Lorde found herself caught up in a surprising police incident at Washington Square Park in Manhattan on Tuesday night.

The 28-year-old New Zealand-born singer – real name Ella Yelich-O’Connor – had cryptically texted her fans, inviting them to meet her ‘in the park’, which sparked a wave of anticipation among her devoted followers.

However, the turnout far exceeded expectations and New York police were forced to intervene and order members of the public to go home.

In footage shared to social media, thousands of fans chanted ‘we want Lorde’ ahead of her highly anticipated appearance.

Lorde was briefly seen standing on a wooden platform performing a song to the packed crowd before the event was shut down.

She later posted a statement to social media apologising for the unexpected turn of events.

New Zealand-born singer Lorde found herself caught up in a surprising police incident on Tuesday night at Washington Square Park in Manhattan

The 28-year-old performer had cryptically texted her fans, urging them to meet her ‘in the park’ sparking a wave of anticipation among her devoted followers

‘OMG, the cops are shutting us down. I am truly amazed by how many of you showed up,’ Lorde began.

‘But they’re telling me you gotta disperse. I’m so sorry.’

Lorde is one of the highest-selling New Zealand singers of all time and her 2013 song Royals reached number one in America, eventually being certified 14 times platinum. 

Fans quickly took to social media to roast Lorde over the incident and question why it wasn’t better planned.

‘Did she really think she was an indie artist and 20 people will show up?’ one person asked.

‘Girl you’re Lorde, what did you think was going to happen!? LMFAO,’ a second added.

Lorde made her NYC appearance after appearing on stage at Coachella with Charli XCX earlier this month.

The top-selling artist has now confirmed that her new single What Was That will drop on April 25 ahead of new album which is expected to be released later in 2025.

However, the turnout far exceeded expectations and New York police were forced to intervene and order members of the public to go home

Lorde later posted a statement to social media apologising for the unexpected turn of events

It comes after she dropped a new Māori language single in collaboration with fellow Kiwi Marlon Williams in February.

She took to her social media to give fans a preview of the new tune called Kāhore He Manu E.

In the video, Lorde can be seen performing the gentle ballad in a studio.

‘An honour to sing on Marlon’s beautiful waiata,’ she captioned her post.

She also shared a touching tribute to Williams in the Instagram share.

‘The love I have for our prodigal son knows no bounds,’ she began.

‘Thank you for trusting me with this corner of your incredible album.’

She included a photo of herself sitting close by Williams while they worked on the album in the studio.

Lorde’s most recently-released album Solar Power made its debut in August of 2021.

It reached number five on the US Billboard chart and number one in both New Zealand and Australia.