Pop
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04/15/2025
Our staff’s favorite songs from a year that confirmed that hip-hop and R&B were now at top 40’s center, but also had plenty of great rock, country and dance-pop to go around.
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Rania Aniftos, Katie Atkinson, Katie Bain, Eric Renner Brown, Anna Chan, Hannah Dailey, Stephen Daw, Kyle Denis, Griselda Flores, Paul Grein, Jason Lipshutz, Joe Lynch, Heran Mamo, Rebecca Milzoff, Taylor Mims, Gail Mitchell, Melinda Newman, Isabela Raygoza, Kristin Robinson, Jessica Roiz, Dan Rys, Michael Saponara, Andrew Unterberger, Christine Werthman, Kristen Wisneski
04/15/2025
Netflix’s Adolescence has got the world talking. The four-part drama covers the fallout from a brutal murder of a teenage girl by her male classmate following his radicalisation by misogynistic content online. The Guardian called it “the closest thing to TV perfection in decades” and the topics raised on the show – incel culture; Andrew Tate’s influence on young boys; the dangers of the manosphere – are brought back to the forefront of U.K. and global political discourse.
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That’s without mentioning the technical triumph the show achieves. Directed by Philip Barantini (Boiling Point), the show uses one-take shots for entire episodes, allowing tension to build and to demand viewers attention; to pick up intimate moments of doubt, fear and sadness. It is a show of rare brilliance and massive U.K. success story; upon release, episode one pulled the largest ever audience for any streaming TV show in the UK in a single week.
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The show – spoilers ahead – culminates with a devastating moment. Stephen Graham (This is England, Boiling Point), whose son is accused and convicted of the aforementioned murder, is trying to keep the family together amidst the turmoil. In the final scene of episode four, Graham’s character heads to his son’s bedroom and breaks down in tears full of sorrow, rage and despair. The scene is soundtracked by Aurora’s 2016 single “Through the Eyes of a Child,” which was first released via Decca Records on her debut LP All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend.
The song has been boosted with over five million streams since the show’s release, and had success on the Global and U.K. Shazam charts. A decade down the line, the Norwegian’s poignant track is now resurging with new meaning and reaching fans all over again.
In an exclusive chat with Billboard U.K., director Barantini and Aurora discuss the song’s place in the show, the vital conversation the show has renewed and the possibility of a second season of Adolescence.
Philip, when did you first hear Aurora’s song?
Philip: Well, I have been a fan for a long time of yours, Aurora. I think you’re incredible. We were in the writing stage of Adolescence and we’d had a first script written for the first episode. We were driving to look at some locations actually, and the song just came on in the car on a playlist from my phone.
The timing of it… it was like something in the air. I’d heard the song before, but the words didn’t really hit me as much because we were talking about this adolescent child and this whole thing. I listened to it, and honestly, I could not stop crying in the car; so in my head, I knew that was going to be in the show.
How does that make you feel, Aurora? I mean, to know that it was so integral to the writing process so early…
Aurora: It’s absolutely beautiful. I feel very honored. It’s always so nice when something that you’ve created from your soul, and obviously kind of at the same age of the characters in Adolescence — which is also very heartwarming, to hear the vocals of me from such a long time ago being sung almost like a classmate, like one of them in the show.Also the fact that this show, the actors and the dialogues and the music and the way it was filmed, it’s a piece of art. It’s so deep. You can sit and discuss it for hours and hours, which I love because there are a few things now I feel that come out and touch you, because we are so used to consuming things without being deeply disturbed or moved these days.
Did you have a feeling you were onto something special?
Philip: Of course you never know. You sort of hope, don’t you? I always wanted it to be a conversation starter, or certainly for people to take different things away from it and have their own experience with it. There was definitely that feeling when we were on set. When we screened it to people, the audience were having the same reaction, but I did not think for one second it would be doing what it’s doing and still continues to do.
Aurora, the song that was first released in 2016. How does it feel to see it be repurposed almost a decade later?
