This article was first published in June 2021.
Newshub can reveal the mystery location of Lorde's summery new hit, 'Solar Power'.
The video, released on Friday morning, has already been viewed almost half-a-million times. Dressed all in yellow, the Kiwi singer declares she's "kinda like a prettier Jesus" as dancers dressed in a somewhat cult fashion carry her around.
The location is instantly recognisable as New Zealand - but just where exactly?
Four years ago, the Newshub digital team figured out Ella Yelich O'Connor had a secret onion rings Instagram account - so who better to investigate where 'Solar Power' was filmed?
The most obvious clue was the landmass in the distance - anyone who's been on an Auckland beach looking east knows it's the Coromandel Peninsula.
But it didn't take long to realise just how many beaches there are in the super city and the surrounding islands.
Another clue was soon spotted - a small island near the horizon. It turned out to be a cargo ship, which was a hint in itself, as it suggested the beach was definitely somewhere north of Auckland.
After a while, Burgess Bay emerged as a candidate - it has the requisite hills and rocks, but the beach itself was the wrong shape.
Then we stumbled across another potential contender - it not only had the hills and the rocks, but it was the right crescent shape.
But it wasn't until we came across two photos on Google Maps that we locked in Cactus Bay on the north shore of Waiheke Island.
Just before the two-minute mark in 'Solar Power', Lorde runs across the beach onto a platform. In the background to our right (Lorde's left) a distinctive piece of land can be seen with a tree on a hill, growing at a strange angle.
The exact piece of land and strange tree can be seen in a photo of Cactus Bay uploaded to Google Maps in 2019 by a woman named Janet Butler.
A second photo Butler uploaded shows the rocks at the opposite end of the beach that can be seen in 'Solar Power' at the 40-second mark.
Newshub was unable to confirm if there are any stores nearby that sell onion rings. Lorde last updated that Instagram account six weeks ago, with a rave review of the offerings at Hotel Ponsonby.
