Lorde reveals comeback record's release date

Pop superstar Lorde has revealed she'll officially make her much anticipated musical comeback on Thursday (02Mar17).

The 20-year-old star made the announcement via a TV advert featuring her riding in a car listening to her new music while sipping a soft drink in a takeaway cup which aired on several channels in her native New Zealand.

At the end of the short clip, the date of her return is revealed with two timestamps reading "2.3.17 NYC" and "3.3.17 NZ" .

The time difference between New Zealand and New York City (NYC) would mean that releasing the record on Friday (03Mar17) in her homeland would mean it debuts on Thursday in the U.S.

The Royals singer, real name Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor, dropped her acclaimed debut album Pure Heroine back in 2013, and has not released any new music since 2014, when her track Yellow Flicker Beat appeared on the soundtrack for the movie The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1.

The TV advert does not state if Thursday's release will be a single from her new album, or the full record.

Last summer (16) the musician snapped at fans on social media after they criticised her musical inactivity, writing that she had been "working like a dog" on a new album.

In November (16) she updated fans of her progress, tweeting a picture of her listening to new tracks in the studio.

Earlier this month (Feb17), the first hint that the new record was ready to hit the shops appeared, as a press release from her label Republic Records was leaked online, giving 7 March (17) as a provisional release date.