Each year Coachella provides us with enough big moments that we’re left discussing and dissecting them for weeks (or, in the case of Beychella, forever). This year’s festival is no exception, with the biggest names in music descending on the desert to do everything from give away free shoes via AirDrop, to reuniting 90s boybands. Here’s everything you missed from the first weekend:
Ariana Grande brought out (nearly all) of NSYNC
Given that she sampled them on her bop Break Up With Your Girlfriend (I’m Bored), it only seems fitting that Ariana would reunite NSYNC for her Sunday night headline performance. And while not all members of the boyband returned to the stage (JT was missing an invite, presumably), the fact that Ari was there to make up the numbers meant that no one was missed. In fact, if anything it proved that we need more Ari and NSYNC in our lives. Those ad-libs in the middle eight, the dance routine, JC Chasez! Incredible.
She (sort of) covered Frank Ocean
During an interlude/costume change in her set, Ari kind of covered Frank Ocean. While a purple orb floated around, a recording of Ariana singing Ocean’s Close to You from Blonde blasted out. Honestly, her mind…
However, her set wasn’t *quite* perfect…
There seems to have been a little bit of a sound problem during Nicki Minaj’s appearance during Ariana’s performance. During Side To Side there were some timing issues, but things truly went wild when the pair launched into Bang Bang. Jessie J is probably quite glad she wasn’t invited…
Billie Eilish also struggled with technical difficulties
During a set that saw her sat on a bed suspended in the air, Billie Eilish also experienced a bit of trouble. Bringing out Vince Staples for their song &burn, taken from Billie’s EP dont smile at me, things didn’t quite pan out. Vince’s mic didn’t seem to actually be on. So while they were loving it, the rest of us were left wondering whether Vince was doing his best ASMR impression. Billie also had some technical difficulties with her memory. During all the good girls go to hell, she forgot the lyrics, eventually asking the crowd, “What the fuck are the words though?”
Coachella is now also a chance to sell some shoes
In the UK, most people at festival wear wellington boots because it rains all the time. In the desert, though, you’re more likely to be able to show off some fancy footwear. It’s probably why two people used the festival as an opportunity to show off their shoe lines. Along with headlining on the Friday night, Donald Glover started AirDropping pictures of his collab with adidas. Those users who accepted the pic then received a voucher gifting them a pair of Glover’s new shoes, a distressed cream-coloured version of adidas’ Nizza silhouette.
Not to be outdone, Virgil Abloh also dropped by the festival to DJ. While the likes of Kendall Jenner and the Biebers dropped by the set, the main takeaway was the designer teasing a new Off-White x Nike collab.
Kacey Musgraves showed that Cali struggled to bring the yeehaw
The call and response is a staple of any show, but if you’re ever watching country queen and gay icon Kacey Musgraves live then you might want to make sure that you’re paying attention. During her set, she tried to bring the yeehaw to California by trying to get the crowd to give her “haw” for every “yee”. It didn’t go well. Try harder Coachella crowd!
Donald Glover truly hates your phone
When he wasn’t AirDropping festival-goers shoes, Donald Glover was actually lamenting the prominence of phones at festivals. After debuting his Rihanna-starring film Guava Island earlier in the day, during his Friday headline set not only did Donald get all serious, but he also told fans to stay off their devices.
“Put your phones down. This is not a concert, this is church,” he said during the set. “If you came here to hear your favourite song, you should go home and do that. If you want to come here to just take Instagram pictures and shit, you should go in the back and move right now. I want y’all to feel this shit. This is my church. I feel at home here.” Noted.
Selena Gomez came out of hiding to perform with Cardi B
Selena has been pretty quiet recently. Her last public performance was in 2017 when, at the American Music Awards, she sang her collab with Marshmello, Wolves in a Petra Collins directed performance. But at the weekend, Selena, joined by Cardi B and Ozuna, stopped by DJ Snake’s set unannounced and sang their hit Taki Taki. Selena had on huge white ruffled sleeves, too, which is always fun.
Weezer performed with Tears for Fears (!?) and with Chilli from TLC (!?!?)
We’re all for a weird hookup, so we’d loved to have been on the phone when Weezer called up Chilli and said, “Hey, wanna perform at Coachella with us?” But it’s 2019 and these are the sorts of things that we’re now used to happening.
BLACKPINK made history as the first K-pop girlband to perform at the festival
BLACKPINK really was in your area (if you were at Coachella that is).