Fans attending a Lorde-themed party in Sydney got the surprise of a lifetime on Sunday night when the New Zealand pop star herself turned up unannounced and joined the crowd in celebrating her own music.
The event, hosted at Mary’s Underground, was billed as a tribute to “our true Lorde and saviour” but no one expected the Grammy-winning artist to make a real-life appearance. Slipping onto the dance floor incognito, Lorde began shaking hands with fans before a collective gasp of recognition swept through the room, triggering a storm of cheers, screams, and camera flashes.
Attendee Andrew Fraser described the scene as “a total thrill,” noting that the singer moved through the ecstatic crowd with grace and generosity. “She danced, hugged fans, and actually took the time to hear what her music meant to them,” Fraser said. “It felt personal.”
Lorde stayed for around 30 minutes, long enough to sing along with the DJ’s setlist, which, naturally, featured her hits, and even hopped behind the decks herself at one point. When a remix of Girl, so confusing, her Charli XCX collaboration, began to play as she attempted to leave, Lorde couldn’t resist diving back into the crowd for a dramatic lip-sync moment.
A representative from EMI Australia confirmed that the appearance was completely unscripted and done without any label involvement. “It was her impromptu decision,” they told Guardian Australia on Monday.
Even staff at Mary’s Underground weren’t sure what was happening until it did. A spokesperson said Lorde’s security team had scouted the venue earlier in the day, raising some suspicions but nothing concrete. “We tried to shuffle her to the green room but she wasn’t having it,” the venue said in a statement. “Straight into the crowd, singing along, soaking it up. She almost refused to leave when her management were trying to usher her out.”
The Sydney surprise follows another spontaneous Lorde appearance last month in New York City’s Washington Square Park, where she invited fans via mass text to hear a debut performance of her new single What Was That. That gathering also spiraled into a viral moment and a police shutdown. Footage from the impromptu park concert later appeared in the song’s official music video.
Both events are part of the ramp-up to Virgin, Lorde’s first studio album in four years, which is set to be released on 27 June. If recent antics are any indication, fans can expect a lot more unexpected magic in the lead-up.
