Lorde Debuts New Single ‘What Was That’ at Washington Square Park (2025)

Lorde is ushering in her comeback with a bit of chaos as the superstar debuted her new single “What Was That” in front of hundreds of fans at Washington Square Park Tuesday night, before sharing Wednesday that the song would drop Midnight tonight, a day earlier than fans were initially expecting.

Lorde had teased the song back in April, sharing a snippet of her walking through the New York Park while the song played on TikTok. She sent a message to fans telling them to meet her at the park on Tuesday at 7 p.m., and hundreds of fans showed out. But as the New York Times reported, Lorde didn’t have a permit and police nixed the plan.

Fans stuck around, and Lorde came out later that evening, dancing on a wood platform surrounded by fans as the single played on a speaker.

Wednesday morning, she shared a brief video across social media depicting her breathing deeply as she looks at her phone camera, announcing that “What Was That” would come out at Midnight ET. The single ushers in the era for Lorde’s upcoming fourth album, and her first since 2021’s Solar Power.

While fans have waited nearly four years for her next album, she hasn’t been totally dormant since then, joining Charli xcx for a remix of “Girl, so confusing” on Charli’s Brat last year. Charli brought Lorde up during Coachella’s weekend one to perform the song in one of the most high-profile surprise guest performances of the whole festival.

Lorde sent a voice memo to fans this month talking about her next era, telling them that “everything is about to change.”

“I’m so ready, I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to say that but I am,” she said. “I’m so thankful for your patience. I felt your love. This is going to be crazy, you have no idea. I love you so much, I’ll talk to you soon.”