It’s been forgotten in recent weeks, given the outsized conversation about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s failure to RSVP to the coronation, then the announcement that only Harry planned to go, but there’s been a lot of chaos around the coronation concert. The idea was always that King Charles and Queen Camilla would do the coronation “crowning” ceremony in London, at Westminster Abbey, then they would go to Windsor Castle later that day and enjoy a festive concert. The problem was that no one wanted to perform at the stupid concert – Adele, Ed Sheeran and Kylie Minogue all turned down the palace’s very public overtures, and there was some talk about how most artists are being advised to avoid the coronation like the plague. Enter Katy Perry. In 2020, then-Prince Charles appointed Katy to an ambassadorship for the British Asian Trust. The appointment was widely and deservedly mocked. But it’s a connection, and now Katy is heading over to England to perform at the Chubbly concert.

Katy Perry, Take That and Lionel Richie are among the first names to be announced for King Charles III’s coronation concert. It is set to take place in the grounds of Windsor Castle on 7 May, with an audience of more than 20,000 people. Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli, Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel and Freya Ridings will also be performing at the celebration. The show will be based on themes of love, respect and optimism.

Perry, who has sold 57 million albums worldwide, has a connection with King Charles III, who appointed her in 2020 to the British Asian Trust. She said she is “excited” to be performing and “helping to shine a further light” on the trust’s children’s protection fund, which raises money for causes including finding solutions to child trafficking”.’’

Richie, who was the first global ambassador of The Prince’s Trust charity, has called the coronation concert “a once-in-a-lifetime event” and an “honour and celebration”.

Robbie Williams is not expected to perform alongside the rest of his Take That band members Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen, who haven’t performed together in four years. They said “we can’t wait” to be back on stage and have promised a live band, orchestra and military drummers to accompany their performance.

There will also be nods to the four nations of the UK, with community choirs and singing groups combining to form the 300-strong Coronation Choir, which will be coached by Amanda Holden and Motsi Mabuse ahead of their performance. A Commonwealth choir group will also perform, by appearing virtually. A light show with drone displays, lasers, projections and illuminations is billed as one of the highlights of the evening.

The concert, produced by BBC Studios, will be broadcast live from the grounds of Winsor Castle on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds. The event will reflect a broad mix of music genres from pop to classical along with spoken word and dance. It will be attended by members of the public plus a few royal guests.

[From BBC]

This is so low-energy, my God. The BBC sounds so rote, like even they can’t polish this turd. No offense to Lionel Richie – an icon – or even Katy Perry, who regularly sells out stadiums. But WTF does Katy Perry have to do with Britain or the coronation? She’s been married to two British guys, sure, but she’s not a British citizen. None of her songs are about kings or coronations or anything. What is she going to sing? “Teenage Dream”? “I Kissed a Girl”? Obvs, she’ll do “Firework.” A hit from 13 years ago. Anyway, as much as I believe the crowning will be a sh-tshow, nothing will compare to this weaksauce Chubbly concert.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.