King Charles III will be officially coronated at Westminster Abbey on May 6, the first coronation of a new British monarch in nearly 70 years.
It’s sure to be a big event — and some major music stars will be crossing the pond to help the new king celebrate.
The Coronation Concert, set to be held on May 7, has been in the works for months, and while the royal family often draws big celebrity names for events like these, a lot of the attention has been on how many artists turned the gig down: Elton John, Adele, the Spice Girls and Harry Styles were reportedly asked but all declined.
Many of those artists cited schedule conflicts, although some have speculated that the unpopularity of Charles or the recent drama within the royal family may have turned off major artists from performing.
However, the lineup for the concert has been announced, and it does include some big, surprising names.
Headliners include two of the best-selling artists of all time: pop superstar Katy Perry and iconic singer-songwriter Lionel Richie. According to People, the two American Idol hosts have connections to King Charles through charity work.
Perry, the 38-year-old “Firework” and “Teenage Dream” singer, has served as an ambassador of The British Asian Trust, a charity co-founded by Prince Charles, since 2020. The charity is focused on fighting poverty in South Asia.
Charles’ former deputy private secretary Scott Furssedonn-Wood recently revealed he got a selfie with Perry in 2019, at Charles’ request.
“Those of us in the team never asked for selfies,” Furssedonn-Wood wrote on Twitter. “So HRH kindly asked for me ‘He and his family are such fans!'”
Richie also has his own connection to Charles: the “All Night Long” singer was appointed the First Global Ambassador and First Chairman of the Global Ambassador Group for The Prince’s Trust in 2019.
In an interview, Richie said he was looking forward to performing.
“I mean, you don’t get in the business and say, ‘You know what? I’ll be at the King’s coronation.’ You know, that just never comes up,” he told People. “[It’s] A, a surprise. B, what an honor. And C, the fact of all the names that are out there that he could have had for this, he called my name.”
According to BBC, who will air the concert, the lineup also includes opera star Andrea Bocelli, British pop group Take That, Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel, singer/songwriter Freya Ridings and classical-soul composer/producer Alexis Ffrench.
King Charles III took the throne after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September. His coronation will symbolically usher in Britain’s first new monarch in over 70 years. Charles is tasked with modernizing the British monarchy at a time when scandals and personal infighting have affected the royals’ public image.
Will you be watching King Charles’ coronation or coronation concert? Are you excited to see Lionel Richie and Katy Perry perform? Please share this story and let us know your thoughts!
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