Move over, Ellen DeGeneres’ selfie at the 2014 Oscars, there’s a new internet-breaking picture in town, and it’s poised to overrun our algorithm with just as many starry cameos.
In case you missed it, the image currently saturating our timelines comes courtesy of Chappell Roan, Elton John, and Joni Mitchell, three iconic musicians who posed together in a photo heard ’round the world. Together with Brandi Carlile and Lucy Dacus, the trio’s shared photo is starry enough to warrant its own constellation, and fans have predictably been sent into a tizzy.
The photo — in which the famous musicians understandably appear overjoyed to be in each other’s company (I would too) — was taken backstage at the Hollywood Bowl, where Mitchell was hosting her so-called ‘Joni Jam’ concert on Oct. 22. Presumably in the audience for the show, Roan, Jon, Carlile and Dacus then ventured to Mitchell’s green room, where they held a makeshift concert of their own.
Follow-up videos of the icon convention show all of the stars jamming along to a rendition of John’s 1983 classic “I’m Still Standing”, a song that appeared on the Rocket Man’s album Too Low for Zero. “Backstage antics at the Hollywood Bowl,” Carlile captioned the video, which documents perhaps the most covetable celebrity gathering since Charli XCX’s equally star-filled birthday party.
Fans flocked to the viral photo of the musicians to revel in being true stans, with the word “icon” being thrown around with deserved frequency. “Literally the most iconic group photo,” one fan wrote, with another declaring that the image is “the most iconic photos ever, maybe?!”
Elsewhere, some fans took their excitement a step further, suggesting the photo could be a reference for a group Halloween costume, or imagining what the atmosphere would’ve been like among the stars backstage.
“I know it smells like patchouli and cinnamon in that room,” one user joked. For some fans, the true internet-breaking quality of the photo is the promise of a potential collaboration between some of the musicians pictured. “Perhaps they’re collaborating on a project or attending an event together,” one user theorized.
“Whatever the reason, it’s a fantastic opportunity for fans to see these talented women in the same space.” Another collaboration hopeful said they were “so excited to find out… what kind of music they’ll create together.”
Before you get your panties in a twist, that collaboration hasn’t been confirmed, but I’m sure it’d promptly set the world alight should Roan ever join forces with these industry greats.
While all those glitzy names might’ve been enough, the star power at Mitchell’s Los Angeles show didn’t stop there. According to Rolling Stone, the “Both Sides Now” singer performed for a whole host of Hollywood legends who attended in the audience, including Oscar-winner Meryl Streep, actress Rita Wilson, and musician Jon Batiste, among others.
It must be nice for Roan to receivesuch support from within the industry, since she’s been open about her struggle connecting to fans in recent months. Here’s hoping this will be the push she needs to continue her star-making trajectory, which hopefully now includes a collaboration with Elton John and Joni Mitchell. That would break the internet all over again.