![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/70e4def3bbf32739d534dffc30955a66f0-hlw-coachella-2026.rhorizontal.w700.jpg\")
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\n Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty Images (Kevin Mazur, Arturo Holmes)\n <\/p>\n
Coachella has returned, with or without its icon Vanessa Hudgens. The festival, which began in 1999, has matured into both an in-person and an at-home experience with its livestreams as important as ever. A performance of \u201cGood Luck, Babe!\u201d<\/a> is arguably what pushed Chappell Roan into the stratosphere in 2024. It\u2019s fun to watch Coachella lean into its status as not just a corporeal spring music to-do but YouTube appointment viewing for fandoms at home across musical spectrums and cultures. This year, the Indio Valley festival \u2014 which also feels a little like the influencer Olympics \u2014 provided an incredible means of exposure for mainstream listeners to artists a smidge left of the dial, like singer-songwriter and guitarist Dijon, who was great on Friday, and a space for a multimedia thinker like Labrinth to serve ear and eye candy. It\u2019s also a planetary megaphone for a pop star gaffe like Sabrina Carpenter\u2019s.<\/p>\n With week two around the corner, there\u2019s time for even more guest appearances, even more wind, and even more Youtube videos streamed onto the big stage.<\/p>\n HIGH: Katseye and Huntr\/x give \u201cGolden\u201d a buff and a shine<\/p>\n On Friday night, the not-quite-K-pop maybe-quintet Katseye fought through controversy surrounding the alleged health hiatus of sixth member Manon Bannerman<\/a> with a capable showcase of pop nuggets like \u201cGameboy\u201d and \u201cTouch.\u201d The set\u2019s most memorable moment, though everyone knew it was coming from Katseye rehearsal footage leaked earlier in the week, was the appearance of Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, stars of Kpop Demon Hunters<\/a>. The Huntr\/x and Katseye rendition of the Netflix film\u2019s \u201cGolden\u201d revitalizes a single that has made the rounds a few times across the planet already, as eight vocalists flesh out harmonies while washing out the official recording\u2019s Katy Perry\u2013esque production. For extra credit, the \u201cPinky Up\u201d team and the \u201cGolden\u201d girls balanced splashes of pastel color and gothic monochrome in their respective outfits, serving vocals and a bit of pink house\/black house meme on the side. We have yet to learn why Manon couldn\u2019t join them.\u2014 Craig Jenkins<\/p>\n LOW: Controversy overshadows Sabrina Carpenter\u2019s success<\/p>\n Sabrina Carpenter\u2019s Friday set should have been a crowning moment of her career. After all, just two years ago she was premiering her song \u201cEspresso\u201d at Coachella, way down the billing. Now, she\u2019s a headliner. But, unfortunately, the discourse overtook the performance.<\/p>\n During Carpenter\u2019s set, an audience member ululated from the audience in between her songs \u2014 making a zaghrouta, which is a celebration of joy in Arabic countries. \u201cI think I heard someone yodel,\u201d Carpenter said in response. \u201cIs that what you\u2019re doing? I don\u2019t like it.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s my culture,\u201d the fan said. \u201cThat\u2019s your culture, is yodeling?\u201d Carpenter asked. She went on to say it was \u201cweird.\u201d Fans online were offended by Carpenter\u2019s seemingly callous brushing off of the zaghrouta. \u201cmy apologies i didn\u2019t see this person with my eyes and couldn\u2019t hear clearly. my reaction was pure confusion, sarcasm and not ill intended,\u201d she later wrote on X<\/a>. \u201ccould have handled it better! now i know what a Zaghrouta is! I welcome all cheers and yodels from here on out.\u201d It\u2019s too bad so many people are talking about this\u00a0 entirely avoidable controversy. When someone says it\u2019s their culture, just move on, Sabrina! \u2014 Jason P. Frank<\/p>\n WHOA: Sombr duets with Billy Corgan<\/p>\n 20-year-old singer-songwriter Sombr, a Cali transplant, would have it all if he could dial the goofiness down and the craft way up. Until that happens it\u2019s intermittent awkwardness and promise all the way down, which is what happened when he brought out the gothic alt-rock elder and noted studio taskmaster Billy Corgan. Their duet on the Smashing Pumpkins classic \u201c1979\u201d started with a scowl from Corgan after a fumbling attempt to get him a working mic. Sailing was smooth after the rough launch, and Sombr joined Yungblud<\/a> in the fledgling fraternity of ascendant crooners honing their wail against one of rock\u2019s signature tones. A Corgan lead is as allergic to a loud harmony as ever; it\u2019s too wilfully coarse an instrument. But a new generation is discovering it now, and Sombr claims the clout milestone of proximity to it \u2026 and a cute duet. \u2014C.J.