Move over Brat summer, the queen is back. In an intimate open-air Washington Square Park gig, New Zealand pop star Lorde dropped her first new single since 2021 and now fans are going wild
You’ve heard of Brat Summer, now it’s time for Lorde summer. After an agonising four-year wait, the two-time GRAMMY winner has just dropped her new single What Was That – and fans are going crazy.
Lorde’s fanbase have buzzing with anticipation ever since she teased the drop her new single What Was That on TikTok last month. Now, the excitement has been ramped up after a clip of Lorde performing at Washington Square Park on April 23 went viral on Tiktok. Standing on a small wooden stage, she sang her new hit to a small crowd of screaming fans. One video caption read: “We’re still in disbelief.”
READ MORE: Brat’s so last summer as Charli XCX teases a new era during her Coachella set
Best known for her breakthrough hit ‘Royals’, released in 2013, Lorde has cemented her position as music royalty. The New Zealander topped charts worldwide, before being awarded Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 2014 GRAMMYs. She has since become known for her distinctive layered sound and the catchy melancholia of her lyrics, observed in subsequent top hits like 2017’s Green Light.
And, according to TikTok, her latest drop doesn’t disappoint. Beginning with a grey street surrounded by brick houses, Lorde can be seen strutting down the road in a white shirt and jeans as the song’s bass slowly picks up. “You already know she’s the queen of build ups,” one fan said in a TikTok video, before jumping up and down at the chorus drop.
“THE QUEEN OF POP IS BACK,” another ecstatic TikTok fan declared, also dancing around their room. Another wrote: “LORDE SUMMERRR IS HERE.”
“The way its already a hit… oh my god,” one user said. “A minute and a half off the next album and I already have goose-bumps. This my summer,” another wrote.
Former X-Factor stars Jedward even chimed in with their reaction: “the Lorde has risen to save us”. Another comment took the religious metaphor a little further: “the pope died so the Lorde has risen”.
TikTokkers have also speculated that ‘queen of Brat’ Charli XCX was teasing a ‘Lorde summer’ at this year’s Coachella. Videos of the crowd going crazy spread like wildfire after the singer brought Lorde out during her performance of Girl, so confusing – a song written about the pair’s fraught friendship.
READ MORE: Brat’s so last summer as Charli XCX teases a new era during her Coachella set
“I’m so happy we’re getting Lorde back this year, dream come true,” one commenter wrote. “Charli brought her out of hibernation,” another joked.
The star has been lauded for her talents by other influential figures in the music industry. Notably, the late David Bowie was quoted as believing the singer to be the “future of music”.
His long time pianist Mike Garson told fans during a Periscope Q&A: “David really liked Lorde, and he felt like she was the future of music, and they had a few wonderful moments together.” This came after Lorde was chosen to perform a Bowie tribute at the 2016 BRIT awards.
It’s not confirmed when exactly Lorde’s new album will be released. However, the hype around ‘Lorde Summer’ has left fans hoping that it will be out in time for the sunny season.
