Coachella
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Weekend 1 of Coachella has come and gone, but some of the most talked-about moments — Frank Ocean’s divisive performance, BLACKPINK setting the main stage ablaze, and that Harry Styles tweet at Bad Bunny’s set, to name a few — remain viral. Now we can add to that list Willow‘s performance on Sunday, for both its rave reviews and fangirl content from superstar dad Will Smith.
The Hitch actor shared two clips of his daughter’s set to Instagram — one of Willow performing the Travis Barker-assisted single “Transparent Soul” and of her leading the crowd in a sing-along to “Meet Me at Our Spot.” The first of the two videos features the actor excitedly grinning from ear to ear, captioning the post “WILLOWCHELLA!!” In a follow-up video, Smith tells his followers “I can’t stop crying!” over his daughter’s achievement.
Willow’s Coachella performance was a family affair. Elsewhere during her set, she invited her 24-year-old brother Jaden Smith up to perform their collaboration “Summertime in Paris.” He also expressed his happiness at seeing Willow up on the Coachella stage, saying, “It brings tears to me eyes as your brother to see you do this. I love you so much. I’m so inspired by you, I’m so inspired and happy for what you’re doing in the world and the amount of people’s lives you’re changing with the music that you’re making.”
See Will’s Instagram posts about Willow’s set and the sweet brother-sister moment she had with Jaden in the videos below.
Latto took to social media Tuesday (April 18) to shoot down accusations she had photoshopped a picture from her Coachella set to make the crowd appear larger.
“Never photoshopped a crowd lmao,” the rapper wrote on her Instagram Stories, adding, “I expanded it so it would fit in my Instagram swipe without getting cut off but it was clearly f—ed up so I didn’t end up using it & just posted the wrong version by accident on Twitter babes.”
The best new artist Grammy nominee then made it clear she didn’t intend to keep fueling the conversation, ending her statement by writing a simple “Next” with a smiling emoji surrounded by hearts.
Speculation about the snap taken from the stage began to brew online shortly after Latto’s performance on Sunday, as eagle-eyed followers noticed the same people being replicated in the crowd on both edges of the photo. “You gotta photoshop crowds now … those ‘fans’ are edited,” one Twitter user wrote in the replies of the photo in question, while another tweeted, “girl wut- two of the same people. editing ain’t it.”
Elsewhere on her Stories, Latto shouted out Saweetie, Lola Brooke and TiaCorine, all of whom joined her onstage at Coachella for live versions of, respectively, “Bi— From Da Souf (Remix),” “Don’t Play Wit It” and “Freaky T.” She also shared a shot of her planned 18-song setlist, explaining, “I didn’t have time for all the songs but this was the original setlist.”
Check out Latto’s Stories about Coachella here and here before they expire.
Dominic Fike has a fan in Drizzy. After nailing his Coachella weekend one set on Sunday (April 16), the singer-songwriter earned praise from none other than Drake on Instagram Stories.
“@dominicfike bodying his set,” the rapper wrote, posting a photo of Fike’s live-streamed performance.
The Euphoria actor expressed his gratitude for the shoutout by reposting Drake’s words on his own Story, adding a respectful salute emoji.
Fike also got love from stars like BLACKPINK’s Jisoo, who posted about his set on Instagram, and Cara Delevigne. According to Rolling Stone, the “Babydoll” musician breezed through his showcase on the festival’s Outdoor Theatre stage, telling fans he “wasn’t even nervous” to be taking on one of the world’s biggest music events.
He also opened up about his sobriety following struggles with substance abuse, sharing: “Hopefully I’ll feel something because, man, it’s been tough. When you quit drugs, it’s tough to get the serotonin back.”
Fike is currently getting ready to step into a new era, with his next studio album expected to arrive via Columbia sometime this year. Two days prior to his Coachella set, he released new single “Dancing in the Courthouse.”
Meanwhile, Drake — who himself headlined Coachella in 2015 — is fresh off the release of his own new single, “Search & Rescue.” The loved-up track left fans and drama-lovers alike buzzing for its inclusion of an audio file of Kim Kardashian’s voice talking about her ill-fated relationship with Kanye West on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and it debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated April 22.
See Drake’s thumbs-up to Dominic Fike below.
