What’s the meaning of “Khia Asylum”?
The Khia Asylum is a fictional jail for pop stars who fade from the spotlight. Singers can be banished to the Khia Asylum if they fail to follow up on a promising start, fall from grace, or never quite gain enough mainstream traction for success. The asylum is a jail-hospital hybrid. It’s sometimes described as having different wards, including sections for singers who are just entering the asylum, performers who are on the verge of breaking out, and permanent residents. The term is similar to saying that someone is in their “flop era.” “Khia Asylum” is usually used in a cheeky, lighthearted way among various fanbases, but some people criticize the term as being race-coded and misogynistic (which we cover below).
Where did the Khia Asylum meme start?
In 2023, the name “Khia” started being used to mean a failed pop star. It references ‘90s rapper Khia (pronounced KY-uh), who failed to follow up on the success of her explicit 2002 hit “My Neck, My Back.” Inspiration for the name came from 2014, when Twitter users mocked a fan who cried when she met Khia, reposting the photo with captions like “Ain’t nobody crying when they meet Khia in 2014.” In 2023, X user @JAESREVENGE posted a picture with the caption “Ice Spice had so many Khias in her face tonight.” From there, the term was adopted as another word for an irrelevant, unknown, or formerly successful performer. It was often used to reference unknown stars doing collabs with successful artists, especially Nicki Minaj.
The term “Khia” evolved into “Khia Asylum” on stan Twitter in 2024. In May 2024, X user @impxrfectforyou posted a hierarchy of pop queens. The performers at the bottom were labeled “Khia asylum”—that group included pop singers like Zara Larsson, Ava Max, and Bebe Rexha. Sabrina Carpenter was listed as having just escaped the asylum, while Demi Lovato and Camila Cabello were just entering. At the top of the hierarchy were legends like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Lady Gaga, who were all exempt from the asylum. The phrase went viral in late 2024 and early 2025, especially among pop music stans (AKA, superfans). For example, X user @bxsel posted this gif captioned “me at my biweekly khia asylum visitations to see how Lorde is doing.” This reaction video posted by @amazingmomo_ is captioned “sabrina carpenter leaving madison beer in the khia asylum.” It currently has over 13,000 likes on X.
Who is in the Khia Asylum?
The Khia Asylum is mostly made up of female pop singers. Usually, they’re singers who were in the public eye for a while, but whose careers have declined. Sometimes it’s singers who had a big collaboration but then failed to find commercial success. They’re often grouped into categories like: New Patients (artists who are slipping out of favor): Camila Cabello, Demi Lovato, Addison Rae, Halsey, Sia, Sam Smith, Nicki Minaj, Normani, Dua Lipa, Rita Ora Gatekept (artists with a small but passionate fanbase): Carly Rae Jepsen, Slayyyter, Caroline Polachek Former Stars (big names but no recent hits): Avril Lavigne, Azealia Banks, Grimes
Legends usually have a permanent pardon from the Khia Asylum. Some stars are so big that they can’t fade into obscurity, even if their later sales slip a little. You might call them divas, queens, or Mother—but nobody’s locking up Britney, Beyoncé, Madonna, Cher, Janet Jackson, Taylor Swift, or Lady Gaga. Adele and Lana del Rey are also frequently excluded from the asylum. One notable exception is Katy Perry—lagging album sales and an unfavorable public image have the formerly untouchable star currently residing in the Asylum. For instance, this Instagram post asks if we can name outer space part of the Khia Asylum after Katy’s trip on the Blue Origin rocket in April 2025.
Can you get out of the Khia Asylum?
Yes, stars can break out of the Khia Asylum with a big hit. A performer’s place in the Khia Asylum isn’t permanent. All it takes is for a single or album to light up the charts, and it’s as good as a one-way ticket out of the Khia Asylum. Recent escapees from the Asylum include current pop darlings Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, and Gracie Abrams. It’s important to remember that this is all completely subjective. There aren’t any real metrics for measuring whether someone is in the Khia Asylum, so one person might rank a singer as a permanent inmate while someone else might give them a permanent pardon.
Controversy Around “Khia Asylum”
The term “Khia Asylum” is somewhat problematic. The term “khia” can be seen as race-coded because it uses a Black woman’s name to label young (often white) singers as flops or has-beens. And because the conversation around pop singers usually focuses on women, the whole concept has misogynistic undertones. These terms largely rely on chart performance, streaming figures, or ticket sales as metrics of success, ignoring creativity, experimentation, and a solid body of work. There’s also the issue of erasing the real Khia by using her first name (Khia is not a stage name) as a derogatory term. On top of that, Khia’s success was fairly significant—she was featured in the Janet Jackson song “So Excited,” and her song “My Neck, My Back” is iconic (and influenced many of today’s successful female rappers).
Comments
0 comment