Lorde’s new single to drop, after fans were stunned by shut-down NYC performance

Thursday, 24 April 2025

Lorde surprised fans in New York by performing at a pop-up concert in Washington Square Park — even after police tried to shut it down. The crowd went wild as she stepped up.

Lorde’s single What Was That is due to release at 4pm (NZT) after she held a pop up event in New York to promote it, and it was shut down by police.

Early Thursday, the singer posted an up-close video of her mouth breathing heavily in the camera before text saying “What Was That out Midnight ET” pops up.

Lorde held a pop-up event in Washington Square Park on Wednesday NZT, and although it was shut down before she even arrived she still showed up hours later.

A video circulating on social media showed Lorde dancing on a wooden table in front of a crowd at night while her new single What Was That played from a speaker.

US-based fans of the singer, who had joined a Whatsapp group launched to promote her new single, had received a cryptic message on Tuesday at 4pm ET: “Meet me in the park tonight 7pm - x x.”

Lorde didn’t reveal which park - but fans were quick to run to Washington Square Park, and began singing Lorde songs while they waited.

Police shut down the event earlier in the evening due to crowd control, leading to Lorde apologising on her Instagram story.

“Omg @thepark the cops are shutting us down. I am truly amazed by how many of you showed up !!!”

“But they’re telling me you gotta disperse, I’m so sorry.”

The massive crowd turned up at Washington Square park in anticipation for Lorde’s pop up event.

The dispersal notice was met with loud boos from Lorde fans lining every inch of the park.

One commenter said on social media, “why do New York cops suck so bad, this is like the third thing I’ve seen them break up this week. Man i wish people in LA would gather like this without breaking things”.

Later, though, Lorde went ahead with the event. It was not immediately clear if police had given the all-clear or not.

The event comes after Lorde dropped a snippet of her new single What Was That.

Dev Hynes, an English singer and song writer, reportedly showed up at the event to play the full song for fans who had previously only heard seconds.

A video circulating on social media shows a crowd dancing and following a man with a speaker playing What Was That as people excitedly chant the lyrics and cheer.