Calvin Harris honored Takeoff during his Coachella weekend one set, and Offset took notice.
Takeoff, one third of Migos, tragically passed away on Nov. 1, 2022 after being shot at a Houston bowling alley — but fans in the audience still got to hear his voice boom through the speakers at Harris’ Saturday (April 15) festival performance. That was thanks to the DJ’s incorporation of a featured verse recorded by Takeoff before his death into the set; according to People, the “One Kiss” hitmaker lifted Takeoff’s part from the pair’s 2017 Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 collaboration “Holiday” and mixed it into another track from the same album, “Slide.”
“Slide” originally only featured Frank Ocean, Offset and Quavo, so Harris’ augmented Coachella version made it possible for all three members of Migos to shine on the track for the first time ever. Harris also decorated his stage with a large portrait of the “Casper” artist as the song played.
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“This so hard, man, thank you,” Offset said, thanking Harris in a post about the performance on his Instagram Story.
Offset also shared a Takeoff tribute of his own on Saturday, posting photos of his brand new tattoo: an inked portrait of his late cousin, so large it covers his entire back. “Love you 4L & after,” he wrote in his caption.
A few weeks prior, Offset previewed a posthumous collab with Takeoff by posting a minute-long snippet of the track on his Story. In the sneak peek, Takeoff could be heard exchanging bars with Vezzo, who’s also featured, before Set takes the reigns with his own solo moment.
Jisoo wasn’t just a Coachella headliner this past weekend; she was also a fan. On Monday (April 17), the BLACKPINK idol shared her reactions to sets by Frank Ocean, Willow and more.
On her Instagram Stories, the K-pop star posted a clip of Ocean’s long-awaited headlining act on Day 3 of the Indio, Calif.-based festival, declaring simply, “Frank Ocean…legendary” above the R&B pioneer belting out Channel Orange fan favorite “Bad Religion.”
Jisoo also spread the love to the likes of Willow and Jaden Smith, Dominic Fike and others, declaring the Smith siblings’ onstage duet of “Summertime in Paris” the “best performance” and writing, “Can’t believe I got to listen to this in person!” of the latter’s performance of new song “Ant Pile” from his forthcoming sophomore studio album.
Earlier in the weekend, the Korean native posted a now-expired Story of herself enjoying Yungblud‘s set at the Outdoor Theatre as the Brit rocker played his 2022 track “Sweet Heroine.”
Of course, Jisoo was on hand at the festival to headline Saturday along with her BLACKPINK bandmates, marking the quartet’s historic return to Coachella just four years after they made their U.S. festival debut in 2019 with a triumphant set that included everything from “Boombayah” and “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” to “Pink Venom,” “Shut Down” and “Typa Girl.” Each member got her own individual moment in the spotlight as well, with Jisoo performing her newly released solo single “Flower.”
Check out Jisoo’s thrilled fan footage of Ocean, Fike, Willow and more at Coachella before it expires here.
More Spanish-language artists were featured last year at Coachella compared to this year. In 2022, over 20 Latin acts were on the lineup — the most ever featured at the festival — while this year’s number just cracked double digit. But those that were featured at the 2023 fest — including headliner Bad Bunny, Becky G, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Conexión Divina and DannyLux — performed enthralling, history-making sets during weekend one of the festival, and are set to do it all over again next weekend (April 21-23) in Indio, Calif.
Just days after the RIAA revealed that Latin music revenues in the United States had hit an all-time high last year, exceeding the $1 billion mark, global superstar Bad Bunny, who has massively contributed to the continuous growth of the genre, made history at Coachella on Friday (Apr. 14), becoming the first Latin act to close out the festival’s main stage. “Latinos have been rompiéndola (killing it) for some time now,” the Puerto Rican hitmaker said during his nearly two-hour show. “It’s the first time a Benito closes the festival. It may be the first time, but perhaps not the last time.”
That same day, just hours before Bad Bunny made history, Becky G rocked the main stage and paid tribute to her Mexican roots, spotlighting regional Mexican Music and its new generations of artists, which included special guests Marca MP, Jesús Ortiz Paz of Fuerza Regida and Peso Pluma.
Billboard tried to catch as many performances by Latin or Spanish-language artists as possible throughout the weekend. Here are some memorable moments from a few of those sets.
