Day 1 was a display of territorial pop. Kacey Musgraves beamed on the main stage late afternoon on Friday, showcasing her brand of modern Americana from Golden Hour during the desert's stunning golden hour. The U.K.'s Ella Mai and The 1975 owned the main stage, while Spain's Rosalía commanded Mojave with only a handful of dancers and blistering swag. BLACKPINK delivered a career-altering performance at Sahara, bringing cutting-edge K-Pop to the masses and cementing their status and the elite female K-Pop act.
Anderson .Paak and Janelle Monaé performed reliable headline sets on the main stage, setting up Friday's main event, Childish Gambino. Donald Glover brought energy and soul to Coachella, playing unheard tracks and catalog hits like "V. 3005" and "Redbone." The wild Gambino ad-libbed and even went into the crowd multiple times, blurring the lines between raw improvisation and performance art. His set ranged from light-hearted moments like stopping to smoke a joint with a fan, to heavy discussions with the audience—pausing performance to tell a story about advice from his late father as well as reminding the crowd that the odds are likely that one person of the 100k in his presence would be dead come next week. Creative and visually stunning, the actor/singer/writer/producer did what he does best: entertained.
The biggest surprise feature on Friday was at DJ Snake's late night set. The DJ brought out all three stars featured on "Taki, Taki," as Cardi B, Ozuna and Selena Gomez graced the stage.
Day 2 Highlights
J Balvin brought a colorful, high-energy set to the festival, performing his hits along with a medley of Latin classics including Daddy Yankee's "Gasolina." Rosalía was a surprise guest for Balvin's tribute to the Reggaeton gods, performing their collab "Con Altura."
Many in attendance were pleasantly surprised to learn that not only does Idris Elba play a DJ on TV, but he really is a DJ, and a good one.
Indie rock veterans Weezer made the most of their set by inviting the original artists of songs they recently covered out to perform with them. Tears For Fears joined Weezer for "Everybody Wants To Rule The World," as did TLC for "No Scrubs."
Billie Eilish's desert debut had everything you come to expect from the young superstar: dark imagery, soft, lo-fi vocals and the loudest screams of the weekend. Billie—always one to play it cool—proved that no stage is too big for her. Between jumping all over the stage and singing pitch perfect melodies, Eilish managed to levitate on a bed, creating a visually haunting and memorable silhouette—par for the course from the cutting-edge pop star.
Billie started a half-hour late—technical difficulties?—but they let her play her full set even though fest-goers watching Tame Impala could hear Billie songs bleeding into the mainstage area. We take it as a sign of Goldenvoice being as artist-friendly as possible to a potential future headliner. But the rockers duly impressed their throng of attendees, both sonically and with their light show.
Day 3
Arista's Dennis Lloyd demonstrated ample charisma during his afternoon set. Pusha T and Bad Bunny warmed up the main stage before Zedd led the desert crowd into the sundown. The hitmaker's set featured a superstar cameo from Katy Perry to perform their collab, "365."
Following Zedd's lead, Khalid gave the Sunday night audience a star-studded set at the main stage, bringing out special guests Halsey and benny blanco to perform their hit "Eastside," Normani for "Love Lies," Marshmello for "Silence" and arguably the most talked-about artist of the weekend, Billie Eilish, to deliver their duet, "lovely."
H.E.R. dazzled fans ahead of Arichella, fearlessly taking it slow and putting her artistry on display. In case there was any doubt, the Grammy winner proved she's a virtuoso, playing guitar, piano and percussion during her set.
Ariana Grande closed weekend one of Coachella as the youngest artist to headline the festival. As rumored, NSYNC joined her set during "break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored," and followed with their own performance of "Tearin' Up My Heart." Justin Timberlake was not present for the reunion. Battling through technical difficulties, Nicki Minaj made a cameo as well, performing "Bang, Bang" with Grande. One interesting moment during a pause in Grande's set, was a cover of Frank Ocean's "Close To You" by Ariana playing over the PA. Following an orchestra-assisted version of "Breathin'," Grande delivered another surprise cameo: Diddy and Mase joined her to perform "Mo Money, Mo Problems."
In the meantime, assuming you're already in your jammies and on your couchella, check out the three feeds below.
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