Lorde releases final pre-album single 'Hammer' ahead of new record 'Virgin'

New Zealand singer, Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor, or Lorde, has released her final single, Hammer, before her new album, Virgin, drops on June 27.

On June 18, the artist took to Instagram to announce that the new song will be titled Hammer, and it will be the "First song on the album".

The singer called the track "An ode to city life and horniness tbh" in the caption.

O'Connor also released a cover art for the single featuring her reflection repeating infinitely in opposite-facing bathroom mirrors as she washes her face at the sink. Hammer comes after, already released singles, What was That and Man of the Year.

Virgin is scheduled to release on June 27 and is the fourth studio album after her 2021 album, Solar Power. Her latest album will see the artist collaborate with Jime-E Stack, Fabiana Palladino, Andrew Aged, Buddy Ross, Dan Nigro, and Dev Hynes of Blood Orange.

What has Lorde said about her new album, Virgin?

Lorde, in the initial interviews revealed that her new album Virgin is inspired by an amalgamation of experiences, ranging from disordered eating to quitting birth control, and even breaking off a long-term relationship. When she announced the album back in April, Lorde described the project as,

"THE COLOR OF THE ALBUM IS CLEAR. LIKE BATHWATER, WINDOWS, ICE, SPIT. FULL TRANSPARENCY. THE LANGUAGE IS PLAIN AND UNSENTIMENTAL. THE SOUNDS ARE THE SAME WHEREVER POSSIBLE. I WAS TRYING TO SEE MYSELF, ALL THE WAY THROUGH. I WAS TRYING TO MAKE A DOCUMENT THAT REFLECTED MY FEMINITY: RAW, PRIMAL, INNOCENT, ELEGANT, OPENHEARTED, SPIRITUAL, MASC."

While speaking to BBC Radio 1's Jack Saunders in May 2025, the artist confessed that her collaboration with Charli XCX gave her more confidence to explore her vulnerabilities in music. When talking about the new album, O'Connor said,

"I never thought it would come out. I wrote this from the persepctive of, 'well I could never say that.' It was just sort of an exercise in saying everything I needed to say about a whole lot of different stuff and I put off dealing with that. I was like, that's for future Ella to deal with."

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Lorde revealed that Charli XCX's Brat really gave her a "kick" and meeting the fellow artist in the place of "rugged vulnerability and people responding really well to that", made O'Connor reel, 'Ok cool - this is a good thing to be doing'.

The artist opened up about suffering from not feeling her "own power".

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