DannyLux
“My family and I are still processing what happened this weekend,” DannyLux tells Billboard after making his Coachella debut on Friday (April 14). His show at the desert festival was a homecoming for the Mexican-American sierreño act, who grew up in the Coachella Valley area. In fact, the entire town, and his family in particular, showed up and expressed their support for the 19-year-old singer-songwriter. For DannyLux’s father, who was a sanitation worker and picked up the trash after the festival year after year, going to the festival this year was special. A billboard in the valley that read a special message from his father to Danny went viral. “My last time at Coachella I was picking up the trash. Now I’m back to see my son perform this Friday. Te amo DannyLux, Tu Papá.”
“Me and my parents pray right before going up, and we just gave thanks for everything,” Danny says. During his set at the Sonora tent, which was fully packed up with people squeezing in to get in and see him play, Danny performed songs like “Jugaste y Sufrí,” “Junto a Ti,” “Mi Otra Mitad” and he covered Feid’s “Ferxxo 100.”
“It was crazy seeing all those people because when you’re behind the stage before the show, you can’t really see how many people are out there,” Danny says. “When I saw all those people, it was a beautiful moment.”
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Becky G
Image Credit: Emma McIntyre/GI for Coachella
A native Californian, Becky G stunned with her star-studded, unforgettable show that was packed with hits, surprise guests and Latin pride. “What’s up Coachella?” she asked a sea of festival-goers, who had stationed themselves at the main stage for her 45-minute set after immediately being hooked with her reggaeton banger “Mayores.” “You’re looking mighty beautiful from up here,” she briefly said after performing her first song. “I’m so happy to be here with you guys today.”
Known for being a true team player and someone who wants to empower fellow artists, Becky G came to Coachella with some of her friends. “I couldn’t come to Coachella and not share the stage. Who else did we invite to the carne asada (cookout)?” she asked her DJ. She then went on to explain how she has been working on her first Mexican music album and how beautiful the process has been. To honor her Mexican roots at Coachella, she brought out regional Mexican heavy-hitters Marca MP, Fuerza Regida’s Jesús Ortiz Paz and Peso Pluma. Natti Natasha also made her way to the desert to sing “Sin Pijama” with Becky.
Bad Bunny
A lot went down during Bad Bunny’s nearly two-hour headlining set — even a mid-show marriage proposal in the crowd — where he made history as the first Spanish-language artist to close out the main stage. The set kicked off a with a pre-recorded video of the Puerto Rican hitmaker saying how grateful he felt to be the first Benito to ever headline the fest. “It’s incredible to see the list of all the other artists that have performed on this stage. So many of them, but no one like me,” he said.
He then opened with back-to-back Un Verano Sin Ti hits, “Titi Me Preguntó” and “Moscow Mule.” Supported by eye-popping visuals and his troupe of dancers, it seemed like Bad Bunny could keep performing forever, continuously asking fans, “Le seguimos? (Do we keep going?)”
As for special guests, Bunny had a few surprises in store. He brought out OG reggaetoneros Jowell & Randy and Ñengo Flow for “Safaera” and frequent collaborator Jhayco for “Dákiti.” But perhaps the most unexpected guest was Post Malone, who, with guitar in hand, sat next to Bunny to play “La Canción” and “Yonaguni” from a stage in the middle of the crowd. But what could have been en epic moment was unfortunately plagued by audio issues, and fans never even got to hear Post play. “Something happened to a cabrón cable,” Bunny said as an apology to his fans and, of course, Post. But Bunny was quick to move on from the technical difficulties and just kept going and going, saving “Callaíta,” “Me Porto Bonito” and “Después de la Playa” until the very end to close with a bang as fireworks fittingly lit up the sky.
Rosalía
Image Credit: Frazer Harrison/GI for Coachella
Rosalía is on a winning streak, and her performance at Coachella was no exception. Perhaps one of the best performances overall during the festival’s first weekend, the Spanish star’s set was hypnotizing, emotional and a literal piece of art. “Buenas noches, Coachella? I feel very happy to see you all here today,” said Rosalía, who was accompanied by a troupe of fierce dancers. “You fill my heart with your presence. I come from Barcelona, that’s why this stage is so special. It’s because of you that I’m here.”
