Lorde has shared her new song, ‘Man Of The Year’, and has unveiled the tracklist for her highly anticipated new album ‘Virgin’ – see all the details below.
- READ MORE: Lorde’s ‘What Was That’ takes us back to the dancefloor for another emotional, electric journey
The New Zealand-born singer-songwriter has shared the deeply personal cut as the second preview of her upcoming fourth record ‘Virgin’, which is due for release on June 27. Ahead of the track’s released, Lorde hailed the song as “the song I’m proudest of” from the album, and called ‘Man Of The Year’ “an offering from really deep inside me”.
‘Man Of The Year’ sees Lorde touch on her gender identity – something she’s been opening up in the lead-up to ‘Virgin’. She sings in the opening verse: “Like new from my recent ego death / Sirens sing overnight, violent, sweet music / You met me at a really strange time in my life / Take my knife and I cut the cord / My babe can’t believe I’ve become someone else / Someone more like myself.”
In the poignant outro, Lorde sings: “How I hope that I’m remembered / My gold chain, my shoulders, my face in the light, oh / I didn’t think he’d appear / Let’s hear it for the man of the year / Hear it for the man of the year.”
The track’s accompanying music video sees the singer takes off her top, binding her chest with duct tape, further expressing her exploration of gender evolution. Ahead of the song’s release, she said: “My gender got way more expansive when I gave my body more room.”
At the time, she went on to explain the opening line of the first track on ‘Virgin’ that reads “Some days I’m a woman/Some days I’m a man” and how it reflects her current headspace in terms of gender fluidity.
“[Chappell Roan] asked me this. She was like, ‘So, are you non-binary now?’ And I was like, ‘I’m a woman except for the days when I’m a man.’ I know that’s not a very satisfying answer, but there’s a part of me that is really resistant to boxing it up.”
She continued, saying at the time about ‘Man Of The Year’ “was fully representative of how [her] gender felt in that moment.” The song was partially inspired by her experience of trying on a pair of men’s jeans and showing a picture of it producer Jim-E Stack: “He was like, ‘I want to see the you that’s in this picture represented in the music.’ This was before I had any sense of my gender broadening at all.”
Earlier this month, Lorde hinted at her “gender broadening”, and the album’s lead single ‘What Was That’ being product of her growth. “I had come back from London to New York after this period of great turbulence in my personal life,” she said. “Becoming single, but also really facing my body stuff head-on, and starting to feel my gender broadening a little bit. Just being back in my house and feeling this big wave of grief. I just kept thinking, ‘What was all of that?’”
Lorde has also shared the tracklist for ‘Virgin’, which will contain 11 tracks. Besides ‘What Was That’ and ‘Man Of The Year’, it will include cuts like ‘Shapeshifter’, ‘Current Affairs’, ‘If She Could See Me Now’ and ‘David’ – see the full tracklist below.
- ‘Hammer’
- ‘What Was That’
- ‘Shapeshifter’
- ‘Man of the Year’
- ‘Favourite Daughter’
- ‘Current Affairs’
- ‘Clearblue’
- ‘GRWM’
- ‘Broken Glass’
- ‘If She Could See Me Now’
- ‘David’
Lorde also recently announced that she will be hitting the road again this year for some headline tour dates across the UK, Europe and North America in celebration of the album. These kick off in September in Austin, Texas, and run through to December, where the tour wraps up with a final stop in Stockholm. Majority of the shows are sold out.
Special guests for the shows include The Japanese House, Nilüfer Yanya, Chanel Beads, Empress Of and Oklou, as well as Blood Orange – with Devonte Hynes featuring on the album – and co-producer Jim-E Stack. Visit here for North American tickets and more information, and here for any remaining tickets and details for UK and European dates.
In the run-up to the album release and subsequent tour, Lorde has been sharing details about things that may have impacted her sound. These include candid discussions about her time overcoming eating struggles, and how the upcoming shows may be her “masterpiece”.
