TikTok has rediscovered the awkward moment Grammy-award-winning singer Lorde Silencio Bruno’d a crowd because they were singing along with her at a gig.
Lorde performed a private show around when her album Melodrama was released in 2017. She sang an acapella rendition of “Writer In The Dark” on the night and the crowd sang along with her.
Then, in what was one of the awkwardest exchanges between an artist and their fans in a concert, she walked towards the front of the stage and shushed them. Everyone in the audience obeyed her as you would when a queen speaks to her people. Her power. Her impact.
It’s probably one of the most memorable memes within the Lorde fandom. And it’s worth noting that there’s nothing particularly weird about an artist telling a crowd to be quiet during an intimate moment on stage. But the scene is still a bit awkward.
It resurfaced on TikTok this week when users shared their POV videos of being in the room where it happened, where the sausage gets made shushed.
TikToker @real_lady_hands posted her POV vid on Wednesday. It had 8.6m views by Monday night.
“I just wanna know what made her do this,” said one fan in the comments.
“The person giggling is sending me,” added another.
https://www.tiktok.com/@real_lady_hands/video/7083348550205148459?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=6970475862106916358
https://www.tiktok.com/@jaimee_dawn/video/7084463347252432130?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=6970475862106916358
@abbyycadabbyyyy
TikTokers shared their own 5cents about the moment too. Several felt Lorde’s behaviour was justified because the crowd was singing “terribly off-key”. One joked the atmosphere in the video felt like a “classroom after the teacher yells at you”.
@chlomance
@elyuhswallow i’m the biggest lorde defender here
@bryanlicious2 I want to be there when she does this #taylorswift #swiftie #swifttok #SmellLikeIrishSpring #taylornation #lorde #lordemusic #writerinthedark #falsegod #joealwyn #jaylor #fyp
@vegantatorthot #lorde #lordemusic #HaloSilverTeam #OscarsAtHome #fyp #melodrama #LizzosBigGrrrls #WomenOwnedBusiness
A few fans on Twitter joked they were seeing a new angle of Lorde shushing the Bowery Ballroom crowd every day. Others were literally begging to be shushed by the Solar Power singer when they saw her live.
i see a new angle of the lorde shush every damn day
— lydia (@mrs__fathead) April 10, 2022
did lorde shush y’all yet
— j’s love club ➐ (@lordesloveclubb) April 4, 2022
lorde was so ahead of her time for shushing people i wish i could shush insufferable people on the internet
— ًً (@pscwyers) April 11, 2022
Lorde was right to shush those people at her show that one time https://t.co/jXHXAGSjEG
— anna 🧄 (@wilson_anna_) April 9, 2022
Why did Lorde shush someone at her show I’m crying. What’s her sign.
— Kim (@TheKimbino) April 8, 2022
The TikToker who shared the viral vid said in a follow-up TikTok on Monday that nobody in the crowd felt the shush was weird. She appeared to suggest the performance was supposed to be recorded which might explain why Lorde shushed the crowd.
https://www.tiktok.com/@real_lady_hands/video/7085171730825743659?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=6970475862106916358
Lorde has not publicly commented on The Shush, most likely because she’s been happily living her life free from the shackles of social media.
