New Zealand–born singer-songwriter Lorde tapped American photographer Talia Chetrit for the cover of her new single “What Was That.” The song marks her first original solo release since Solar Power in 2021. Lorde shared the news on her social channels on April 16th, accompanied by the cover artwork featuring a close-up image of her face seemingly drenched in sweat. She told fans that the single will be coming out “soon.”
Ahead of the announcement, Lorde teased the song on TikTok and sent a voice message to fans.“I just wanted to say hi, because everything is about to change,” she said, adding, “These are the last moments where it’s just us, which is crazy. But so right. I’m so ready.”
Chetrit, who is based in New York, is known for her experimental, provocative approach to photography. Her work frequently obscures the faces of her subjects to explore identity and perception. These effects are achieved in-camera through technical precision rather than digital editing. Chetrit often captures people close to her, including her child, her partner, and her parents.
The artist has exhibited a solo presentation at Sies + Höke in Düsseldorf and kaufmann repetto in Milan and New York. Chetrit’s first solo museum exhibition in the United States was mounted by Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut, in 2023. Her work is included in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
This is not the first time Lorde has turned to a contemporary artist for her cover artwork. For her 2017 album Melodrama, she worked with Brooklyn-based painter Sam McKinniss, who created an intimate, blue-hued portrait of the singer. That painting set the tone for an album speculated to be inspired by the artist’s breakup. Lorde’s 2021 album, Solar Power, also featured a photograph of the singer, shot from below by her friend, photographer Ophelia Mikkelson Jones.
