Images: L - R - Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Coachella / Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for AG / Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for Coachella
Coachella has wrapped up its second and final weekend for the year and if you can believe it, it went even harder than last week. Weekend 1 saw guest appearances from *NSYNC to Halsey but this weekend got Justin Bieber, Kanye West and A$AP Rocky. Check out our highlights below.
Janelle Monáe's Perfect Set
Janelle Monáe may have been on the first day of the weekend but she brought a level of perfection that was hard to beat all weekend. Her Dirty Computer-heavy set featured perfect choreography, potent words ("impeach Trump") and a sense of fun. Monáe completely understands how to work a mainstage and from the vagina pants to the gold throne, she commanded both sonically and visually.
.@JanelleMonae and @AndersonPaak giving #Coachella the juice pic.twitter.com/2xxvTqfS29
— Cool Accidents (@CoolAccidents) April 20, 2019
Anderson .Paak's Surprise Guests
Anderson .Paak decided he was going to beef his set up a bit this weekend, surprising the crowd with both Brandy and Jay Rock. Brandy made her debut Coachella performance with him during Ventura song Jet Black while Rock stopped by for King's Dead.
.@AndersonPaak and @4everBrandy at #coachella pic.twitter.com/sDZ9qh65oh
— Cool Accidents (@CoolAccidents) April 20, 2019
Lizzo's Acapella Version Of Juice
We could talk about Lizzo's set all day long (and we're going to soon) but here's the short of it. It was a superstar moment. Lizzo had a number of audio issues beyond her control on the first weekend of the festival and you could tell she was determined to not let that happen this week. It wasn't until the last song Juice that the audio failed once again so she decided to take things into her own hands. Along with the crowd, she delivered a stunning a capella version that showed not even things out of her control were going to bring her down.
Kanye's Redemptive Sunday Service
Kanye has slowed down with the Twitter rants this year and channelled his energy into his gospel-inspired Sunday Service. In a first for Coachella, the festival set up a completely new stage for Kanye, giving him a mountain for his 9am Easter Sunday service. If anyone was expecting a regular Yeezy set they would have been completely disappointed. Instead, Kanye took a backseat for the most part letting the powerful choir uplift festivalgoers. Kid Cudi, Chance The Rapper and Teyana Taylor were all there too but this moment was bigger than its guests.
Kanye Dropping In With Kid Cudi
The night before Sunday Service, Kanye decided to stop by Kid Cudi's after-midnight set to roll out KIDS SEE GHOSTS songs. It was only the second time the pair had performed these songs live together at a festival and the surprise appearance created a deafening scream across the fields. REBORN was particularly rousing.
Tame Impala's Casual-Yet-Effective Headline Slot
Tame Impala's Kevin Parker was just as surprised as us that with just three albums under their belt the band had managed to ascend to Coachella headline status. Bookended by Childish Gambino and Ariana Grande they were the smallest headliners of the weekend but they were also arguably the best. Parker approached the set with an endearing casualness, sounding like he was at the pub in Fremantle chatting with mates at many points. When A$AP Rocky appeared for Sundress, Parker simply remarked, "Oh look, it's A$AP Rocky."
I caught the exact moment a$ap rocky surprised everyone during tame impala’s set at coachella !!!!! pic.twitter.com/PrST1zMxli
— kylie (@wtfisupkylie) April 21, 2019
New Music From Childish Gambino
On Weekend 1, Childish Gambino debuted his film Guava Island. Fans were expecting to hear new music in it but, for the most part, it wheeled out his previous songs. Well, he finally gave audiences a taste of some new music during his weekend 2 tracks, debuting a soulful cut that resonated with the crowd.
.@DonaldGlover debuts a brand new song titled “Lights Off” during his performance at #Coachella last night. pic.twitter.com/p7oiXKUkNl
— Pop Crave (@PopCraveNet) April 20, 2019
Ariana Grande Bringing Out Justin Bieber
Ariana Grande returned with significantly less guests for weekend 2 but she did have one surprise in store. After a two-year break from the stage, Justin Bieber took to the huge Coachella stage for Sorry. At points, it seemed like he may be lip-syncing or battling audio problems but it didn't stop nearly everybody from screaming obsessively.
so you’re telling me justin bieber performed with ariana grande at coachella AND announced new album coming soon? 2019 is saved! pic.twitter.com/SuFnJlOrIm
— s (@BeliebinTeam) April 22, 2019
Khalid With John Mayer
Khalid's slick Sunday night set was enough on its own but he gave a weary crowd a little extra to keep them going, bringing out John Mayer. Mayer and Khalid treated us to a woozy version of Free Spirit track Outta My Head. With the illuminated desert landscape in the background, it was a pretty perfect moment.
here’s a video of the unbelievable @JohnMayer and a happy @thegreatkhalid killing it at #Coachella pic.twitter.com/1nxZDqJMDn
— barbara 100 (@khalidisart) April 22, 2019
Rosalía & J Balvin Making Sure Everyone Knew Con Altura
Rosalía and J Balvin's Con Altura is one of the best songs of the year so far and they made sure everyone knew that during Coachella. Balvin crashed Rosalía's packed Friday night set to perform the song and then she returned the favour the next day, appearing on his stage. The crowd's reaction proved just how big the song could be over the rest of the year.
BLACKPINK Taking Over The US
Coachella surprised most by popping BLACKPINK on the line-up as the first K-pop girl group to perform at the Californian festival ever. They took the opportunity and made it something incredible though, delivering one of the most well-choreographed performances of the week. There was a precision to everything from the vocals to the moves that you just don't see at festivals very often, unless it's Beyoncé, of course.
Burna Boy's Nigeria-Repping Set
Coachella had a very international slant to it this year, giving a platform to performers from Nigeria to Korea. After Wizkid cancelled last year, Burna Boy and Mr. Eazi came this year to fly the flag for Nigeria and did a phenomenal job. Burna Boy's afternoon set was a celebration of Afrobeat, introducing it to some and relishing in it with others. You could tell he was proud to be representing his country and it made the set all the more spectacular.
