Janelle Monáe reveals she’s witnessed David Bowie perform live, thanks to a little time travel.

During her Rolling Stone Musicians on Musicians interview with boygenius member Lucy Dacus, the “Tightrope” artist shared how she was in the crowd during Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust Tour in the 1970s. Despite Monáe being born in 1985, the singer-songwriter explained how she “loves transforming” and “world building through music” before telling Dacus how she “saw David Bowie.” 

“You saw him?,” Dacus questioned. 

Monáe followed up, saying she did before letting Dacus know how it happened. 

"I traveled back into the 1970s and I saw him do The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and it was incredible."

She further insisted that she was “backstage” during the concert and caught inspiration from Bowie. 

"I was like, ‘This is what I want to do,’ and so I jetted back to 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 and not even in sexuality, but just in how we see the world,'" she continued. 

This isn’t the “Electric Lady” singer’s first time speaking Bowie’s praises. 

In a 2018 interview with Complex, the actress mentioned how she was inspired by Bowie for her “Pynk” music video, sharing how he inspired her to “build out” her own world. 

“It let me know that I didn’t just have to be a singer. I didn’t just have to be an actor. I could mesh both mediums and tell stories,” she told the outlet. 

Monáe added that inclusivity was equally important, as not every woman in the video wore the now-iconic pink pants, because, as she put it, “you don’t have to possess a vagina or a labia to be a woman.” That thoughtful approach, she said, was part of Bowie’s influence and his ability to make art that defied boundaries and invited everyone to feel seen. 

“He’s inspired not just me, but so many artists with his work and his vision.”