Coachella
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AP Dhillon is leaving the California desert behind.
Coachella announced that the Punjabi-Canadian star will not appear at the festival’s second weekend as planned, citing a “scheduling conflict.” The festival announced the news in a follow-up tweet to one announcing that rapper Kid Cudi has been added to the lineup.
Due to a scheduling conflict AP Dhillon is unable to join us in the desert for Weekend 2
— Coachella (@coachella) April 17, 2024
While Dhillon’s first-weekend performance was well-received by the Coachella crowd and many of his supporters, he’s also had some backlash due to how he closed his set, which has been widely covered by media in India.
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The artist finished his performance by smashing his guitar onstage.
Some fans have invoked India’s cultural reverence for musical instruments, criticizing Dhillon’s rock-star move as a sign of disrespect and arrogance.
“The guitar that has provided you with life, love, peace, success and respect- you end up breaking it!” reads one popular comment on Dhillon’s post featuring footage of the smash.
In a subsequent post, Dhillon shared photos of his tribute to the late Sidhu Moose Wala, with the caption “the media is controlled and I’m out of control.” The last slide of the post features footage of Kurt Cobain smashing his guitar, linking Dhillon’s move to a longstanding rock and roll tradition.
If guitar-smashing has a long lineage in rock and roll, so does criticism of the move. Phoebe Bridgers faced backlash in 2021 for breaking her guitar on Saturday Night Live, while even some notable guitar-smashers are now critical of their former selves. Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea tweeted his regrets shortly after Dhillon’s Coachella set. “feel like such an idiot for smashing my bass to pieces on stage back in the day, pathetic,” he wrote on X.
feel like such an idiot for smashing my bass to pieces on stage back in the day, pathetic.— Flea (@flea333) April 15, 2024
Fans who are disappointed to miss Dhillon’s second Coachella performance can take some solace in his recent collaboration with U.K. Grime artist Stormzy, until there’s more news of upcoming performances.
This article was originally published by Billboard Canada.
When Billie Eilish called Lana Del Rey “the reason for half of you b—-es existence, including mine” during her surprise appearance at the “Summertime Sadness” singer’s Coachella set over the weekend, she wasn’t kidding. While reflecting on the festival’s opening weekend on Instagram Stories Thursday (April 18), the 22-year-old pop star revealed that her debut […]
Lana Del Rey reigned as the Queen of Indio, Calif., when she headlined Coachella last weekend (April 13), but one particular exit from her kingdom left the “Video Games” singer especially peeved.
In an Instagram post reflecting on her performance shared to her Instagram account, Del Rey revealed that her tour manager, Peter Abbott, quit just over a month before she took the stage.
After thanking all the key players that made her set possible — including her fans, her band, Wally Crowder (who helped choreograph her motorcycle entrance) and special guests Billie Eilish, Jon Batiste and Jack Antonoff — Del Rey revealed that a team member had to step up as tour manager on short notice.
“[Thank you] Emily for stepping up as tour manager when Pete quit for no reason after 15 years,” Del Rey wrote, referencing Emily Holt before continuing about Abbott. “He was butt hurt that I got 10 comped bikes for free from Wally and randomly decided he was more of a stage designer than a tour manager… Never got a phone call probably never will. Still grateful for the 15 years though.”
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Billboard has made attempts to reach Abbott for his response.
Del Rey’s appearance at this year’s Coachella comes a decade after she last performed at the festival. The “A&W” singer was originally scheduled for a prime Coachella spot back in 2020, but that year was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From her lyrics to her imagery, Del Rey has long been synonymous with Coachella and its aesthetic. She even played on that synergy with billboards leading into Indio that read “Has anyone else died for you?” — a reference to how Del Rey was effectively crucified by the media after her infamous 2012 Saturday Night Live performance.
“No worries – 37 days was more than enough time to put together an entire headlining set all by ourselves. Not stressful at all,” Del Rey’s Instagram post continued. “Way to go Emily you f—ing killed it with grace. Thank you to my managers Ben and Ed for making me laugh the entire way through everything for my whole freaking life even though none of it ever makes any sense. PS please send me an email If you decide to quit this year- 15 years is a long time for us too.”