Rosalía brought her Motomami Tour concept to the desert, built upon a minimalistic white canvas with multiple cameras live feeding content from multiple angles. The tracklist spanned her albums El Mal Querer and Motomami, including hits like “Saoko,” “Bizcochito,” and “La Fama.” Then, she brought out a special guest. Her fiancé Rauw Alejandro joined her on stage to perform “Beso” and “Vampiros” off their recently-released joint EP. “How many of you have already listened to RR,” the Spanish star asked the crowd. “Four years ago, I came to Coachella, and I came alone. Not this time around.” A few seconds later, the Puerto Rican hitmaker joined his lover onstage where they sang, kissed and twerked.
Eladio Carrión
Bad Bunny wasn’t the only one repping for Puerto Rico at Coachella. Rapper and singer Eladio Carrión also performed in front of a packed room on Saturday at the Gobi tent, making his debut at the desert. “It’s my first time at Coachella,” the hitmaker told those that had trekked to see him performed, “so it’s a historic day for me.”
He then powered through hard-hitting songs like “Flores En Anónimo,” “Sin Frenos,” “Al Capone” and of course the new fan favorite “Coco Chanel,” off his new set 3MEN2 KBRN. At one point, fans thought Bad Bunny could show up to join Eladio for their new collab but he did not. Either way, Eladio shined at Coachella, and is a must-see if you’re heading out for the second week of the festival.
Conexión Divina
Image Credit: Edgar Gomez
Regional Mexican trio Conexión Divina made their Coachella debut on Sunday (Apr. 16), and the all-women sierreño ensemble caught up with Billboard post-performance to talk about a moment that they thought would come much later during in their careers.
“There aren’t a lot of artists that get to say that performed at Coachella less than a year after launching their project,” Liz tells Billboard. The group — who released their debut album, Tres Mundos, on Friday (Apr. 14) — took time before stepping onstage at the Sonora stage to talk about what this meant to each of them, and how they wouldn’t get their hopes up if “no one showed up.” “We were trying to be relaxed,” says Ashlee. “We said that this was just another session in our room and to not even think about how many people showed up. We didn’t want to have expectations.” Adds third member Sandra, “Everyone gets here till later at night and we thought, 1 p.m., there’s going to be no one there.” Safe to say, they packed the room and serenaded fans with music from the recently released set.
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs
It wouldn’t be Coachella without a proper Latin rock moment, and who better to deliver that than the iconic Argentine band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs? Even after a last-minute change on their set — they were moved up on the schedule and to a different stage — a significant crowd gathered to show the band support and rock out to songs like “Matador,” “Mal Bicho” “El León,” “Vacos Vacíos” and “Satanico.”
After their allotted 45 minutes on stage, the band said their goodbyes, but the fans weren’t ready to let them go just yet. After wrapping with “Satánico,” fans began chanting “otra, otra” asking them to sing another song. “We’re asking if it’s possible to sing another song,” frontman Vicentico told the crowd. And so they did: they performed one last song to please the fans that made it to the festival earlier to catch them, only fair after the last-minute shift.
Kali Uchis
Image Credit: Frazer Harrison/GI for Coachella
Kali Uchis delivered an epic performance on Sunday that featured back-to-back surprise guests. The Colombian-American artist started off strong performing her bilingual hit “Telepatía,” which earned the singer-songwriter her first leader on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart in 2021. Wearing a two-piece denim piece (bustier and shirt) with matching boots, Kali introduced her first guest, none other than Tyler, the Creator, to sing their duet “See You Again.” She then brought out Omar Apollo to perform “Worth the Wait.” For her last guest, Uchis invited rapper (and her significant other) Don Toliver for “Fantasy.”
“Are you guys hot?” she asked the crowd after Toliver left the stage. Things were only about to get hotter when she performed OG reggaeton anthems “Rica y Apretadita” by El General and Don Omar’s “Salvaje.” Recently, Uchis dropped her new album, Red Moon in Venus, which earned her her first top 10 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. During her set, she teased that she’s about to drop a Latin album next.
Romance rumors about Bad Bunny and Kendall Jenner definitely won’t be dying down any time soon. As the 29-year-old Latin music megastar took over Coachella this weekend as one of the festival’s headliners, the 27-year-old Kardashians reality star was spotted at his side numerous times.