Auroa: That’s the curse and the gift in making things and giving them to the world. They’re no longer yours and belong to everyone, which also makes it possible for them to be revived again and again through different emotions and through different eyes and ears. I love the way this show kind of has changed a bit now what the song means to me. I’m very grateful to have the fire in me reignited when I sing this song now, and I feel very, very grateful that this show has done that.
It’s like every song has arms that stretch out and wants to hold the whole world. But every song kind of finds a group to hold at the time. And I feel like this show and you, Philip, have helped this song stretch its arms even further to hold a new group.
AURORA
Wanda Martin
How did it feel when you saw the final scene and your song came in?
Aurora: I didn’t know how the song was going to be there, or if it was going to be in the scene, or just at the end. So I kind of had forgotten by the last scene, because obviously the show had such a hard grip on me that I couldn’t leave the screen. I don’t think I blinked either as the scene just kept going and going without cutting. It had such a hold on me, which was beautiful to be held like that by a show. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this gripping feeling. But then I had forgotten by the end of the show that I was going to be on it because I was just completely taken away and apart by the show.
I almost didn’t feel like it was me [singing]. I just felt like it was a child who knows how it is to be at the age of losing childhood. It’s a weird balance for people that age. I felt like I heard it from a child singing to me as well, for me to also relearn something I had forgotten as an adult. So it felt like it wasn’t me, if that makes sense. The universe kind of just chooses for you.
Needle drops are always difficult to get right. Did you feel that pressure Philip?
Philip: We talked about music a lot in this show, and whether we were going to have any music at all because I’d done a movie called Boiling Point, which we didn’t have any music in. That was also shot in one take, and it was a very conscious decision to not have music in it. But with Adolescence, it became apparent quite early on that music is going to help us here. I always knew that I wanted to have the needle drop at the end of episode, two with the choir and the kids’ voices. But then with this, “Through the Eyes of a Child” at the end of episode four — it was just like, that is the perfect song to end the whole show on.
How does it feel to lead on a conversation around topics like incel culture and violence towards girls and women?
Philip: We started the discussions about making something because of a couple of things that we’d seen over the last few years. What drives a young boy to pick up a knife and kill a young girl at that age? We did a lot of research into the incel culture and toxic masculinity and all of these things, and it was really deeper than what I thought. I didn’t understand it at the beginning. I thought I had a small understanding of it — but Jack Thorne, one of our writers, went on a real deep dive. It’s absolutely terrifying.
It’s a terrifying state that we’re in at the minute with our children. I would hate to be a teenager in this day and age. Obviously, the internet can be a very amazing thing, and social media too, but it also can be really dark as well. I’m just incredibly proud and honored to be part of this because we have started a conversation and not just in the U.K. but globally. This is a big global issue. I think it has been a part of a tiny little stone that we’ve dropped into the middle of the ocean and now the ripple effect is doing what it’s doing. It really does hurt my heart, but it also melts it as well.
Aurora, what have you seen from the response from people towards the show and the topics that are raised in it?
Aurora: I’m just happy to see people discussing, even arguing because it’s all engagement. Hidden issues like this only reach the public when it’s too late. Every time this happens, it’s already too late to bring it up, because it should never have been an issue in the first place. But the way the world is, is that we’re so in touch with each other and things are quite unfair in this world. It’s quite an unjust world. We are also so aware of how unjust it is, and then we’re being misled in who’s to blame for why we’re sad and why we are feeling like we’re being treated in an unjust way.
There’s a report on Deadline that a second season could be in the works. What’s your feeling on that?
Philip: Look, there are so many stories to tell about adolescence: boys and girls. It is a minefield. So I’m sure there’s more stories to tell, but whether we do… I’ll be honest with you, we’ve been talking for a long time about whether we should do another one or how we do another one. Obviously with the success of this one, it’s something we will look at and see what we can come up with. But there’s nothing set in stone or anything like that.
Katy Perry brought a few earthbound things with her during her 10-minute trip to outer space. After blasting off in a Blue Origin rocket on Monday morning (April 14) as part of an all-female crew that briefly achieved weightlessness at approximately 62 miles above Earth, Perry posted a video from her space adventure on Tuesday morning (April 15).
