Every night in New York City feels like a party, but there was something especially wild in the air when a crowd of pop fans descended on Flushing Meadows Corona Park for Governors Ball. The annual music festival, which ran from June 7-9, featured a who's who line-up of over 60 artists across three stages, including headliners Post Malone, The Killers and SZA.
That said, this year's festival belonged to the pop girls, whose moves, outfit changes, and lineup updates were carefully documented online. It makes sense, given that we have a growing class of female artists destined for chart dominance and heavy rotation in our sunny season playlists.
Ahead, check out the weekend's most pivotal moments you may have missed, from Sabrina Carpenter's catchy “Nonsense” finale to Reneé Rapp's gay agenda-affirming set and more.
Chappell Roan as the current Lady Liberty
The monumental rise of queer pop star Chappell Roan may need to be studied in a laboratory. According to Spotify, its monthly listeners grew from 3.4 million to 7.2 million over the course of two weeks in April. (At press time, she has more than 19 million.) Needless to say, the “Good Luck Babe” singer's set was an event not to be missed.
Roan hit the stage via a giant, smoking apple bong, a fitting homage to the big city setting, dressed as a drag queen Statue of Liberty in green body paint. The “Red Wine Supernova” singer later transformed into a cab for the debut of his new queer ballad “Subway.”
Still, her hottest moment came before the hit “My Kink is Karma,” which she dedicated to the White House, which reportedly invited her to perform at this year's Pride festivities. “We want freedom, justice and freedom for all,” he said. “When you do that, that's when I come.”
Sabrina Carpenter gave a performance of “Please.”
Carpenter hit the stage on June 8, coming off the caffeinated fumes of this summer's “Espresso.” While the sweet and catchy track just reached number 5 on the billboard Hot 100, the highlight was his live debut of new single “Please, Please, Please.” The brilliant Jack Antonoff-penned tune was released just a day earlier, along with a music video starring her real-life boyfriend Barry Keoghan. The performance alone had actress Joey King in tears. (“It's so rude of her to snap like that,” he said people.)
However, Carpenter's most brash moment came in the outro “Nonsense” when he said, “People who hate pride can suck my balls.” This is poetry.
Reneé Rapp was a crowd favorite
On June 9, the snow angel singer and bad girls The star delivered a captivating set with songs like “Talk Too Much” and “Tummy Hurts.” Judging by the audience, it was clear that the gay agenda is alive and well. (“If you're gay, stand up. If you're straight, go home,” read one fan's poster.)
Even actress Melissa McCarthy, watching from the sidelines with her children, waved a Pride flag through her phone screen, much to the delight of the crowd.
SZA messed it all up
The SOS The singer-songwriter closed out Gov Ball with a headlining performance on June 9, straddling a literal ball for a sexy rendition of “Low.” Throughout her 25-song set, the “Kill Bill” singer shared cuts from her sophomore record and revisited CTRL fan favorites like “Love Galore” and “20 Something.”
The crowd of 150,000 seemed excited and SZA made it clear the feeling was mutual, writing on her Instagram stories: “Gov Ball, I love you.”
