--- title: "Passengers Trapped in Rocket With Katy Perry Wished She Would Sing Something Else" description: "Katy Perry reportedly broke into song, singing \"What a Wonderful World\" during her rocket ride. Others wanted her to sing her own songs." date: "2025-04-14" modified: "2025-04-14" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/passengers-katy-perry-wished-sing-something-else" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "blue origin" - "jeff bezos" - "the digest" --- # Passengers Trapped in Rocket With Katy Perry Wished She Would Sing Something Else ![Katy Perry reportedly broke into song, singing "What a Wonderful World" during her rocket ride. Others wanted her to sing her own songs.]() *\Image: Blue Origin\* ## Singed This morning, a crew of six women — including pop star Katy Perry, *CBS News* broadcast journalist and TV personality Gayle King, and Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos' fiancé Lauren Sánchez — [rocketed to an altitude of 66 miles](), just past the internationally agreed-upon edge of space. The 11-minute journey on board Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket appeared to have left a lasting impression on Perry, who was emotionally stirred by the experience. During the trip, she reportedly broke into song, singing "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong, which was [originally conceived in the 1960s]() to bring a fractured nation together following the Kennedy assassination, the beginning of the Vietnam War, and widespread racial injustice. The other passengers, though? They [encouraged Perry to sing one of her own hits instead](). After all, what better time to advertise your own work than during an ultra-expensive and vacuous PR stunt that nobody but the participants have anything to gain from? ## Making Space Perry said that the choice was inspired by some new-age mumbo jumbo. "I’ve covered that song in the past and obviously my higher self is always steering the ship," she rambled, "because I had no idea that one day I’d be singing that song in space." After touching down, Perry got on her knees to kiss the dirt below her in a symbolic gesture. Not long after, the performer had an eye-roll-inducing answer when prompted why she chose to sing Armstrong's classic instead, arguing that wealthy one-percenters going for a thrill ride to space was somehow about female empowerment. "It's not about singing my songs," she said during an interview following the launch. "It's about a collective energy and making space for future women. It's about this wonderful world that we see right out there and appreciating it." "This is all for the benefit of Earth," she added. But how exactly a brief trip to the edge of space is of any benefit to the planet remains to be seen. Unfortunately, while she didn't opt for her own work during the launch, Perry did promise to write an entire song inspired by her seemingly life-changing trip — an homage we could probably do without. **More on the launch:** *[Chat Relentlessly Mocks Katy Perry's "Space Trip"]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()