The clip shot inside the nose cone of the flight from Amazon owner Jeff Bezos’ rocket company showed the singer and her fellow space voyagers — CBS Morning co-host Gayle King, pilot and Bezos fiancée Lauren Sánchez, bioastronautics research scientist and astronaut Amanda Nguyen, NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn — gathering in the middle of the ship as they floated around in their body-hugging custom blue space suits.
The women, their hair floating freely behind them, give the camera a loud “whooo!” before approaching the lens to show off the special tokens they brought with them on the journey. Perry, 40, showed of a single daisy, which she brought along to honor her four-year-old daughter with fiancé actor Orlando Bloom, Daisy Dove. The couple have kept Daisy out of the spotlight to date, but the preschooler who showed up in her own silver space suit to the launch was beaming in footage of the rocket ride as she said, “My mama!”
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Right after the crew marveled at their view of the moon, Perry floated by once again with a butterfly-shaped piece of paper that featured what she said is the setlist for her upcoming Lifetimes world tour. Though the print was a bit too small to read, Katy Cat sleuths pulled out their magnifying glasses and sussed out a few titles, including: “Chained to the Rhythm,” “Teary Eyes,” “Dark Horse,” “Harleys in Hawaii,” “OK,” “I Kissed a Girl,” “Has a Heart,” “Last Friday Night,” “Teenage Dream” and others. The video was cued to the the song “Wonder” from Perry’ 2024 143 album; the global Lifetimes tour will kick off in Mexico City on April 23.
In the caption to the video, Perry wrote, “One day when you’re older, will YOU still look up in wonder? Still processing this incredible journey ✨ Thank you @blueorigin and to my space sisters, taking up space AND making room in space for all – 143. See you on tour (when I come down, figuratively).”
According to King, Perry sang a bit of the Louis Armstrong classic “What a Wonderful World” as the space tourists strapped back into their seats for the descent, with the singer trying to sum up the wonder of the moment afterwards. “I feel super connected to love,” she said after kissing the ground following touchdown. “So connected to love. I think this experience has show me you never know how much love is inside you, how much love you have to give, and how loved you are until the day you launch.”
Describing the launch and return, Perry said it was “the highest high. It is surrender to the unknown, trust. This whole journey is not about just going to space. It’s the training, the team, it’s the whole thing. I couldn’t recommend this experience more.” Asked to rate it, she gave the trip a “10 out of 10,” saying it was second only to becoming a mom.
Check out the video below.
BTS‘ Jin is gearing up to release his second solo album. The singer announced on Monday (April 14) that Echo, his follow-up to last year’s solo debut, Happy, is due out on May 16. “Aiming to connect on a deeper level with fans through music, Echo offers Jin’s perspective on universal life experiences, capturing everyday emotions with […]
04/14/2025
Being in one of the world’s biggest girl groups has its fair share of haters, but both BLACKPINK divas came ready to show the world what they could do in the desert.
04/14/2025
ENHYPEN, a group formed through a Korean survival competition show in 2020, headlined its first offline concert in September 2022 before mounting a world tour with record-breaking speed. Its performance at Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan, came less than three years after its Korean debut and 18 months after its Japanese debut, marking the shortest time it has taken for any K-pop boy group to reach such scale.
The group’s 2024 album, Romance: Untold, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. In April, it took the stage at Coachella — one of the largest music festivals in the world. But ENHYPEN isn’t stopping there. Billboard Korea sat down with the seven-member group to find out what’s next.
Last year was a memorable one for ENHYPEN in many ways, especially since you reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with Romance: Untold.
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JUNGWON: We spent a lot of time touring overseas last year, meeting ENGENEs [ENHYPEN fans] from all over the world during our Fate Plus tour and kicking off a new one called Walk the Line. 2024 was a year full of touring, and our schedule was incredibly busy. We learned and accomplished so much — especially by visiting places we hadn’t been to before, like Japan. We’ve grown in many ways, from stage performances to music video direction and interpreting songs more deeply. Never satisfied, ENHYPEN continues to evolve and dream of eternity.