The rest of Del Rey’s statement continued with her thanks to various collaborators, making for a deeply personal caption for a carousel of photographs from her performance. Among those photos are rehearsal footage, flicks of her background singers and dancers, and an adorable backstage picture of Del Rey, Batiste and Antonoff.
Last year, the “Summertime Sadness” singer notched her ninth top 10 entry on the Billboard 200 with Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, which earned five Grammy nominations, including for album of the year. Del Rey is set to return to the stage Friday (April 19) for round 2 of her headlining stint.
Read the star’s full statement below.
Victoria Monét deserves her flowers after her Coachella 2024 performance last weekend — and who better than Beyoncé to give them to her? The “On My Mama” singer showed off the white bouquet and sweet personalized note on her Instagram Story Wednesday (April 17). “Congratulations on your beautiful Coachella performance. Sending you love, B,” the […]
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift‘s presence at the opening weekend of Coachella 2024 has been one of the buzziest parts of the festival so far, with fans online going wild over clips of the couple laughing, kissing, holding hands and dancing while enjoying the star-studded lineup together from the pit. And in the Wednesday (April 17) episode of his New Heights podcast, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end debriefed the outing for his older brother and co-host, retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.
“I absolutely love live music,” began Travis, who is also set to host of Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity. “I don’t get enough of it in my life. It was fun getting out there and seeing a few new bands that I really wasn’t that familiar with but became an absolute lover of their music because of how they performed and captivated the crowd. The Bleachers — our guy Jack Antonoff — absolutely ripped it. I had so much fun seeing him go nuts with his guitar and all his boys.”
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Cameras captured Swift adorably kissing and dancing with Travis in what appeared to be a backstage area during her frequent collaborator’s set on Saturday (April 13). The couple also spent time with Antonoff and his band before their set and snapped a photo with some of the guys, which drummer Sean Hutchinson posted on Instagram a few days later.
When it came to Ice Spice’s showcase later that night, however, the athlete and his superstar girlfriend opted to watch with the rest of the crowd from the pit. “I like to see it from the fans’ perspective, ‘cause I am, I’m a fan of music,” Travis explained. “I want to see it from the front of the stage.”
“We probably could’ve finessed it that way,” he continued, referring to the more secluded locations from which he and Swift could’ve viewed the rapper’s performance. “But I think it’s that much more of an experience if you’re in the pit, if you’re in the madness with all the fans.”
Travis isn’t kidding when he says he’s a big live music guy — the Ohio native is set to host his second-ever Kelce Jam festival in May, featuring a self-curated lineup led by Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz and Diplo. “Live music is something I never pass up on,” he told Billboard earlier this month. “The list just goes on, and the genres vary everywhere. I’m a real music lover.”
The brothers also took a moment to thank Swift for supporting their podcast with her Coachella outfit, which featured a baseball cap from the Kelces’ New Heights merch store. “Sold out of the green hat real quick,” Jason said, noting that the accessory has since been restocked on their website.
“It’s a good color, green,” mused Travis. “She’s supporting the New Heights!”
Watch Travis talk about Coachella on New Heights below.
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Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes, and sneaky EDM remixes catch Taylor Swift by surprise.
In a video from the Neon Carnival party during the first weekend of Coachella, the pop star can be seen having a hilarious reaction to hearing her Billboard Hot 100-topping single “Cruel Summer” come on over the speakers between sets, quickly realizing that it’s slightly different from the one she’s used to.
In the blurry clip, Swift sits down in what appears to be a VIP area, singing and dancing along to her own lyrics as the Lover hit blares over the noisy crowd. Halfway through the chorus, though, the 14-time Grammy winner’s original mix shifts into a club-ready dance track, with the second syllable of the word “cool” repeating over and over in the lead-up to a bass drop — “It’s a cruel summer, it’s cool -ool -ool -ool -ool…” For a second, Swift continues singing the words as usual, but when she realizes that she’s the only one, she freezes in place before looking around with a confused expression on her face.
