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Topics: Celebs, Entertainment, Music
Sarah Halle Corey
I am so ready for Lorde Summer. A summer full of late-night driving around while getting dreamy and introspective about big feelings? Yes please. Thankfully Lorde is here to provide the perfect soundtrack. She’s already given us a little taste with the single “What Was That.” It’s Lorde’s first release in almost four years, and she is feeding us hungry fans. The album Virgin will be released on June 27, but until then, I’ll have “What Was That” on repeat.
And with the song on repeat, I’ve been dissecting the lyrics and contemplating the rumor that “What Was That” is about Jack Antonoff. There have been a ton of rumors and speculation that Lorde (or Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor, as she’s known to friends) and Jack had some kind of situationship going around circa 2018. They both adamantly denied all the rumors, but now the lyrics of “What Was That” are making some fans think the song is about Jack.
One lyric in particular — “Since l was 17, I gave you everything” — seems like it could be about Jack since we know Lorde and Jack met and started working together when she was 17 years old. After that, he produced a lot of her music, but notably he wasn’t a producer on “What Was That.” So maybe the song is about him? But fans also think the song is possibly referring to her most recent breakup with Justin Warren. Let’s take a look at Lorde’s dating history for some answers.
Lorde started dating photographer James Lowe in 2013 when she was only 16 years old. At the time, James was 24 years old, so there was definitely a sizable age difference between them. But they still had Lorde’s mom’s seal of approval. Her mom Sonja told Rolling Stone, “I didn’t say, ‘Yeah, sure, go date a 24-year-old.’ But her dad and I met James, and we liked him. When Ella was much younger, her first boyfriend was older — four years or something.”
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But, Lorde and James broke up in 2015. She told The New York Times Magazine, “After your heart is broken, music enters you on a new level.” We feel it, Lorde, we really do.
After the James Lowe breakup in 2015, Lorde was spotted on the red carpet of the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards with music exec Justin Warren that same year. They also hung out on the beach together in 2016, but Justin shut down dating rumors at the time, saying, “Ella and I have worked together for years and we’re good friends. Any rumors of us being ‘a pair’ are ridiculous.”
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But fast-forward to 2019, and there was speculation that Lorde and Justin were engaged. They were spotted shopping for home goods together while Lorde had a ring on that finger. Even though they still didn’t officially confirm anything, it all looked like the activity of a pretty serious couple.
In 2023, though, Lorde wrote in a newsletter to her fans that she had just gone through a breakup. Since she had never confirmed any other relationship, all signs pointed to a breakup with Justin. Lorde wrote: “I’m living with heartbreak again. It’s different but the same. I ache all the time, I forget why and then remember. I’m not trying to hide from the pain, I understand now that pain isn’t something to hide from, that there’s actually great beauty in moving with it. But sometimes I’m sick of being with myself.”
Hopefully, Lorde took all that feeling and channeled it into the music that became the album Virgin.