Lorde made a triumphant return to Glastonbury on Friday with a surprise set at the Woodsies tent, but the performance was overshadowed by frustrating technical issues during her global livestream.
The New Zealand singer had teased a possible appearance earlier that morning, sharing an aerial photo of the Woodsies stage on Instagram alongside the time “11.30am BST”, coinciding exactly with the release of her long-awaited fourth album Virgin.
Her cryptic post, paired with past comments about wanting to return, sent fans into overdrive.
Speaking to BBC Radio 2’s Jo Whiley recently, she said: “Wow! You know… I’m pretty keen, honestly. I feel like… ‘cause the album’s gonna be coming out right around that time…
“I am quite tempted by what’s going on because I’ve got lots of friends playing as well. "We’ll see, we’ll see if I can pull some strings and get there.”
As she stepped onto the Woodsies stage, the crowd erupted and fans around the world tuned in via social media as she played What Was That? and debuted new tracks from Virgin.
One penned on the Instagram live stream: “lorde summer is so cominggg”
“GOOSEBUMPS ,” another wrote while a third commented: “performance so iconic the internet can't handle it”.
Another excitedly shared: “I’M CRYINGGGGGG”.
But what began as a moment of global celebration quickly turned chaotic as the Instagram livestream cut out mid-set, leaving fans furious.
“Somebody fire Lorde’s Instagram team,” one viewer fumed, while others flooded the comments with: “Unpause!!!” and “The internet ??????? No way.”
Though the stream briefly resumed, it soon dropped again.
“Gone again,” read one frustrated comment, while another added: “TikTok has better live - go there.”
After 22 minutes, the Instagram stream shut down entirely, before eventually returning with only minor issues.
Meanwhile, Lorde’s TikTok livestream ran smoothly throughout, and UK fans could watch uninterrupted via BBC iPlayer.
Inside the tent, demand far outstripped capacity. Hundreds were left queuing outside, according to Metro, with security eventually letting more people in.
Festival organisers confirmed via push notification that the tent had reached full capacity.
For those stuck outside, large screens near the tent offered some relief to the reported “sauna” conditions inside the tent.
Despite the brief livestream woes, Lorde delivered a crowd-pleasing performance, mixing new material with fan favourites.
The energy peaked as she finished with her hit Green Light, as the tent erupted in joyful singalongs and dancing - marking a true Glastonbury moment.
Reflecting on the milestone, Lorde told the crowd: “This is crazy for me, I hope you understand.
“This is the release, I’m releasing it right now. After the show, then the album is out.”
After the excitement of her surprise performance, fans are now speculating whether Lorde might make an on-stage cameo with Charli XCX.
The two recently collaborated on The Girl, So Confusing, a track from Charli’s new album Brat, which explores their past tensions and ultimate reconciliation.
Elsewhere, Lewis Capaldi fuelled rumours he could be among the surprise performers at this year’s Glastonbury Festival on Friday when he released his surprise new track, Survive.
