Caroline Polachek Gives Lorde the ‘Green Light’ During Surprise Festival Appearance

Lorde’s Melodrama single “Green Light” is made to be screamed — particularly alongside tens of thousands of people who will come get their things, but can’t let go. The singer ramped up her performance of the track at this year’s Sziget Festival in Budapest, Hungary with a special guest appearance from another master of lyrical dramatics: Caroline Polachek.

Polachek, also booked to perform at the five-day festival, emerged at the beginning of the song to help Lorde. The pair jumped around the stage together like two close friends coaching each other through a breakup with music and dancing as the ultimate distraction tactics. The performance made for a fitting grand finale to Lorde’s 16-song set

Lorde also treated the Sziget Festival audience to a performance of “Silver Moon,” an unreleased song that she debuted last week at the UK’s Boardmasters Festival. The record reminded fans of the aesthetics and sounds that defined the Melodrama era in 2017, leaving some hoping that she was returning from the breezy beach vibe that defined her last album, 2021’s Solar Power.

At Boardmasters, where she also performed a song assumed to be titled “Invisible Ink,” Lorde told the audience: “This is not the start of anything.” But not everyone was convinced. One fan commented on her Instagram post suggesting she was lying for the sake of teasing new music.

But Lorde shut it down: “Hahaha I’m serious literally just decided to set these free from my laptop,” she replied. “But they’re not bed eh … beautiful and fun for fests I thought.”