Speaking of Japan, it must have been especially meaningful for NI-KI, since it’s his home country.
NI-KI: We give our best at every concert, but performing in my home country definitely puts me in a different mind-set. Since I’m the only member who speaks fluent Japanese, I feel a stronger desire to make the atmosphere feel more natural — to connect with the crowd, respond to them in the moment and help everyone enjoy the experience even more.
Your group became the fastest K-pop boy band to perform at the Tokyo Dome, performing there less than three years after debuting.
JAKE: We’ve had the honor of achieving a lot of firsts, and that’s all thanks to the incredible love and support we’ve received from our fans — we’re truly grateful. Of course, there’s pressure that comes with it, but it’s the kind of pressure that pushes us in a good way. Our goal isn’t just to be the first — it’s to keep growing and reaching even greater heights.
What does being “high up” mean to you?
JUNGWON: No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. (Everyone laughs.)
JAKE: It was really cool to see the Billboard sign above our photo today. At our company, the trainees print out the Billboard Hot 100 every week and post it in the lounge so they can watch how trends change. It’s kind of surreal because I went through that process myself not too long ago.
ENHYPEN recently headed to California to take the stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
JUNGWON: Maybe it’s just me, but it really feels like the culmination of everything we’ve been working toward. We’ve all contributed so much — not just to the performance, but to the entire production and rehearsal process. We had a lot of discussions about the setup and the elements involved in each part of the show. I think this performance holds a piece of ENHYPEN’s history.
I’ve heard there was a mobile gaming craze within the team at one point. Who’s the one driving that trend?
SUNGHOON: It kind of depends on the category. For example, when it comes to buzzwords, HEESEUNG usually takes the lead. But when it comes to mobile games, that’s definitely JUNGWON.
JAKE: When we’re on tour, we have a lot of downtime, so we end up playing a lot of mobile games, cracking jokes and things like that. JUNGWON will usually recommend a game, and then we all get into it.
JUNGWON: Because I like nerdy stuff. (Laughs.)
So who’s the least fashionable?
Everyone: SUNOO? (Everyone laughs.)
SUNOO: I guess I just don’t put that much thought into fashion. I usually focus on other things, like gaming, so I tend to keep it simple.
NI-KI is best-known for his group Shiny Kids, and he performed with Taemin at the 2024 MBC Music Awards, which were recorded Dec. 31 and aired Jan. 30.
NI-KI: My parents were more excited than I was. They kept calling and messaging me. They were actually my introduction to K-pop, so it felt kind of surreal to be onstage in front of SHINee fans and ENGENEs.
I read somewhere that JAY, JAKE and JUNGWON don’t really have anything in common — aside from their names all starting with the letter “J.”
JAKE: He’s different in pretty much every way — what he eats, what he wears — he’s basically my polar opposite. He’s incredibly conscientious when he’s focused and incredibly lazy when he’s not. He definitely has his ups and downs. One day, he’ll be completely immobile, barely eat and stay really quiet. Then the next day, he’ll be super active: going out at dawn, staying out for three hours and coming back in like nothing happened.
JAY: He’s like most people; he’ll suggest something, then not do it. He’ll be like, “Want to play a game after work?” and then go to sleep first. (Laughs.)
JAKE: I just don’t find it easy to do things spontaneously. I’m more of a “set in stone” kind of guy.
JUNGWON: Jay’s the opposite. He has tons of hobbies and endless curiosity. He dabbles in all sorts of things. Right now, he’s studying French and playing guitar. He’ll get really into something for a while, then stop and later come back to it. But to be honest, I don’t think I fully know his personality. He’s very different when he’s working and when he’s not.
We can’t talk about ramen without mentioning HEESEUNG. Do you have any new recipes you’d like to share with ENGENEs?
HEESEUNG: I made seafood ramen the other day, and I highly recommend it. I used oyster sauce, chili oil, sesame oil and chili powder. It turned out really flavorful.
HEESEUNG, you’re known as one of ENHYPEN’s most dedicated members. Do you have anything new in store for ENGENEs?