<\/p>\n HIGH: \u00a5\u00d8U$UK\u20ac \u00a5UK1MAT$U waged war on the concept of genre<\/p>\n The journey of \u00a5\u00d8U$UK\u20ac \u00a5UK1MAT$U is nothing short of incredible: A decade ago, he was moonlighting in music while working in construction until, following brain-tumor surgeries and recovery, he reordered his priorities to focus on DJing and production. After a cameo in the 2024 earthquake drama Happyend and a notable set at Boiler Room: Tokyo<\/a> last year, he brought broiling intensity and a puckishly twisting set to Coachella on Saturday. \u00a5UK1MAT$U came out swinging, zipping in a flash from Beastie Boys to Taylor Swift to Aphex Twin. After pulling the rug out from under \u201cYou Need to Calm Down\u201d with diabolical drum and bass from \u201cCome to Daddy\u201d and losing his shirt in the transition, he appeared in the Sahara tent with other feats like back-to-back 100 Gecs and Norah Jones tunes and a visionary closing pairing of Bruce Springsteen\u2019s cover of Suicide with a Sigur Ros jam. \u2014C.J.<\/p>\n WHOA: Geese join the Bieberchella festivities with \u201cBaby\u201d<\/p>\n Brooklyn indie-rock quartet Geese<\/a> have developed a playful habit of pairing the kinetic 3D Country banger \u201c2122\u201d with a bit of a cover the audience ought to be familiar with. Touring Europe, they\u2019ve worked in bits of Pink Floyd, Can, Chumbawumba<\/a>; at Tyler, the Creator\u2019s Camp Flog Gnaw, they attempted a fakemink song. And on the afternoon of Bieberchella, Geese delivered an unseriously straitlaced \u201cBaby\u201d with front man Cameron Winter switching between a lounge singer\u2019s croon and a Bieberly falsetto long enough to spark a giddy audience sing-along.\u2014C.J.<\/p>\n HIGH: Addison Rae brings the \u201cHigh Fashion\u201d<\/p>\n TikTok superstar turned alt-pop favorite Addison Rae made her Coachella debut, bringing the same loopy glamour that she demonstrated at the Grammys to the music festival. Her voice gave her away at some points (modern classic \u201cHeadphones On\u201d wasn\u2019t all there), but the highlights came from her dance-heavy moments. During the psychedelic, Ray of Light\u2013esque \u201cAquamarine,\u201d she brought out Dance Moms star Maddie Ziegler to do a voguelike routine. Her best number was \u201cHigh Fashion.\u201d As her male dancers in suits looked on, she writhed on the floor with sharp, intense movements, wearing a sparkly red two-piece. She went into the splits, flipped up from the floor, then got dragged across the stage on one dancer\u2019s back. She looked like a Sweet Charity dancer for the social-media age. The dance intensity was pop perfection. \u2014J.P.F<\/p>\n HIGH: PinkPantheress put down the purse<\/p>\n PinkPantheress<\/a> is not just a studio worm. The electronic-pop singer released one of 2025\u2019s best albums, Fancy That, and currently has one of the top ten songs in America with her \u201cStateside\u201d remix featuring Zara Larsson, but up until now, most of her fandom has centered around her producing skills. At Coachella, she put on a 360-degree performance, illustrating both why she won Producer of the Year at the 2026 BRIT Awards and why she\u2019s a pop star in real life. Gone were the days when she would show up onstage with a purse<\/a> and a dream. She brought out dancers and kept up with them during the marionettelike choreography, strutting across the stage like she owned it. Both she and the dancers looked smart in tartan, a reference to her oft-repeated British identity. She even cast herself a romantic interest, bringing out Reminders of Him star Tyriq Withers to sensually put a scarf around her beck. The choreo, the look, and the hunk sent a clear message: PinkPantheress is now a fully realized pop star. \u2014 J.P.F.<\/p>\n HIGH: Is Slayyyter a superstar?<\/p>\n You know what everybody needs to do right now? Scream. Slayyyter, the trashy, brash pop singer whose album WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA debuted this year to critical acclaim<\/a>, made a splash with her Coachella debut. With just herself and a band onstage, she led the crowd through her aggressive, propulsive discography. Who else at Coachella could have gotten the crowd to chant along with the lyric \u201cI get so gay off that tequila\u201d? She was totally in command of the stage and the crowd. Watching her perform \u201cCRANK\u201d felt a bit like watching that beloved Chappell Roan performance of \u201cGood Luck, Babe!\u201d two years ago.<\/a> It was the sight of someone totally ready to play for growing audiences, no matter how big they get. Slayyyter entered the performance as an exciting niche figure and emerged one of our most promising pop stars. \u2014 J.P.F.<\/p>\n WHOA: Justin Bieber hosts a multimillion-dollar music-video night<\/p>\n The internet couldn\u2019t decide over the weekend whether Justin Bieber delivered one of the greatest or the worst Coachella-headlining sets in history. A tender and star-studded survey of his more recent work<\/a> was interrupted by a laptop karaoke segment in whic h, at his first show in four years, Bieber pulled up YouTube videos of his old hits and covers to croon alongside earlier incarnations of himself. Many viewers took it as either an expression of contempt for recent ex-manager Scooter Braun or a quirk of his having sold<\/a> his masters and publishing to the music-IP-rights collector Hipgnosis in 2022. He doesn\u2019t need their approval to perform the songs; there\u2019s money to be made off him playing them. It\u2019s possible the snippet-medley delivery of Kidz Bop friendly early jams like \u201cBaby,\u201d \u201cBeauty and a Beat,\u201d and \u201cNever Say Never\u201d stems from the guy being sick-to-bastard death of songs tied to his very visible adolescence. But the purposeful whiff of unprofessionalism on his performances this year is trying to highlight a musician working and creating, as art happens. This expression of the idea was sillier than the stunning \u201cYukon\u201d looper routine at the Grammys. And watching music videos with the singer on the computer did not carry the drama of watching mk.gee shred through \u201cDaisies.