As of Monday, April 14, the official list of pop stars who have gone to space now includes one name: Katy Perry. The singer made her interstellar debut as part of Blue Origin‘s all-female crew, and while she wasn’t alone up there, it’s safe to say that Katy’s trip to space was her time to shine—even if things didn’t go quite as planned.
Not only did Katy bring a daisy on board—as a symbol of her daughter, Daisy, who watched from Earth, and “a reminder of our beautiful Earth”—she also brought the previously unreleased setlist for her upcoming Lifetimes tour.
Unfortunately for Katy, the camera quality in the New Shepard rocket was less than ideal. In newly released video from inside the capsule during the flight, Katy can be seen holding up a daisy to the camera followed by a card shaped like a butterfly with what looks like song titles listed. The only problem? The words are impossible to make out.
Katy did, however, have a successful musical endeavor during her 10 minutes and 21 seconds long flight. Her fellow space explorer Gayle King revealed that Katy serenaded the flight—which also included Lauren Sánchez, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, and Kerainne Flynn. “After we hit zero Gs, Katy sang ‘What a Wonderful World,’ isn’t that nice?” Gayle said after the flight. Personally, I wouldn’t describe any part of being trapped in a small metal tube hurtling through space as “nice,” but to each her own.
“I’ve covered that song in the past. Obviously my higher self is steering the ship. I had no clue I’d one day decide to sing a little bit of that in space,” Katy later said of the song choice. “I think that it’s not about me, it’s not about singing my songs, it’s about a collective energy and making space for future women and taking up space and belonging, and it’s about this wonderful world that we see right out there and appreciating it. This is all for the benefit of Earth.”
Some on Twitter were disappointed Katy didn’t take this opportunity to sing her hit, “E.T.”—a personal fave of mine. But, never fear, Katy stans could be getting a whole new hit out of this experience. Asked if she’ll write a song about her trip to space, Katy told CNN, “Oh, for sure, 100%.”
Sure, the trip was shorter than “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” and, yes, there are serious ethical questions about space tourism. But at least Katy can say she really made the most of this much-tweeted about trip!