HEESEUNG: Whenever we create a good song, we’re always eager to share it with ENGENEs, and we’ll continue making more. There are so many things we want to try. Each of us works on music individually — whether that’s collaborating with a producer we’re close to or creating tracks on our own, like Jay does with his guitar. Of course, there’s the process of producing a song, but for us, it’s also about giving each other feedback and discussing direction. We’re working on making our musical communication more three-dimensional and diverse.
SUNOO, you mentioned 2023 as a turning point and 2024 as a year of growth and experience. What do you think 2025 will look like?
SUNOO: When you’ve put in the preparation and hard work, I think it’s time to make an impact. There’s still a lot I want to improve, but in 2025, I hope to show a version of myself that’s even more ready.
You’ve become almost synonymous with hard work. By the time of your last tour, you must have gained a lot of experience. What keeps you going?
SUNGHOON: It’s a job where you’re constantly being seen by others. I’m not a perfectionist by nature, but I always want to present the best version of myself in the moment. So when I’m filming, I sometimes ask to reshoot because I’m not satisfied with how it turned out — even if it means the other members have to redo it, too, which makes me feel a bit sorry. Still, I think I’ve grown little by little, just doing a bit of everything every day over the past four years. It’s the small efforts I’ve built up, day by day, that have brought me to where I am now.
You’ve mentioned that ENHYPEN albums and music videos have a clear story and concept. How involved are you in shaping them?
JUNGWON: Those elements are mostly decided by the company, while we focus more on the music and performances. We often talk about this during award shows and year-end concerts, but the truth is, there are so many people working behind the scenes, often getting even less sleep than we do. It’s our job to bring their concepts to life and execute them as best as we can.
Are you working on something new with them?
SUNGHOON: All the time. There’s always a lot going on.
JUNGWON mentioned earlier that your goal is to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. If that day comes, what do you think the members would be talking about?
JAKE: When I imagine that moment, I just hope we get to celebrate and have a chill party with the guys.
SUNGHOON: I think we’d definitely talk about the past. We’d probably start from the beginning and go all the way back — like, even 10 years ago. I’m pretty sure some of us would cry.
JUNGWON: SUNOO might be crying, and HEESEUNG.
When do you think you’ll hit No. 1?
Heeseung: Soon. (Laughs.)
This week, Billboard is publishing a series of lists and articles celebrating the music of 20 years ago. Our 2005 Week continues here a discussion of Ciara’s dominant 2005, a year full of huge, beloved hits that set the tone for mid-’00s pop music, but proved pretty hard for the breakout artist to later match.
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After hitting the mainsteram in late 2004, with her debut album Goodies and its Billboard Hot 100-topping title track, Ciara stayed winning all throughout 2005. From peaking at No. 2 on the Hot 100 with the Missy Elliott-assisted “1, 2 Step” that January through to matching that success with her Ludacris-featuring spring smash “Oh!” to returning the favor to Missy on the latter’s smash “Lose Control” and teaming up with her real-life paramour Bow Wow on “Like You,” Ciara ended 2005 with five consecutive top five hits, and four top 30 entries on the year-end Hot 100. It was an incredible year, one that played a huge part in defining that era in pop — though, perhaps understandably, Ciara never equaled it again.
In this week’s Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by former Billboard writer and current freelance journalist (and Nothin’ But North Texas radio host) Natalie Weiner to officially kick off our 2005 week with a deep dive into The First Lady of Crunk & B’s biggest year. We start at the beginning of the Goodies era, when Ciara emerged as the ideal new pop star for a top 40 world that had become increasingly rooted in hip-hop and R&B, and run through her awesome streak of still-beloved smashes, and some of the collaborators who helped make her year what it was.
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And of course, along the way, we ask all the big questions about Ciara’s All-Star rookie season: What made her such a can’t-miss pop star for that moment in time? How weird was it that she was constantly cast as the one woman surrounded by a bunch of dudes? Did it hurt her in the long-term that she was never able to be a solo headliner on any of her early singles? How did Carmelo Anthony end up getting cast in the video for Goodies‘ lone flop single? And perhaps most importantly: Why don’t we ever seem to get pop star years as fun and simple as Ciara’s 2005 anymore?
