A Lorde comeback is on the horizon. During Charli XCX’s Coachella 2025 weekend one performance the “Royals” singer made a surprise appearance. Days after, Lorde teased her forthcoming single, “What Was That,” would be out “soon.”

As of today (April 22), Lorde has not confirmed its expected release date. So, when she took to her official social media pages to announce a surprise pop-up event in New York City fans believed the time had come. At Lorde’s direction hundreds of fans flocked to Washington Square Park hoping to get the inside scope on her next moves.

Unfortunately, local law enforcement were also present. With the 7 pm Eastern start time approaching, attendees eagerly waited for Lorde to appear from the crowd. But that did not happen. Instead, Lorde returned to her Instagram stories with sad news.

“Omg @thepark the cops are shutting us down,” she wrote (viewable here courtesy of Pop Base). “I am truly amazed by how many of you showed up!! But they’re telling me you gotta disperse…I’m so sorry.”

Attendees and users online had flooded platforms like X (formerly Twitter) to express their frustration with the NYPD. Others have begged Lorde to reschedule the event. But Lorde hasn’t hinted at doing such a thing.

Maybe she can smooth things over with a song snippet (longer than one second).