Janelle Monáe claimed she saw David Bowie perform as Ziggy Stardust in the 1970s, a moment that profoundly shaped her creative vision.
Janelle Monáe delivered a surreal moment during a recent interview where she claimed to have witnessed David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust performance live in the 1970s.
The revelation came during a sit-down with Lucy Dacus for Rolling Stone’s Musicians on Musicians series, where the Grammy-nominated artist described a vivid, almost cinematic experience that shaped her creative path.
“I traveled back into the 1970s and I saw him do Ziggy Stardust and it was incredible,” Monáe said. “I was backstage, and this is what I want to do.”
The statement caught Dacus off guard, but Monáe didn’t flinch. She leaned into the metaphor, using it to explain how Bowie’s theatrical and boundary-breaking style helped her embrace her own artistic identity.
“So I jetted back to, you know, the 2000s. And I was like, ‘I can have the musical, make the music, create the lyrics, and create community around transformation and being queer,’” she added. “And not even just in sexuality, but in how we see the world.”
Monáe, who earlier this year performed Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” at the 2025 Grammy Awards tribute to Quincy Jones, has drawn comparisons to Bowie for her genre-bending sound and theatrical performances.
The interview, published October 20, 2025, spotlighted Monáe’s admiration for artists who defy expectations and reinvent themselves.
“Let’s go outside the mundane and what people know us as,” she said. “Leave room to allow yourself to transform.”
The full conversation is part of Rolling Stone’s annual Musicians on Musicians series, which pairs artists for unfiltered discussions about creativity, influence and evolution.
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