Check it out above — along with a YouTube playlist of some of the most important moments from Ciara’s 2005, all of which are discussed in the podcast — and subscribe to the Greatest Pop Stars podcast on Apple Music or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts) for weekly discussions every Thursday about all things related to pop stardom!
And as we say in every one of these GPS podcast posts — if you have the time and money to spare, please consider donating to any of these causes in the fight for trans rights:
Transgender Law Center
Trans Lifeline
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
Also, please consider subscribing to the trans legislation journalism of Erin Reed, and giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.
Katy Perry blasted off into space on Monday morning (April 14) with an all-female crew on a Blue Origin rocket. The flawless lift-off from the Jeff Bezos-owned company’s West Texas facility on a perfect blue sky day found the space tourists hurtling through the atmosphere at nearly mach 3.
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In the lead-up to the flight, CBS aired footage of the women sitting in the windows of an SUV and waving to the gathered crowds as the were driven up to the launch pad. Nearly three minutes into the flight, the crew module separated from the booster, sending the rounded cone into near space approximately 62 miles above Earth in the area called the “Kármán line,” an imaginary boundary that’s viewed as the dividing lien between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
The all-female flight had Perry joined by Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sanchez, as well as CBS Mornings co-anchor Gayle King, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Amanda Nguyen, producer and entrepreneur Kerianne Flynn. CBS News cameras captured the moment when the capsule separated from the booster, with King’s longtime best friend Oprah Winfrey bursting into tears of joy.
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The crew experienced about three to four minutes of weightlessness before the fliers strapped back in for their descent back to Earth. CBS aired broken audio of the crew marveling at the sight of Earth from space, as well as footage of the booster returning to Earth for a soft, perfectly upright landing.
At the eight and half minute mark the capsule’s parachutes deployed and viewers could hear screams of joy from within the nose cone as they made a soft touchdown in the desert. Within minutes, Blue Origin staffers raced to the capsule in trucks filled with the fliers’ friend and family to celebrate the trip.
Bezos opened the hatch on the capsule and greeted Sanchez with a big hug and kiss as she emerged, with Perry emerging and appearing to thrust a tiny daisy into the air before dropping to her knees to kiss the ground.
In an interview with the crew after their final training on Sunday, CBS sat down with the women and asked them to describe how they were feeling in one word. Perry chose “worthiness,” while Gayle King went with “blessed,” as well as “surrender.” She explained, “this is such an unlikely place for me to be and so in my mind I’ve said okay, I feel well-prepared for this moment after the training we’ve had for the last couple of days. But it still hasn’t eased the fear that I have.”
Asked what surprised her about the training — which she’s been doing in between rehearsals for her upcoming world tour — Perry joked “so many seatbelts!” Perry, 40, was also asked if she planned to sing in space and she said she had an idea that would not be “about me or for me. It will be for the beautiful Earth that we get to see. Because I think the perspective that we’re all gonna walk away from is like, ‘oh my gosh, we have to protect our mother. Fiercely.”
Speaking to the AP last week, Perry explained her reason for taking the trip. “I am talking to myself every day and going, ‘You’re brave, you’re bold, you are doing this for the next generation to inspire so many different people but especially young girls to go, “I’ll go to space in the future.” No limitations,’” said the singer. “I’m really excited about the engineering of it all. I’m excited to learn more about STEM and just the math about what it takes to accomplish this type of thing.”
Check out footage of the launch below.
Katy Perry is almost ready for launch — and she’s giving fans a peek inside the capsule before liftoff.
The pop star is set to board Blue Origin’s NS-31 mission on Monday morning (April 14), joining a groundbreaking, all-female crew for the company’s 11th human spaceflight.
Ahead of launch, Perry shared a behind-the-scenes look from inside the capsule, posting a video to Instagram where she appears in full flight gear with her fellow passengers.
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“I think I’m gonna sing,” she says in the clip. “I’ve got to sing in space!” As the camera pans to show the six-woman team seated together, Perry adds, “These are all of my astronaut girly friends,” flashing a grin as the capsule runs through final simulations.