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The pair were captured at several different moments throughout the weekend by onlooking fans. At one point, Benito — his mouth concealed by a checkered bandana — whispered something in Jenner’s ear. In a video taken after sunset, the “Me Porto Bonito” musician was filmed holding Jenner from behind as the couple swayed along to Frank Ocean’s Sunday night (April 16) set.
Two nights prior to that, Bad Bunny became Coachella’s first ever solo Latino musician to serve as a headliner, performing on the main stage Friday (April 14). Supporting him from the crowd during his history-making set was Jenner, filmed by fans dancing along to his biggest tracks.
Bad Bunny and the 818 Tequila founder have been stoking romance rumors since February, when they were seen at a restaurant with Justin and Hailey Bieber. Since then, they’ve been spotted spending time together, most recently trying out horseback riding during an outing in Hidden Hills, Calif.
It’s worth noting, though, that during his Weekend 1 performance, the Puerto Rican star took a moment to remind fans that what they see about his life on social media is only a fraction of the true story. “Humbly speaking, people think they know the lives of famous people, but they don’t,” he told his crowd.
“They don’t know what we feel, what we live through,” he continued. “They will never know what a heart can feel. Don’t believe everything you hear. You won’t get to know the real me through a video on Instagram, an interview or a TikTok.”
Read more about his headlining Coachella performance here.
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Frank Ocean remains one of the music industry’s most beloved acts as evidenced by the stir he causes on social media at even a mere mention of music or a performance. The singer and songwriter graced the Coachella stages over the weekend but fans on Twitter were miffed because of the lacking livestream options.
Frank Ocean was the headlining act on Coachella’s mainstage on Sunday (April 16) but unlike every other performance before it, the event would not be aired on YouTube or any other streaming platform. The announcement of an actual livestream was teased on Twitter by YouTube but that tweet was deleted and replaced with the tweet below.
On Twitter, disappointed fans aired out their grievances and questioned why Coachella or Ocean would make a decision given that he is rarely seen onstage these days.
Fans in attendance did attempt to capture footage of the performance but some were shut down by security guards and the like. Further, a security guard working the front of the stage ended up becoming a social media hit due to his energetic dancing.
Reports on the ground also revealed that Ocean gave a loving tribute to his late brother, Ryan Breaux, who died of injuries after an automobile accident in 2020 at the age of 18.
Adding to the issues with the livestream, some fans who did catch glimpses of the set were left underwhelmed while others hailed the performance as Ocean’s big return to the masses.
Frank Ocean will headline Coachella again for its upcoming second weekend. No word yet if the performance will be streamed or not.
Keep scrolling to see the reactions from Twitter below.
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Photo: WWD / Getty
1. Hit the quote tweets. People were upset.
Day three of Coachella is a wrap.
Festival-goers trekked to the desert for the final day of weekend one, which was headlined by Frank Ocean. But before the artist, who gave his first live performance in six years on Sunday (April 16), took the main stage, artists such as Kali Uchis, Björk, Willow and Latto performed noteworthy sets of their own. For those at home, YouTube streamed live from all stages of the festival — and will continue to do so during the fest’s round two April 21-23.
Kali Uchis’ show-stopping performance featured a parade of surprise guests, including her pals Tyler, the Creator and Omar Apollo. She was also joined by her significant other, rapper Don Toliver, to perform “Fantasy” together. The night’s biggest moment was, of course, Frank Ocean, who was originally set to headline the fest in 2020. A huge crowd gathered at the main stage to welcome the acclaimed artist back to the desert after 11 years (he first performed in 2012) — and only those in attendance were able to experience Franks’s nearly 90-minute set, which wasn’t live-streamed.
After fans patiently waited for Frank to take the stage, he finally appeared (almost an hour late) and wasted little time before telling the crowd what they all wanted to know: “I want to talk about why we’re here — because it’s not about the new album, not that there’s not a new album,” he said. There’s hope.
Check out Billboard‘s six best moments from day three of Coachella 2023 below.
