeist-grabbing Number 1 album BRAT.

What Was That is the first single from Lorde's upcoming fourth studio album. The record will be her follow-up 2021's Solar Power, which peaked at Number 2 on the UK's Official Albums Chart.

Here's everything we know so far.

What are the lyrics of Lorde's new single What Was That?

Thanks to the Washington Square Park performance and teasers shared on TikTok, we already know most of the song's lyrics.

Lorde sings on the first verse: "Oh, I'm missing you / Yeah, I'm missing you / And all the things we used to do."

Then she sings on the chorus: "Since l was seventeen, I gave you everything / Now, we wake from a dream / Well, baby, what was that?"

Is she referencing a toxic relationship, her relationship with fame and being in the public eye, or perhaps both? We'll have to wait for Lorde to discuss the single in interviews to find out.

When will Lorde's new single What Was That be released?

In an Instagram post, Lorde said the single will be "out soon". However, the bio on her Spotify page now reads "04.25", suggesting that new music will be arriving on April 25. That's this Friday, so we don't have long to wait.

When will Lorde's fourth album be released?

Lorde has yet to announce the album's title or release date – or for that matter, any of her collaborators.

She co-wrote and produced her debut album, 2013's Pure Heroine, with fellow New Zealander Joel Little.

Then for her next two albums – 2017's Melodrama and 2021's Solar Power – she worked mainly with producers Jack Antonoff (Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and Malay (Frank Ocean, ZAYN).

However, we do know that Lorde has been working with producer Jim E-Stack (Gracie Abrams) because he shared a picture of her on Instagram in August 2024.