Joining Perry on the mission are journalist Lauren Sánchez, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Amanda Nguyen, producer and entrepreneur Kerianne Flynn, and CBS Mornings anchor Gayle King. The crew is scheduled to launch at 7 a.m. CT from Blue Origin’s West Texas facility, where they’ve spent the past several days completing astronaut training.
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This will mark the first all-women crewed mission to space since Valentina Tereshkova’s historic solo flight in 1963.
Earlier this week, Perry described the emotional resonance she felt while preparing for the mission, explaining that she experienced what she believed were signs from the universe that confirmed she was on the right path.
“When I was invited to come on this voyage, I looked up the capsule. On the very front of it is the outline in the shape of a feather and when I saw that it was like a total confirmation because my mom has always called me Feather,” she said.
“Then they reveal the capsule name… The capsule’s name is Tortoise. A wave, just the most energetic wave, just shot through my body. My mom calls me two nicknames. Feather and Tortoise. What are the chances that I’m going to space on a rocket in a capsule with my symbol, the feather, called Tortoise?”
“There are no coincidences,” she added. “And I’m just so grateful for these confirmations and so grateful that I feel like something bigger than me is steering the ship.”
Perry has embraced the symbolism and style of the mission, joking in a separate post, “There will be lash extensions flying in the capsule… Mine are glued on. They’re good.” She added, “Space is going to finally be glam.”
Lauren Sánchez echoed the sentiment, saying, “We’re going to put the ‘a**’ in astronaut.”
For Perry, the mission also serves as a message to young women. “I’m motivated more than ever to be an example for my daughter that women should take up space — literally and figuratively,” she wrote on Instagram.
After the short journey into space — which will include four minutes of weightlessness before returning to Earth — Perry will begin her Lifetimes Tour in support of her upcoming album 143, launching April 23 in Mexico City.
The flight will be broadcast live on CBS with coverage beginning at 7 a.m. ET with a special edition of CBS Mornings, followed by the “Gayle Goes to Space” special at 9 a.m. ET. Paramount+ will also stream the entire Blue Origin launch and flight.
Almost a decade ago, in 2017, Lady Gaga headlined Coachella — but not on purpose. The superstar stepped in to replace Beyoncé, who had then-just revealed her pregnancy to the public. Beyoncé returned to headline the festival in 2018 but tonight, on the first night of Coachella 2025, it was Gaga’s turn. And this time, everything was intentional.
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On Friday, April 11, Gaga celebrated “Mayhem In the Desert” — as her own on-site merchandise pop-up teased — with a spellbinding and ominous set. Titled “The Art Of Personal Chaos,” the two-hour show may have been disguised as a concert, but what took place was nothing short of a carefully crafted commentary on fame and performance – and the toll of keeping both up.Or, as two Gagas from different eras said on screens bookending the stage, staring at one another but speaking to the masses: “This is the manifesto of mayhem.”
It’s a fitting concept for a headlining show that follows an album of the same name; Gaga’s Mayhem arrived in March and debuted atop the Billboard 200. And for an artist like Lady Gaga, it’s a concept that is rich in inspiration. It seems she was so inspired, in fact, that the only way to clearly organize and present her ideas was through five distinct acts, including an anticipated finale — but all seamlessly woven together thanks to stunning and challenging choreography from Parris Goebel. And, of course, Gaga’s catalog.
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Her set naturally leaned heavy on new matieral — especially since her Coachella gigs across the festival’s two weekends unofficially kick-off her upcoming The Mayhem Ball tour. But the way in which Gaga reimagined or perhaps recontextualized some of her older hits made them feel impressively fresh and forced fans to reexamine the idea of fame – all the while spotlighting Gaga’s genius.
Fame is a concept that has long fascinated the artist — hell, she named her debut album The Fame. And it featured breakout hit “Paparazzi.” It doesn’t get more on-the-nose than that. While Mayhem dives back into the familiar subject, it does so in an unfamiliar fashion by bringing a gritty and industrial edge to Gaga’s electro-pop.