The man behind the remix is Vanderpump Rules star James Kennedy, who was DJing at Neon Carnival on Saturday night in Thermal, Calif., about a 15-minute drive from Coachella. When reached by Billboard for his reaction to the viral video, Kennedy was still processing the fact that he had DJ’d for the likes of Swift and her Kansas City Chiefs star boyfriend Travis Kelce.
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“Not only a dream come true DJing Neon Carnival, but the fact that Taylor and Travis were there feeling the vibes and enjoying themselves was unreal!” Kennedy said in an exclusive statement, mentioning that his Swiftie girlfriend Ally Lewber, who also stars on Vanderpump Rules, couldn’t believe it either. “Ally and I were just at the Eras Tour in L.A! (Ally still can’t get over it haha!)“
Given that Swift sings “Cruel Summer” every night on her global Eras Tour, it makes sense that her brain might have been on autopilot for a second or two of the remix. The track first dropped in 2019 as part of the singer’s seventh studio album Lover but wasn’t made a radio single until 2023, after which it steadily ascended to No. 1 on the Hot 100 in October, a full four years after its release.
Swift also spent day 2 of the festival’s first weekend watching Bleachers and Ice Spice’s Coachella sets alongside Kelce, with the pair adorably dancing together in the crowd. In just a few days, she’ll release her highly anticipated 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, complete with collaborations from Post Malone and Florence + the Machine.
See Swift’s startled reaction to hearing Kennedy’s remix below.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Looking for a setting spray that goes the distance? Whether you plan to brave Coachella’s desert temperatures or another outdoor music […]
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival took over Indio, Calif., for its first weekend from April 12 to 14, and besides the exciting performance lineup at the festival itself, there are countless parties and events in between sets and after hours where fans can enjoy even more action — from Neon Carnival and Revolve Festival […]
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Lupe Fiasco has long owned the distinction of being one of the sharpest lyricists in Hip-Hop, and also showed and proved that he is adept at the art of battle. During his set at Coachella over the weekend, the Chicago rapper put any rapper who wants to test his pen on notice in a defiant speech with folks online reacting in kind.
I’m going to break the wall here and state that I feel that Lupe Fiasco might very well be the best on-paper lyricist in modern Hip-Hop. Songs like “Mural,” “The Cool” and countless others demonstrate his immense ability as a writer but also reveal the deep layers of his skillset.
As I’ve written about before, the quick back-and-forth between him and Royce Da 5’9 was largely ended by an inspired Lupe Fiasco on the track “Steve Jobs: SLR 3 1/2” which I still believe was largely freestyled or, at the very least, delivered in one take. Everyone should know and understand that Lu is a dangerous MC if one is a student of this game.
During a pause at his set at Coachella, Lupe addressed the crowd as only he could and let off a profanity-laced barrage by saying that under no uncertain terms can any rapper on the planet take him out when it comes to rhyming.
“Hear me clearly when I say this and I mean it from the bottom of my heart. When it comes to this art, and I quote, I will battle any motherf*cking rapper. Anywhere. Any motherf*ckin’ time,” Lupe said to an uproarious crowd.
This declaration from Lupe has the culture in a bit of a daze considering the mock meat shenanigans between Drake, Rick Ross, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar with K-Dot the only one putting a strong bullet on names while the antics are front and center from everyone else. Even proponents of battle rap culture like Aye Verb got involved and seemingly called out Lupe via X but that was shut down somewhat quickly.
However, Lupe did join Aye Verb in a Twitter Spaces conversation and explained his position on Kendrick Lamar and other rappers.
On X, we’ve got some reactions to Lupe Fiasco putting the game on notice, Aye Verb’s Twitter Spaces chat, and more.
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Photo: ANGELA WEISS / Getty
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce stole the show at the first weekend of Coachella 2024, where they made a surprise appearance to watch performances from the pop star’s collaborators Jack Antonoff and Ice Spice. And based on a newly shared photo, the couple also spent some quality time with friends backstage on Saturday (April 13) […]