Lorde showed up in Washington Square Park and surprised everyone by playing her new song, “What Was That,” right in the middle of the old fountain.
Earlier that day, she sent a text to her fans saying, “Meet me in the park Tonight 7pm -xx.” As people gathered at 7 p.m., Lorde posted on Instagram that rangers and police had shut things down: “I am truly Amazed by how many of you showed up !!! But they’re telling me you gotta disperse … I’m so sorry.”
Even after being told to leave, lots of fans hung around anyway. After about an hour, Devonté Hynes from Blood Orange rolled in with a speaker blasting “What Was That,” and started leading the crowd out. Not long after 9 p.m., Lorde finally appeared herself and thanked everyone for waiting before singing along with her track.
People sometimes just want to see their favorite artists no matter what rules are made.
Some fresh lyrics from her new single go like this: “I’m missing you/And all the things we used to do/MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up/We kissed for hours straight but baby, what was that?/I remember saying then/This is the best cigarette of my life/Well I want you just like that.”
Before this pop-up show happened, Lorde had already teased “What Was That” on TikTok with a video where she strutted through Washington Square Park. She’s also been spotted recently at Charli XCX’s Coachella set and working together with Marlon Williams. The last album she put out was Solar Power, which came out back in 2021.
Read about Charli XCX and Lorde’s “Girl, So Confusing Featuring Lorde” at No. 9 in “The 100 Best Songs of 2024.”
