If you’re going to be the youngest headliner ever at Coachella, you damn sure better bring it. Ariana Grande did just that last night trying to go down as the best to ever do it. Just look to the hashtags of #AriChella bubbling on social for proof.
Opening her set with “God Is A Woman,” Grande delivered a night of smash hits, featuring platinum-level guests throughout.
Nicki Minaj came out for a double dose, with “Side To Side” and “Bang Bang.” The two dominated the stage, making an impact despite some audio issues.
Grande’s next trick was a big one, persuading the legendary *NSYNC to reunite… for the most part. Sure, Justin Timberlake was wrapping his “Man of the Woods” tour elsewhere, but Grande filled his spot admirably. She’s had plenty of prep time. “All her muthaf**kin life” to be exact.
JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, and Lance Bass sang “Tearin Up My Heart.” This came on the heels of Grande’s “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored,” which incorporates a sample of the boy band’s “It Makes Me Ill.”
*NSYC wasn’t the only legendary collective to join Grande. Diddy and Mase came to bring the house down with “Mo Money, Mo Problems,” featuring Ariana crooning the chorus.
And if Ariana owned the pop event of the evening, Y.G. brought the hip hop fire.
He showed his own major guest-pull, too, parading out 2 Chainz and Big Sean for “Big Bank.” Elsewhere, Tyga came out for “Taste” as well as the posse track “Bitches Ain’t Shit,” which of course has verses from YG and Nipsey Hussle.
Mid-set, Y.G. honored his fallen friend, who graduated from hood-hero to worldwide-legend.
“I been trying to get to ‘BoaChella’ for muthaf**kin years,” Y.G. Said. “It took me years and years to get to this muthaf**kin stage. Me and my n***a Nipsey Hussle used to talk about doing ‘BoaChella’ my n***a. He [would] call it ‘Coachella.’ But I’mma call it ‘BoaChella.’ We would have conversations about doing this shit. And it’s 2019 and I’m finally doing this shit. Thank you BoaChella for having me up in this muthaf**ka ... We just lost one of our greats, one of our homies. One of our big brothers. A muthaf**kin legend. Black muthaf**kin Jesus. Yeah I said it, Black Muthaf**kin Jesus.”
Y.G. also announced that his new LP is dropping May 3rd. The project was delayed from early April in order to pay proper respect to Nipsey in the aftermath of his March 31 murder.
Other highlights from Day 3 included Bad Bunny bringing out J. Balvin for “I Liked It Like That.” And Zedd was not to be outdone, bringing Katy Perry on stage for “365.” Meanwhile, Khalid was vying to steal the night with help from Normani, Billie Eilish, Halsey, Benny Blanco and Marshmello during his Coachella debut.
Overall, it was another epic event from Coachella Valley. We can’t wait to see what Weekend 2 brings.