Khalid to feature new song for Virgin Galactic spaceflight launch

Khalid has announced that he will perform a brand new song for the launch of Virgin Galactic Spaceflight on Sunday, July 11.

Although the song, titled “New Normal”, won’t officially be released until July 21, the singer will make his stage debut after the Unity 22 crew landed during the 20-second flight test for VSS Unity. This will be the company’s fourth manned space flight and the first to carry a full crew of two pilots and four mission specialists into the cabin, including Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson, who will test the private astronaut experience.

Regarding the inspiration of the song, Khalid tells Rolling stone: “Around the same time last year, I was super fascinated and drawn to space. I observed this comet named Neowise last year, and space travel has always interested me. And I’ve been trying to figure out this new postmodern future that’s emerging, especially when it comes to technology – it’s something that really excites me.

Khalid describes the song as his own “personal therapy” which he wrote around the start of the pandemic. “Writing the song ‘New Normal’ was my way of dealing with anxiety and misunderstanding,” he says. “I had to come to terms with who I was as an individual and the type of person I wanted to be. And for me, this song, it just embodies the hope for the outcome of our future.

The launch livestream will be available to watch on Virgin Galactic.com and will be broadcast simultaneously on the Virgin Galactic Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook canals. It is expected to begin at 7:00 a.m. MDT / 9:00 a.m. EDT on the day of the flight.