Lorde’s new song „What Was That?“ was written amid a painful breakup. Here’s a breakdown of what the lyrics could mean.
On the heels of her impromptu pop-up in Washington Square Park on Tuesday, which drew a crowd so large it was shut down by the NYPD, Lorde officially launched her new era of music on Thursday with the brand-new single, „What Was That?“
The synth-pop song arrives nearly four years after Lorde’s third album, „Solar Power“, divided fans and critics with its bright acoustics and serene lyricism.
By contrast, „What Was That?“ is fraught and jittery, like jolting awake from a dream. Cowritten by Lorde and Jim-E Stack and coproduced by the duo with Daniel Nigro — who made his name as a pop-star whisperer through his work with Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan — the song was evidently inspired by fresh heartbreak.
„Late 2023. Back in New York. Deep breakup“, Lorde wrote on her website to accompany its release. „Stopping birth control. Every meal a battle. Flashbacks and waves. Feeling grief’s vortex and letting it take me. Opening my mouth and recording what fell out… The sound of my rebirth.“
Since Lorde’s breakthrough 2013 hit „Royals“, which she wrote when she was still a teenager, the now-28-year-old New Zealander has generally been social media-averse and tight-lipped about her personal life — so much so that the fact that she’d even been in a long-term relationship may have come as a surprise to many fans.
On „What Was That?“, Lorde’s guileless, introspective style of songwriting offers an avenue to trace her recent milestones and emotional arcs.
The song is teeming with references to her past work, real-life places, and drug-fueled flashbacks. Here’s a close reading of the lyrics.’What Was That?‘ was likely inspired by Justin Warren, a music executive who Lorde was rumored to be dating
Rumors began swirling in 2016 that Lorde was dating Justin Warren, a promotions director at Universal Music who is roughly 17 years her senior.
Though Warren denied reports of a romance at the time, the pair were photographed kissing on the streets of Auckland in 2020 and displaying more PDA in 2021.
Also in 2021, Lorde released the „Solar Power“ track „The Man With the Axe“, which was widely interpreted as an open letter to Warren. She described the ballad as „fragile, vulnerable“, and „very private.“
„I’m expressing a huge amount of love and affection for someone“, she told Apple Music of the song. „I sort of don’t even like thinking about people listening to it because it’s just for me.“
On September 20, 2023, Lorde seemed to announce their breakup in an email to fans.
„I’m living with heartbreak again. It’s different but the same. I ache all the time, I forget why and then remember“, she wrote in her newsletter.
