Lorde: Cops shut down impromptu New York City park performance as singer promotes new single What Was That

The Kiwi music star, who is currently promoting her new single What Was That, had summoned fans to Washington Square Park on Tuesday evening. The message to fans simply read: “Meet me in the park. Tonight 7 p.m.”

Fans quickly put two and two together, after Lorde previously shared a teaser of her new single playing while she walked through Washington Square Park on social media.

However, after thousands of fans arrived at the park, cops quickly shut down the unofficial event. Lorde posted to Instagram to tell her followers: “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.”

A spokesman for the NYPD told The New York Times: “A sound and a parks permit is required to have a concert in a New York City park. This individual did not possess either.”

However, after the main bulk of the crowd dispersed, Lorde arrived on the scene, about two hours after the original star time, to play her new song to fans.

The ‘Royals’ chart-topper’s new single is her first piece of solo music in four years. Her last release was 2021’s album Solar Power.

Lyrics to What Was That include: “I wear smoke like a wedding veil/Make a meal I won’t eat/Step out onto the street, alone in a sea.”

They also include: “MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up/ We kissed for hours straight/ Well baby, what was that?”

The song was official released on Thursday, April 24. Alongside the release of the single, a music video for What Was That was also released. It shows Lorde walking through New York City before arriving at Washington Square Park.

Lorde broke cover from her musical hiatus last year, when she collaborated with Charli xcx on a remix of her single ‘Girl, So Confusing’. The song hit the top 40 in the United Kingdom.