Want an attention-grabbing day one for that new single or album? Got a tour to promote? Tired of not being taken seriously as an artist? Or simply wanting to finally get up close and personal with whatever those barriers so helpfully hold at bay? Try an unannounced impromptu live performance!
Yes, the hottest ticket in town right now isn’t one that’ll cost you a fortune in booking fees, but comes entirely gratis with the only price of entry being to keep an eagle eye on your favourite star’s socials.
That’s the trick being deployed by everyone from Paul McCartney to Ed Sheeran these days as pop’s biggest stars pop up and pop out a new record in blink-and-you-missed-it live appearances that have their security staff on tenterhooks.
And the latest star to get the bug for getting out and about is Lorde, whose idea for a smash and dash central New York Washington Square Park seemed the perfect way to launch her new track, What Was That?
Posting a not-so-cryptic “Tonight 7pm” on her Instagram it was clear that the star wasn’t alerting her fans to the latest episode of Emmerdale, with eagle-eyed NY-dwellers able to recognise the location otherwise best known as where Harry drops off Sally in When Harry Met Sally…
Soon a crowd formed by the famous Washington Square arch and Lorde was all set to meet her fans…
However… oh Lordy… The NYPD had other ideas.
Paperwork, So Confusing…
After documenting the resultant gathering on Insta, Lorde was forced into a hasty climbdown on the intended airing of her new song, telling the assembled crowd (mic-free, and again, via socials) “OMG @thepark the cops are shutting us down. I am truly Amazed by how many of you showed up!!! But they’re telling me you gotta disperse.”
Never one to bombard her fans, it’s been four years since Lorde dropped her Solar Power album in 2021. However, after guesting on Charli XCX’S remix of Girl, So Confusing and recent BFF appearances live alongside her at Coachella, it seems that her currency has never been higher with one commenter writing “Lorde returning during the month of Easter… welcome back prettier Jesus,” in reference to the singer’s “I’m kinda like a prettier Jesus” Solar Power lyric.
That said, the singer proved unable to work a miracle last night, while similarly being unable to meet the required safety standards and obtain the required permissions to perform a gig by one of the world’s biggest pop stars in a prime time central New York location.
Got any loaves and fishes?
Tsk. Who started this madness any way? Blame Cliff Richard…
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