English musician Ed Sheeran revealed he turned down a historic offer to perform the “first gig in space”.
The Grammy winner spoke openly about his decision in a recent interview with Scott Mills on BBC Radio 2 on 17th September 2025.
Despite the potential for a groundbreaking performance, Sheeran cited personal fears and family commitments as his main reasons for declining.
A Stellar Opportunity Declined
Sheeran admitted that the idea of space travel “terrifies” him. He explained his preference for more established forms of travel, stating:
“I want to go to space when it’s like flying to France and 40,000 people have done it, and you can just book it online.”
The musician is not keen on being an early adopter in space tourism.
“I don’t want to be a guinea pig for that, because it still is dangerous,” Ed emphasized.
He also noted that there are many places on Earth he still wishes to visit, such as Greenland, before venturing beyond the planet’s atmosphere.
Family First, Always
For the 34-year-old father, the primary concern was his family. Ed shares two young daughters, Lyra, 5, and Jupiter, 3, with his wife Cherry Seaborn.
He firmly stated his unwillingness to jeopardize his role as a parent for a world record:
“I’m not going to risk that for a Guinness World Record something or other,” declared Sheeran. “I’m not going to risk my kids not having a dad.”
His new album, Play, was released on 12th September. Sheeran later performed a small show safely on Earth in New York City’s Domino Park.
Katy Perry Takes the Leap
In stark contrast to Sheeran’s stance, fellow musician Katy Perry embraced the opportunity to travel to space. Earlier this year, Perry joined an all-female crew on a Blue Origin space launch.
During her four minutes in space, the 40-year-old artist sang “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong6. She expressed her motivation, saying:
“It’s about making space for future women. This is all for the benefit of Earth.”
Perry acknowledged receiving mixed reactions to her trip but remained unphased, focusing on her self-awareness and personal values.
Behind the Blue Origin Mission
Blue Origin, founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos in 2000, is a private space company.
Headquartered in Kent, Washington, its goal is to expand humanity’s presence in space and utilize space resources for Earth’s benefit.
The company aims to make space travel more accessible by building reusable rockets, with a vision for “millions of people living and working in space”. A seat on a Blue Origin flight requires a $150,000 deposit.
The Journey to the Stars
Katy Perry’s mission, NS-31, was Blue Origin’s 31st mission and 11th human flight.
The crew capsule, named New Shepard after astronaut Alan Shepard, is fully autonomous and carries six people.
by moses sagwe