Latto Gasses Up the Girls
It was giving female empowerment at Latto’s Sahara Tent set, from the female rappers she brought up on stage to the messages she shared. “It’s a lotta ladies in here! Where my boss b—–s at? Where my b—–s who pays their own bills?” she asked the crowd. She later introduced her track “P—y” — which she released soon after Roe v. Wade was overturned last June, a historical push against women’s rights that Latto vehemently rapped about protecting — by asking the crowd: “Why would I let a ni–a police my own p—y?” All the while, her backup dancers held their own form of a women’s march right on the stage as pink-hued footage of real-life protests flashed on the center screen, which resembled an antique purple TV box.
Latto, who held a sequined scepter in hand, used her set both for good and… for some downright dirty. During “Nasty Nasty,” she used the mic to mimic fellatio while later asking, “Who wanna come up here and get wet with me?” As for her guests, Latto welcomed TiaCorine to perform her latest hit “FreakyT” (which Latto chimed in with her own verse); Lola Brooke who gave her first major festival performance, delivering her breakout hit “Don’t Play With It”; and last but not least, Saweetie, who joined Latto for the billed act’s own breakout hit “B—h from Da Souf.” After, Saweetie took a moment to give Latto her flowers, saying, “She can rap her ass off! And you look better than me, I know that’s motherf—king right!” She then led the audience in an “I Love Latto” chant before exiting the stage, leaving Latto alone for the big finale of her Billboard Hot 100 No. 3 smash, “Big Energy,” making sure to give Mariah Carey props by letting her verse from the remix play on through. – Heran Mamo
Kali Uchis Scores Big-Name Guests
Kali Uchis delivered an epic performance on Sunday that featured back-to-back surprise guests. The Colombian-American artist started off strong performing her bilingual hit “Telepatía,” which earned the singer-songwriter her first leader on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart in 2021. “How we feeling Coachella? Thank you for having us. My name is Kali Uchis,” she told the crowd. Wearing a two-piece denim piece (bustier and shirt) with matching boots, Kali introduced her first guest, none other than Tyler, the Creator to sing their duet “See You Again.” She then brought out Omar Apollo to perform “Worth the Wait.” For her last guest, Uchis invited rapper (and her significant other) Don Toliver for “Fantasy.”
“Are you guys hot?” she asked the crowd after Toliver left the stage. Things were only about to get hotter when she performed OG reggaeton anthems “Rica y Apretadita” by El General and Don Omar’s “Salvaje.” Most recently, Kali dropped her new album, Red Moon in Venus, which earned her her first top 10 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. During her set, she teased that she’s about to drop a Latin album next. — Griselda Flores
Christine & the Queens Deliver High Drama
Christine and the Queens’ frontman sauntered on stage in a black trench and angel wings to introduce what would be a captivating and theatrical dusk set. Opening with “Saint Claude,” Chris delivered two more songs before presenting a mini monologue of great importance.
“This is a curse I put on myself,” he began. “My life as a man… my life as a very good man. They asked me who I was and I said the guardian of the doors — I am keeping them safe from the disaster of [patriarchy]. Oh please, close your eyes and let me live my life as a man.”
The artist fittingly then performed the declarative “iT” — which features the line “I’m a man now / And there’s nothing you can do to make me change my mind” — and after took a seat to interpolate Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under the Bridge” alongside his guitarist, part of the artist’s mighty three-piece band.
To end, “If I’m Honest” — the lead single off the act’s upcoming album Paranoïa, Angels, True Love — got its festival debut, for which Chris donned the tench and wings once more. He then leave fans with one final message: “This life is about knowing what your heart is about … Angels of transformation, I am calling upon you.” — Lyndsey Havens
Willow’s Family Affair
“It’s quite a serendipitous night, if I do say so myself,” mused Willow as she stepped on stage for her set at the tented Mojave stage. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you all know this one.” The star then ripped into “transparent soul” as her parents, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, proudly looked on from a sectioned off corner within the artist guest section that’s packed with friends and family, including Moises Arias.
“Honestly, I’m so grateful to just be here and rock the f–k out with you guys,” said Willow. And that’s exactly what she did, especially on songs like screamo-rock epics “Falling Endlessly” for which she picked up her guitar, and “Why?”
