If there ever was a fair criticism of Lorde’s music, it’s that her tunes don’t lend themselves to dancing. Try shaking your rump to “Royals.” You can’t.
That quibble is likely to end with “Green Light,” the newest single from the New Zealand pop star, which Lorde guarantees to make you move. After three brief social media teasers, Lorde released her first new music in four years this afternoon, and it’s the first taste off her forthcoming sophomore album, titled Melodrama.
“I am so proud of this song. It’s very different, and kinda unexpected. It’s complex and funny and sad and joyous and it’ll make you DANCE,” she promised on twitter yesterday.
The song, which premiered this afternoon at 2 p.m., definitely has more bass boom than anything from 2013’s Pure Heroine. “Green Light” may be more “pop” than “alt,” but we’re confident this so-called ‘new chapter’ will bring plenty of promise.
“It’s the first chapter of a story I’m gonna tell you, the story of the last 2 wild, fluorescent years of my life. This is where we begin,” Lorde tweeted yesterday.
Some fans in Auckland got a taste of the song on Wednesday when Lorde posted a map of the city on twitter, saying that she “had organized a few more little glimpses at what’s coming.” Fans who went to the locations highlighted on the map uncovered some lyrics strategically planted by the star and snippets of the chorus.
auckland thank you so much for coming out last night.. pic.twitter.com/2AYtggOpGc
— Lorde (@lorde) March 1, 2017
The video for the song, directed by Grant Singer, debuted in New York at 2 p.m. and in Lorde’s native New Zealand at 8 a.m.
Featured Lorde photo by Eddy Leiva for Vanyaland, from her Boston Calling appearance in 2014.