That sonic universe came to life on Coachella’s main stage, with an expansive set design that depicted an opera house — though it looked just as much like a medieval castle hosting a demonic rave (feeding into another of Gaga’s taglines for the weekend: “Dance or die”).
The entire performance felt like a living, breathing entity — in large part because Gaga wore a headset, which captured each and every controlled breath she took. But also because of the storyline, which across its five acts revisited various Lady Gagas of the past — all of whom, as the show proved, are still very much alive in Gaga despite being dormant. Or, in the case of this performance, despite being left for dead.
In Act 1: Velvet and Vice, fans are greeted by present-day Gaga wearing a black bob. And yet, she opens with “Bloody Mary,” a song off 2011’s Born This Way. The rest of the act continued to balance old and new, sandwiching “Judas” between Mayhem tracks “Abracadabra” and “Garden of Eden” before ending with The Fame standout “Poker Face.” For the lattermost’s performance, Gaga simulated a high-stakes chess game — one that felt reminiscent of the infamous Wizard’s Chess scene from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Only here, Gaga is playing against herself — and its present-day Gaga who prevails.
After declaring, “off with her head,” to a fallen blonde Gaga of decades past, her vision for this show snaps into focus as the acts that follow examine the darker sides of fame. In Act 2: And She Fell Into a Gothic Dream, the slain blonde Gaga is seen buried among skeletons — only she’s very much alive. Both she and the corpses next to her slowly come alive — including another past Gaga, this one from 2009 wearing a red lace bodysuit reminiscent of the one she wore to the Video Music Awards that year.
Act 2 fittingly opens with “Perfect Celebrity,” which is followed by “Disease” and a stunning, stripped back rendition of “Papparazi” that serves as the emotional arch of the entire set – sensing the theme? “Sometimes I feel like I went into a dream when I was 20 years old…and I didn’t know if I wanted to wake up, because what if you weren’t there?” Gaga asked of her fans, still as her blonde self.
Her question begged another: Is fame the byproduct of a co-dependent relationship between artist and fan?
Enter Act 3: The Beautiful Nightmare That Knows Her Name. Accompanied by Mayhem collaborator Gesaffelstein, Gaga ripped into “Killah” and “Zombieboy,” tossing in a condensed “Die With a Smile” (her chart-topping collaboration with Bruno Mars) before returning to more recent releases with “How Bad Do U Want Me.” In Act 4: To Wake Her Is To Lose Her, Gaga returns to her new form, black bob and all.
Before performing the lively “Born This Way” – which felt like it could be the finale, complete with a firework display – Gaga told the crowd: “You are who you choose to be, you always will be.” And as Gaga showed all night long, each and every version of herself got here where she stands today – they are all her. And they always will be. But that doesn’t mean she chooses them any more.
As a parting gift, for a set that prioritzed new music and storytelling over the hits, Gaga performed the soaring “Shallow” alone at the piano, positioned at the end of the stage’s runway. As she surveyed the packed field, she mused, “As far as I can see, there’s people everywhere….I hope one day I’ll just vanish right into you.” She then performed “Vanish Into You” while walking alongside fans pressed against the barricades, stopping to hold hands and even sing into their faces as she made her way back to the stage. And true to her word, she soon after disappeared.
Minutes passed and the stage lights remained dim – but on. As some attendees started to peel off, the majority remained firmly planted, trusting Mother Monster wouldn’t leave them like that. Sure enough, after five minutes it was time for the final act: Finale: Eternal Aria Of the Monster Heart.
“We are monsters – and monsters never die,” said Gaga, before ending with an extended version of “Bad Romance.” And after the last two hours of such high-value, intentional performance art, the song took on new meaning. “I want your love,” sang Gaga, as she had so many times before. Only tonight, it felt like a direct plea to her fans. “You know that I want you, you know that I need you,” she continued.
And while at times fame, and all that comes with it, may feel like Gaga is stuck in a bad love story, tonight she made it her own. Tonight, she delivered a poignant and entertaining take on what it means to be a superstar – and did so while further solidifying her own role as one of the biggest.