Yet the standout moment came during “Summertime in Paris,” her collaboration with brother Jaden who joined in on stage — and stuck around a moment to shower his little sister with praise. “Willow, I look up to you. You’re an amazing person. You’re an amazing artist. It brings tears to my eyes as your brother to see you do this. I’m so inspired and happy for what you’re doing in the world and the amount of peoples lives that you’re changing and the music that you’re making.”
And while he remained the set’s only guest — Camila Cabello has been spotted at the fest all weekend long, though didn’t appear for her Willow collab “psychofreak” — she indulged fans with her hit “Meet Me At Our Spot,” on which she played the bass. (Though Initially released in 2020 the song went viral on TikTok the following year, pushing it up to No. 21 on the Hot 100.) “That was splendiferous,” said Willow as her set came to a close — adding that she’s fairly certain it’s a word. — L.H.
Björk’s Big Return to the Desert
Icelandic artist Björk played alongside an orchestra in her first return to the desert since headlining in 2002. Donning a tinsel outfit, complete with a hoop skirt, tabi platform heels, and a face mask — designed by longtime collaborator James Merry — she began her set with “Stonemilker” and ended with a transformative, strings-based cover of her techno-leaning track “Pluto.”
For the last few years, Björk has played many of her shows with an orchestra, led by Icelandic conductor Bjarni Frímann Bjarnason. Yet, despite the avant-garde costuming and moving arrangements, the set seemed likely better appreciated as a touring performance for fans rather than a festival set that ultimately served as many newcomers’ pre-Frank Ocean entertainment while they stood waiting for hours. — Kristin Robinson
Frank Ocean’s Long-Awaited Headlining Set
For his first live performance in seven years, Frank Ocean came out of hiding — kind of — to close out the third and final day of the festival. In the hour leading up to his set, the main stage gradually transformed into one giant screen that only left a sliver of its interior visible, which is where Frank remained tucked away for the duration of the one-hour-and-a-half set.
Inside the recording studio-like set-up, the ever-elusive star hunched over a mic to reimagine his most beloved songs, including a stripped-down, acoustic version of “Pink + White,” a turnt up remix of “Solo,” a drill edit of “Chanel” and punk-rock remix of “Wiseman.” The headliner later lent his spotlight to DJ Crystalmess, who took a stab at spinning his own discography as she played a Jersey Club remix of “Slide” and a bounce edit of “Pyramids.”
And yes, Frank even performed snippets of new music, at times using his self-proclaimed “inner child” Josiah as a vessel. Despite his ambiguous comment on whether fans can expect new music to be released soon — “I want to talk about why I’m here because it’s not because of a new album… Not that there’s not a new album,” he teased — he did expand on his decision to return to the desert more than a decade later.
“You know, these last couple years, my life changed so much…. My brother and I, we came to this festival a lot,” he reflected somberly about their Coachella memories of watching Rae Sremmurd together. “I know he would’ve been so excited to be here with all of us. I want to say thank you for the support and the ears and the love over all this time.” — H.M.
It’s been seven years since the ever-elusive Frank Ocean stepped onto a stage. But despite his booking as the third and final headliner for Coachella 2023, fans still felt unsure if he would actually show. Signs that read “NO FRANK OCEAN MERCHANDISE” were plastered across the merch tent, and the official Coachella livestream on YouTube excluded his performance. And yet, at 10:55 p.m., almost an hour after he was scheduled to perform, the main stage lights finally dimmed and the show no one expected officially began.
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The fact that it happened wasn’t the only surprise, though, as Frank had the stage transformed into one giant screen. As a result, only a small square of space was hardly visible, but that’s where all of the action took place for the following hour and a half — until Frank abruptly announced from backstage, “Guys, I’m being told it’s curfew, so that’s the end of the show.”
The highly anticipated show came three years after Frank, Travis Scott and Rage Against the Machine were slated to take over the 2020 edition of the festival, which was postponed due to COVID. As the only performer who remained at the top of the bill since (as promised by Goldenvoice CEO and Coachella’s co-founder Paul Tollet in a 2021 interview) Frank delivered an unbelievable (for more reasons than one) if not unorthodox set, that had fans grasping on to every moment. Because after Sunday night, who knew when we might see him again.
The “Met her at Coachella” line from set opener “Novacane” hit different in the desert, which served as Frank’s backdrop whenever the camera showed his POV from the center of it all — until he chose not to be.
