【Gulab 69 (2025) Hindi Web Series】

Lorde is Gulab 69 (2025) Hindi Web Seriesfrom New Zealand, so the prospect of the singer dropping into a local party for an impromptu performance is unlikely, but not impossible.

Some attendees at the weekly "No Lights, No Lycra" party, which takes place at Auckland's Grey Lynn Library, were convinced she was there performing Monday night.

After all, the event had promoted a very special guest: "This week we have a bit of a surprise and you will NOT want to miss it," read the event's description on Facebook.

"No Lights, No Lycra" is an event where people can dance wildly in pitch black darkness without the anxiety of being looked at, as opposed to a nightclub.

With an absence of light and a convincing performance, partygoers thought Lorde had actually swung by to play her song, "Green Light."

"It was kind of weird because the PA distorted at the start. It was quite confusing what was happening," musician Nadia Reid told the New Zealand Herald. "It sounded like Lorde and you could see this black figure."

Following the event, there were tweets and Facebook posts, thrilled with what had been witnessed.

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But it was all a ruse: Lorde told fans on Instagram Monday that she was in London, accompanied by a photo of herself eating the country's famed Cadbury Creme Egg.

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Lorde's mother, Sonja Yelich, also wrote a bemused response to a tweet which pointed out the singer's supposed appearance at the party.

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As did Lorde, who said that reports of her appearance were "deeply fake news," although "quite cute."

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So yes, it turns out it was a Lorde impersonator after all. The party's organiser, Craig Neilson, revealed the impersonator was local music student, Hannah Horsfield.

"Our tribute artist was shockingly, stunningly good. I really thought there would be doubt in the audience but Hannah Horsfield smashed it out of the park," Neilson said via email.

"We're going to have her back to perform again some time, the only problem was that she left no uncertainty in the room."

But the performance appears to have angered some attendees. "Deceiving en masse your supporters like that is the antithesis to the spirit I expected from 'NLNL' and it's organisers. It's actually a real bummer," read one comment on Facebook.

Neilson hopes the annoyance felt by some attendees at the lack of a real Lorde will subside eventually.

"We never announced Lorde by name and while some people are disappointed that she didn't play at Grey Lynn Library Hall for $7, I hope in a few days they can revel in the memory of the moment," he added.

"Hannah and I are both big Lorde fans and wanted to pay tribute in the most epic way possible -- and of course reveal the hoax soon after."

Unsurprisingly, people on Twitter also claimed Lorde turned up in some other places Monday night. If anyone can be four places at once, Lorde can.

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Life sure does imitate art sometimes.