In what can be described as a “wild and fluorescent” moment from Lorde’s sixth most popular song, “Supercut,” Lorde showed up at Washington Square Park in NYC, on April 21, 2025, to sing and dance with her fans. In numerous posts on social media, Lorde has created a narrative of memorable moments, as she stands atop a bench and lip-syncs to her songs, with college students surrounding her to sing along.
As a way to promote her new track called “What Was That,” Lorde decided to do something only Lorde could do, as Anjali Mathews, a sophomore at NVD, explained.
“I feel like this was a Lorde thing to do, and I think that it shows she cares for her fans and likes performing music for them,” Mathews said.
Meeka Cop, a sophomore at NVD, also agreed with this view.
“Yes, this fits her character well,” Cop said.
However, can that be both a truth and a lie? Lorde arrived two hours late, as she originally called all of her fans to collect at 7 p.m. but ended up appearing at 9 p.m.
“I think what she did was cool, but I feel bad for the people who waited there for hours and then left once it got shut down, only for her to end up singing,” Cop said.
Lorde used her fans for her music video for “What Was That,” but before that could happen, the NYPD broke up the excited crowd. Cop wasn’t keen on this course of events.
“When she was on, the energy seemed good, and people enjoyed themselves. Leading up to it, people seemed to be very nervous because they didn’t know if she would actually show up. From what I saw when she posted on her Instagram that it was shut down, many people conveyed their frustration as they had shown up hours early and given up their whole evening,” Cop said.
Cop empathizes with the many fans who ended up missing this live performance, Mathews on the other hand, decided to view this from the perspective of fans who didn’t.
“It was heartwarming to see all these people bonding over music and shows how powerful it can be,” Mathews said.
Mathews focused on the vibe and connections made while Cop focused on the quality.
When asked if she feels like she missed out, Cop replied, “At first, I did, but she only sang one song, and I can always see it from videos people post on social media or listen to it on Spotify. It’s not worth giving half of my day to see one song being played live,” Cop said.
Lorde’s surprise concert is now in the past, but that doesn’t stop Mathews from hoping.
“I do feel like I missed out, but it gives me hope that she will do this more often or inspire other artists to follow suit,” Mathews said.