Check out the five major takeaways from Frank Ocean’s Coachella 2023 headlining set below.
The Set-Up Was Deceptively Intimate
Despite performing in front of tens of thousands of people, Frank and his team meticulously designed his headlining stage to resemble a recording studio, with Frank hunched around a mic in the center while a live band tinkered around behind him and studio hands respected his every request. Yet despite the intimate setup, he would still occasionally pull up the hood of his blue puffer coat and cover his black durag and the majority of his face, his full beard solely poking out. The reclusive star was giving an incredibly rare glimpse into his creative process, even giving fans a taste of new music. And while fans couldn’t really see what was happening or where Frank even was, the high-definition video feed helped to fill in some gaps, supplemented with gritty and at times incredibly shaky footage that played out like a one-night-only, live documentary that could only be consumed in the moment.
He Reimagined His Most-Beloved Songs
Between Frank’s 2011 debut mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra and his 2016 magnum opus Blonde, the artist faced every performer’s two-fold issue: 1) What songs should I play? and 2) How do I make them special for this audience? He solved the dilemma by performing his classic hits in ways fans had never heard them before, including a stripped-down, acoustic version of “Pink + White,” a turnt up remix of “Solo,” a drill edit of “Chanel,” a punk rock remix of “Wiseman” and many more. Yet none of those favorites closed out the set; instead, Frank dug deep into his discography to pull out his cover of Aaliyah‘s 1994 track “At Your Best (You Are Love)” that was featured on his 2016 visual album Endless.
There Was a Rave Intermission… And It Worked
Toward the end of his set, Frank shined his spotlight on DJ Crystalmess. “You can’t even see Frank Ocean but you get a little rave mix in the middle of the show,” Frank said, describing her set within a set. She strung together her own reimagining of Frank’s songs, like a Jersey Club remix of “Slide,” which Calvin Harris performed the night before on the same stage, as well as a bounce edit of “Pyramids” that left one scene-stealing security guard twerking like there’s no tomorrow — all of which was captured and shown as part of Frank’s live feed. The rave also brought out the only guest of the night: The lime green robotic baby doll Frank brought as his little date to the 2021 Met Gala.
“Back in 2020, I was just starting to throw parties in little clubs in New York that were just getting started before sh– started shutting down,” Frank recalled. “And I was having such a good time playlisting music and listening to so much new music and encountering DJs who were up and coming and who were really on their sh–. It’s become such a part of my practice now with my new weekly thing, with [Apple Music 1’s] Homer Radio that we’ve been working on…. It’s good that it’s not always about me.”
He Sort of Debuted a New Song
The phrase “Inner Child” started circling around a screen within the stage as a young boy named Josiah — meant to represent Frank’s own inner child — began playing piano and lip-syncing along to Frank singing a new song. Josiah’s little braids were poking out from underneath a black durag similar to the one worn by Frank, who introduced Josiah to the Coachella crowd as swiftly as he was dismissed in the short, but sweet moment.
He Honored His Late Brother Ryan
“It’s been so long…. But I have missed you,” Frank admitted to the audience, before vaguely addressing the elephant in the desert. “I want to talk about why I’m here because it’s not because of a new album… Not that there’s not a new album,” he teased. He then hushed over zealous fans so he could explain what did make him return to the festival he first performed at over a decade ago. “You know, these last couple years, my life changed so much…. My brother and I, we came to this festival a lot,” he said, speaking of his late brother Ryan Breaux who died in 2020 from a car accident at only 18 years old.
“I feel like I was dragged out here half the time because I hated the dust out here, I always left with a respiratory infection, or what have you. So I would avoid coming, but I would always end up here. One of my fondest memories was watching Rae Sremmurd on I don’t know what that stage is called with my brother. And Travis [Bennett], I don’t know if Travis/Taco is here, but we was just dancing in that tent to their music, and I know he would’ve been so excited to be here with all of us. I want to say thank you for the support and the ears and the love over all this time.”
Even during two of his beloved tracks, “Nikes” and “Nights,” Frank opted out of performing them live, rather prancing around the stage and playing in front of the camera, flashing a sincere smile that showed off a grill on one of his front teeth.
Maybe he needed this just as much as we did.