What went down at Lorde's surprise shows in Auckland?

Following her chaotically-joyful pop-up in Washington Square Park in New York and surprise crashing of a Sydney nightclub on Tuesday, rumours were swirling on Wednesday - would Lorde cross the ditch to anoint the Auckland fans who had controversially been left out of the initial Ultrasound tour dates?

On Wednesday afternoon Lorde, whose real name is Ella Yelich O'Connor, shared a not-so-cryptic story to her Instagram story suggesting an appearance in Auckland. 'Lorde Reddit' and 'Lorde Twitter' went into a frenzy of speculation around possible locations.

The 28-year-old popstar's summer playground Cheltenham Beach, nightlife strip Karangahape Road and central city spot Britomart were on the shortlist.

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Later that afternoon, fans who were signed up to her text newsletter - an intimate communication channel she initiated for the Virgin album roll-out - received a text: "Auckland I wanna play you something.. Meet me in the city tonight? Message me if you're keen".

Around 3.30pm, fans gathered in Britomart, awaiting further instruction. A few chosen ones received a follow up text: "Okkkk see you and a +1 tonight *X-ray emoji* Meet me at 8:00. Send me your names and bring id. Location to follow in a bit x x x x".

Multiple texts were sent with different times to arrive at the location, with the first starting at 8pm. Those who didn't receive a text were quick to dismiss them as fake, in disbelief that some could miss out. It was rumoured there were only 40 invites sent.

Around 7.20pm the location was sent to those who made the cut - the YMCA on the corner of Pitt St and Vincent St in downtown Auckland.

I claimed a friend's plus 1 and headed up the hill to find a small line forming outside The Y Auckland City. Within half-an-hour the line grew to a large crowd of "invite receivers", "plus-ones" and "no invites and no plus-ones".

As it became clear that some would be missing out on the mystery event, invites became extremely coveted. Girls began silent auctions for tickets, writing "$100", "$150" on their phones in big text and holding it up to their foreheads - hoping to catch the eye of someone who was willing to trade in their experience for cash.

"Big fan" Mitch, who was waiting in line early on, said his friend Sam was "very generous" for taking him as plus-one.

Kat, who was amongst the first 8pm group for the event said that her plus-one, Caitlin, would be naming her firstborn after her.

Maddy and Anika, two fans who didn't receive an invite, stood in line hopeful they would get in - "We'll find a way! You only live once." They had already dropped by Albert Park and Britomart seeking Lorde before the location was revealed.

At 8pm, the first group were ushered in with strict security. Around half an hour later, they were escorted out the side door of the YMCA, looking bewildered and elated.

Crew from the event entered the YMCA lobby to debrief - one of those was Terrence O'Connor - a photographer, creative director and digital strategist who is a friend and collaborator of some the world's biggest stars right now - Charli XCX, HAIM, and Benito "Benny Drama" Skinner. It was clear that this was not going to be an off the cuff appearance by Lorde, but one that, like Washington Square Park, has been meticulously crafted by industry masterminds for maximum virality and content extraction.

Then it was time for my group. We were escorted into the building, handing over our phones and any recording devices. We were led down a stairwell into a pitch black toilet cubicle. There were a couple of small cameras mounted on the walls. We chatted for a bit, wondering what was about to happen and adjusting our bodies to the small, dark space until one of the toilet doors swung open and Lorde stepped out into the darkness - "hi" she said, in her unmistakable register.

"I knew Lorde was gonna come out of the toilet!" one of the group laughed.

Fans screamed and clapped, and Lorde found her place in the centre of the crowd in the bathroom cubicle. She thanked us for coming and expressed how special it was that she was about to share some of her new album with us. She pulled a lighter out of her pocket and sparked it, throwing shadows on her face and indicating to those behind the scenes to hit play on her single 'What Was That'. She sang and danced to the music amongst the crowd. The speaker was hidden behind one of the toilet doors and the sub-bass rattled the room. One of her team crouched above one of the toilet cubicles filming on his iPhone.

Speaking inbetween songs in intimate moments, she acknowledged the importance of performing to the hometown fans, the ones who have been there since Pure Heroine 12 years ago. "We drink the same water, we swim at the same beaches." It felt like an apology for the fumbled tour announcement, and a promise.

She pulled out a lighting case from one of the toilet cubicles and stood on it to create an make-shift stage. She played three more songs, all triggered by the spark of her lighter - still the only light in the room. She played her upcoming single, 'Man Of The Year', another unreleased single titled 'Current Affairs', 'Ribs' and a fourth single from Virgin, 'Broken Glass'. Deeper into the performance the toilet cubicle transformed into a tiny toilet nightclub with subtle use of laser and haze. By the end of the set, the walls were wet with sweat.

After 20 minutes Lorde left the room to prep for the next group to come through.

Leaving the loo, we were handed a paper towel from the bathroom dispenser with album artwork and the tracklist (the first chance fans had to view the complete album). Each paper-towel was numbered out of 96 and signed by Lorde. She revealed during one of the quiet moments that the 'Royals' music video was partly filmed in that bathroom.

Many fans will have been left disappointed for failing to make the cut, but for those who did pass through, Wednesday's surprise event felt like Lorde's love letter to Auckland.

While our proximity to the world means we won't always get the biggest thing, sometimes we get something that is smaller, modest and intangibly special instead.

Lorde is nominated for Single Of The Year for Charli XCX's 'girl, so confusing featuring Lorde' at this year's Aotearoa Music Awards. The awards are streaming live from 6pm this Thursday on rnz.co.nz.