New Zealand’s pop megastar Lorde has opened up Glastonbury 2025 with a surprise performance.
The singer-songwriter filled out the first of several “TBA” slots, confirming weeks of speculation that she was one of the unannounced acts. The singer-songwriter even shared an image of the Woodsies big top hours before walking out to an almighty roar from the crowd.
Rumours of her appearance had spread across the festival site, leading to organisers shutting off access due to fears of overcrowding. Before singing a song, Lorde told the packed crowd that she “didn’t know if I’d make another record to be honest. but I’m back [and] completely free.”
She went on to perform tracks from her latest album before topping of the set with hits “Ribs”, and “Green Light”.
Lorde performing What What That for the first time at Glastonbury
pic.twitter.com/w4tfcS8LbW— Lorde Updates 🧬⛓️ (@LordeUpdatesBR) June 27, 2025
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As her set reached the midpoint, she took a moment to address the crowd. “This is fucking sick. Thank you so much for being here with us on the day that ‘Virgin’ is born. We decided to play the whole record for you from front to back. This may be a one-of-one, you know?” she said.
“This record took me a lot. I didn’t know if I’d make another record to be honest, but I’m back here completely free. And I’m so grateful to you for waiting.”
It comes amid praise for the Grammy Winner’s first album in four years, following up the indie-folk LP Solar Power.
In her Rolling Stone cover story, she revealed that the bulk of the album was written from late 2023 through 2024, between London and New York City. The writing process began after a transformative few years where she was recovering from an eating disorder and processing the end of her long-term relationship. Lorde was also in a period of self-discovery, realising the expansiveness of her gender identity during this time, and described the LP’s sound as percussive and the lyrics as very physical.
“I think coming more into my body, I came into an understanding of the grotesque nature of it and the glory and all these things,” she explained. “It’s right on the edge of gross. I often really tried to hit this kind of gnarliness or grossness. ‘You tasted my underwear.’ I’ve never heard that in a song, you know? It felt like the right way to tell this whole chapter.”
This fall, Lorde will embark on her Ultrasound World Tour in support of the album. She will be joined by Blood Orange, the Japanese House, and Nilüfer Yanya on select dates. The tour has been selling out, with Lorde adding additional dates in each city. New Zealand or Australian tour dates are yet to be announced.
