Coachella kicks off week one with star-studded headliners
Week one of the famous music festival, Coachella, started with many iconic performances and collaborations, from Lana Del Rey sharing the stage with Billie Eilish to Will Smith getting on stage with J. Balvin. The first day of the festival took place on Friday, April 12, in Coachella Valley, California.
Coachella has indispituably become one of the biggest festival events in the last decade. From the audience’s fashion choices to the electric performers, the festival has become one of the most talked-about events on social media. This year’s headliners were Lana Del Rey, Tyler, the Creator and Doja Cat. The festival also hosted international artists like Peso Pluma, Le Sserafim, FLO, Young Miko and many more.
There were many surprise appearances at the festival, such as Reneé Rapp bringing Kesha on stage, Bizarrap with Shakira and No Doubt with Olivia Rodrigo. One of the collaborations that shocked the internet the most was Lana Del Rey and Billie Eilish. The first song that the artists performed was “ocean eyes” by Eilish. Del Rey later expressed that this was her favorite song of Eilish’s, and that was the reason why they performed it. They also performed Del Rey’s 2012 hit “Video Games.”
Kesha joining Reneé Rapp’s set also made the rounds on social media. One moment that went viral was when both singers changed the lyrics from Kesha’s 2010 single “TiK ToK.” The song originally started with the lyrics “Wake up in the morning feelin’ like P. Diddy,” but both performers changed it to “Wake up in the morning like f*** P. Diddy.” The lyric change comes after several accusations of sexual misconduct were made against Sean Combs, known as P. Diddy.
On the last day of week one, Will Smith made a surprise appearance during J. Balvin’s set. While Balvin’s stage was filled with dancers dressed as aliens, Smith suddenly rose from underneath the stage to sing his 1997 single, “Men in Black.” The actor was also dressed like his character in the 1997 film of the same name.
There were also downsides to some performances at the festival. During musician Grimes’ set, she had to stop her DJ session to express how she was having a “major technical error” with the tempo of her songs, as they were at double speed. She continued to say that she had “not practiced the math” because she is “not fast at math.” The musician later took to social media to apologize for the incident. “I will not let such a thing happen again,” she said.
Over the years, Coachella has become a place where it’s common to see top celebrities and influencers enjoy the festival like any concertgoer would. However, one celebrity couple in particular shocked people with their presence the most. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce attended the performances of Ice Spice, Dom Dolla and Bleachers. Spice performed one of Swift’s songs, “Karma,” which features the rapper on the remix. The singer was seen dancing and vibing along with Kelce throughout Spice’s set. Moments after they were spotted at the festival, social media was flooded with videos and photos of the couple from various angles, in which they were seen dancing and enjoying the music.
Week one of Coachella gave many performances and moments to talk about – and there is no doubt that the week two performances will be no exception.
PHOTO COURTESY OF NBC NEWS
