Lorde debuted her new single ‘What Was That’, which is set to arrive on Friday, last night aat New York’s Washington Square Park. The last-minute appearance was initially shut down by cops before it could even begin. “Omg @thepark the cops are shutting us down,” she wrote. “I am truly Amazed by how many of you showed up !!! But they’re telling me you gotta disperse … I’m so sorry.”
Tons of fans stuck around, though, and two hours later, longtime collaborator Blood Orange/Dev Hynes showed up with a speaker playing ‘What Was That’. After about half an hour, Lorde made her way to the park and danced along to the song. In addition to previously unveiled lyrics – “Since I was 17/ I gave you everything/ Now we wake from a dream/ Well baby, what was that?” – it features lines like: “I’m missing you/ And all the things we used to do/ MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up/ We kissed for hours straight but baby, what was that?/ I remember saying then/ This is the best cigarette of my life/ Well I want you just like that.”
🚨 Lorde at Washington Square Park playing “What Was That”!!pic.twitter.com/SnH2XOsVSB
— Lorde Updates 🧬⛓️ (@LordeUpdatesBR) April 23, 2025
Blood Orange playing “What Was That”!!!!
— Lorde Updates 🧬⛓️ (@LordeUpdatesBR) April 23, 2025
PRETTIER JESUS WAS SEEN!!!! pic.twitter.com/kq3dkw0eBT
— Lorde Brasil 🧬⛓️ (@LordeBrasil) April 23, 2025