As Charli XCX bids farewell to brat summer, it’s Lorde’s turn to kick-start a new musical era and be the face of summer 2025. The Grammy winner brought fans together to debut her latest track, “What Was That,” in Washington Square Park in New York City before it officially drops.
She first teased her rare public appearance with a text blast sent to subscribed fans around 4 p.m. on April 22, which read, “Meet me in the park. Tonight 7 pm—x x.” The “Solar Power” singer dropped the same hint on her Instagram Stories shortly after, and of course, some of the Cosmo girlies and I pulled up to Washington Square Park to get a taste of what L4 has to offer.
Hundreds of people piled into the park’s famous fountain for the highly anticipated moment. Lorde’s upcoming album marks her first full body of work since 2021’s Solar Power, and while she’s remained relatively low-key as she hits the studio, fans are itching for more from the artist. As Team Cosmo jokingly hunted for our next flings at the park (unfortunately, dating apps aren’t really cutting it these days), we started noticing folks climb up trees to catch a glimpse of Lorde during her rare public appearance.
Then, as the clock struck 7, authorities attempted to shut the whole thing down. Per a statement obtained by Rolling Stone, a DCPI spokesperson said, “A sound and parks permit is required to have a concert in a New York City park. This individual did not possess either. Organizers of the event were informed they could not perform and they left the location.”
Lorde posted a since-deleted Instagram Story apologizing to fans, writing, “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.”
Stans and New Yorkers alike will see it once they believe it—including us, which is why we waited another half hour before giving up and grabbing dinner. At that moment, all I could think of was her “girl, so confusing” lyrics: “You’d always say, ‘Let‘s go out’ but then I'd cancel last minute.”
As fans slowly cleared the area, they created their own cultural moment and threw a dance party down the streets of New York, stampeding to “Supercut” and “Ribs.” Shortly after, music producer Dev Hynes (aka Blood Orange) pulled up to the park with a massive speaker and started playing the new track. He’s rumored to have worked on Lorde’s upcoming album as they’ve been spotted hanging out in NYC a few times.
Then, in a stunning twist of fate, Lorde showed up around 9 p.m. to complete her original mission. We had already been on our way home, but thankfully, I had friends and sources on the scene who texted real-time updates and sent clips from fan accounts on X.
Before this saga unfolded, Lorde dropped a snippet of the unreleased song on TikTok with a clip of her pacing around Washington Square Park. It marked her first-ever video on the platform, where she’s seen mouthing the lyrics: “Since I was 17 / I gave you everything / Now we wake from a dream / Well baby, what was that?”
A police shutdown and second chance later, I can confidently declare that 2025 is officially Lorde’s summer.
