Marilyn Manson Fans Were Worried He Died After He Started Trending for Astroworld Festival Performance

Marilyn Manson is performing at the Astro World hip hop festival on Saturday, but the news sent a [...]

By Michael Hein

Marilyn Manson is performing at the Astro World hip hop festival on Saturday, but the news sent a jolt through Twitter's collective heart. When the 50-year-old singer's name showed up on the trending topics list, many users feared he had passed away suddenly. They breathed a sigh of relief in subsequent tweets.

Twitter filled with posts about Marilyn Manson from Friday afternoon to Saturday morning, but many of them were confused to say the least. Manson was a last-minute addition to Astro World, Travis Scott's carefully curated music festival in Houston, Texas. This collaboration is so unlikely that many fans assumed the worst when they saw Manson's name in their newsfeeds.

"Sees Marilyn Manson is trending and doesn't know why," one fan wrote with a terrified GIF, "assumes he died."

Many others feared the same, saying that it seemed more likely than the truth. Manson was an odd choice for the festival, and a few more casual listeners had even thought that Manson was dead before the news broke.

"Marilyn Manson gonna be at Astroworld in Houston?" one person tweeted with laughing emojis. "Random as hell but cool though, I thought homie was dead."

At 50 years old, Manson is one of the most infamous figures in the worlds of heavy metal and industrial music. Known for his dark image and often controversial themes, he is also a pioneer in subverting gender norms in the mainstream media.

Still, there was no denying the fact that Manson will be a little out of place at Astro World, a festival highlighting some of the rising talents in hip hop today. The festival includes Scott himself, as well as Megan Thee Stallion, Playboi Carti, Young Thug, Gucci Mane and Migos, among others. The only arguable genre outlier besides Manson is Pharrell, more known for pop hits than hip hop anthems.

In spite of social media's surprised reaction, Manson has not been resting on his laurels in recent years. The singer released a new music video for the song "God's Gonna Cut You Down" just last month, a traditional folk song notably performed by Johnny Cash. His last original album, Heaven Upside Down, was released in 2017.

Manson is still touring as well. In addition to Astro World, he has been playing dates around the western U.S., including a show in Phoenix, Arizona earlier this week. His next show is scheduled for a festival in Japan in March.

Astro World is live on Saturday night at One NRG Park in Houston, Texas.

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