These Are This Year’s Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Performers
Harry Styles, Miguel, Leslie Odom Jr., and Jane Zhang will join the models on the runway
Photo: Getty
VS Performers
After months of speculation, Victoria’s Secret has officially announced the performers for this year's fashion show in Shanghai, which takes place on Monday.
Former One Directioner Harry Styles, Grammy winner Miguel, Hamilton alum Leslie Odom Jr. and Chinese pop sensation Jane Zhang are set to sing on the runway, VSFS executive producer Ed Razek said in a statement. “We are incredibly thrilled to have them with us,” he added.
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Styles performing on tour in September. Photo: Getty
Harry Styles
The announcement follows reports that Katy Perry, who was rumored to perform in Shanghai, was banned from entering China. Gigi Hadid, who was confirmed to walk in this year’s show, was also reportedly denied entry. Word spread that the event was turning into a “media crisis,” but Razek denied those rumors.
“The news reports I’ve been reading from the US here in Shanghai regarding this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show are not an accurate reflection of what I’m seeing and experiencing on site,” he told People.
“The Chinese have been wonderful and enthusiastic hosts and partners,” he added. “From granting more than 700 visas, collaborating with us on every detail and introducing us to local experts who have helped us elevate our event in this renowned fashion city. We appreciate their efforts and all they have done to make this event a success. We look forward to the live show Monday night and the international broadcast a week later.”
Zhang performing with John Legend in 2015. Photo: Getty
Jane Zhang
Razek also teased that this year’s event will be Victoria’s Secret’s “most ambitious show by far.” In addition to the four performers, 55 models (they most they’ve ever had) from 17 countries will take the catwalk in Shanghai.
Styles, Miguel, Odom, and Zhang follow 2016's VSFS performers—Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, and The Weeknd. Though their appearances were just confirmed, rumblings of their performances spread online weeks before today's announcement.
Styles fans noticed that the singer's label, Columbia Records, appeared to announce on Monday he'd be performing his song "Kiwi," off his new album at the VSFS. Fashionista notes that the singer's next tour performance isn't until November 23 (three days after the fashion show is filmed) in Singapore.
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R&B favorite Miguel also became a potential VSFS contender when rumors of his appearance surfaced on Twitter. The smooth crooner has a new album, War & Leisure, due out on December 1, which means he has plenty of new material to perform at the show.
Perry was speculated to appear at the VSFS after a letter surfaced online, allegedly showing her agreement to perform, although that's no longer true. She was supposedly replacing Taylor Swift in the lineup—the Reputation singer was previously expected to make an appearance. Naturally the rumors of Swift, Styles, and Perry's castings caused a stir, considering Swift's romantic history with Styles (they briefly dated for a few months from 2012-2013) and her ongoing frenemy feud with Perry. But it looks like we'll be missing out on the drama this year.
The artists and models film in Shanghai on Monday, but the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show officially airs on November 28 at 10 p.m./9 p.m. central, on CBS.
Related article: The Victoria's Secret Models Have Already Landed in Shanghai
This article originally appears in Harper's BAZAAR US.