Some lucky fans were fortunate to hear a sneak peek of her latest track in New York City but not before police tried to shut it down.
Lorde posted on her Instagram and Whatsapp group chat for her fans, telling them to meet her “in the park at 7pm”, with a photo of Washington Square Park.
It began when Lorde posted a cryptic story to her Instagram.
Fans started flooding the park an hour before her appearance, with many sharing photos online of eager fans scaling trees to catch a glimpse of the Royals hitmaker.
However, they were left disappointed when Lorde posted again just before she was due to appear, explaining that the police were shutting it down.
“Omg @thepark the cops are shutting us down,” the message read.
An hour later, producer Dev Hynes, who goes by the stage name Blood Orange and was rumoured to have been working with Lorde on her new album, showed up with a speaker and started playing the full version of her new track, according to fans online.
An hour later, the hardcore fans were still waiting for Lorde’s surprise appearance.
They went crazy when she appeared on a makeshift platform in black jeans and a white button-down, the same outfit she wore to tease the song a few weeks ago.
Previously, fans were only given a 15-second snippet of the song - What Was That - but a few have now been able to listen to it in full while they chased the producer through the park.
A post last week included a headshot of Lorde, presumed to be the single’s cover art, in a red shirt with a dripping wet face. It was taken by New York-based photographer Talia Chetrit.
Lorde’s social media revival and the sudden string of cryptic messages sparked excitement and speculation among fans eagerly awaiting new music from the singer.
Her last release was her 2021 album Solar Power, her third full-length record since breaking on to the music scene with her hit single, Royals, and the accompanying album, Pure Heroine, in 2013.
Since then, Lorde has released a new album every four years.