\u201d But the segment did do justice to the swept-under-the-table 2014 R&B album Journals and quietly push back against\u00a0 the popular rumor that Bieber\u2019s early career is a time he looks back on in torturous regret.\u2014C.J.<\/p>\n WHOA: Manon is there \u2026 but not onstage<\/p>\n Global K-pop band Katseye made their Coachella debut down a member. Manon Bannerman is currently on hiatus from the group without a full explanation. While the five remaining Katseyes did a fabulous job, Manon wasn\u2019t exactly MIA. She still attended the festival and was spotted hanging out with Chappell Roan<\/a> while Sabrina Carpenter performed. Maybe she\u2019ll move up to the stage for weekend two. \u2014J.P.F.<\/p>\n WHOA: And so are Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry<\/p>\n Also just hanging out were the most iconic new couple of the past few years: former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and pop star Katy Perry. Since Perry soft-launched their relationship in October 2025<\/a>,the two have been spotted all over the world together<\/a>. What was particularly funny about this particular hang was just how \u2026 normal the two of them looked. Both wore white T-shirts, which Trudeau paired with jeans and sneakers, while Perry wore boots and a flannel around her waist. For two of the most famous people in the world, they kinda just looked like any normal happy couple. After a tumultuous<\/a> few<\/a> years<\/a> for Perry, that\u2019s a teenage dream. \u2014 J.P.F.<\/p>\n HIGH: Nine Inch Noize hosted goth couples karaoke<\/p>\n Trent Reznor has been leaving captivating show footage behind as long as this year\u2019s headliner crop has breathed air. But there\u2019s something looser about his present-day output, reflected in his Nine Inch Noize collaboration with producer Boys Noize on Saturday. Nails used to pride itself on being staffed by an army of maniacs and later a murderers\u2019 row of rock\/metal session whizzes. But nowadays, it feels like Trent\u2019s using a family-and-friends concept to circle the pop ideas he rejected across the drug haze of the \u201990s. Lightness pierced the misanthropy and rage of the back catalogue with Trent and his wife, Mariqueen Maandig Reznor, trading vocals on songs rendered all the more limber by Boys Noize beats. Together, they scoured the danger off the now surprisingly sensual \u201cHeresy\u201d and rescued the excellent \u201cAs Alive As You Need Me to Be\u201d from its association with Tron: Ares. If this incarnation of his work conjures more bedrooms than slaughterhouses, trust that Reznor\u2019s set design made it look like this beautiful marital vocal exchange took place in hell. \u2014C.J.<\/p>\n LOW: Teddy Swims was out there dressed like a fighting-game character<\/p>\n The Hot 100 gently readjusted its rules to rinse out longtime holdouts like the growling \u201cLose Control\u201d from Georgia singer-songwriter Teddy Swims late last year. Early this year, Swims is back with a fresh chart- and playlist-disrupting chimera in \u201cMr. Know It All,\u201d a moody single plucking around the heyday of Foster the People and Gotye. Swims\u2019s Coachella performance highlighted a peculiar place in mainstream music: He\u2019s known for crunchy soul, but broader pop appeal is calling. This translated into appearances from Joe Jonas<\/a>, Vanessa Carlton<\/a>, and Van Halen\u2019s David Lee Roth<\/a> instead of guests from last January\u2019s I\u2019ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2) like Muni Long, Coco Jones, and BigXThaPlug. Swims performed in what seems to be a new signature look, the baldie-and-a-beard of his soulman era replaced with the kind of mullet and handlebar mustache you might encounter in a Street Fighter game or at the Indio country festival Stagecoach. Swims drove off on a motorcycle in the end, as he looked like he was going to all along. Is Teddy about to Jelly Roll? \u2014C.J.<\/p>\n HIGH: Karol G and Wisin teach reggaeton history<\/p>\n Karol G\u2019s Sunday night main-stage performance marked the first time since its late-\u201990s debut that the festival has tapped a Latina closer. She carried herself with the weight of history, from the mythic tale of Latin women\u2019s perseverance in her opening cinematic to the message of solidarity with \u201cLatinos that have been struggling in this country\u201d that wove through a set nodding to the cultures of Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and beyond. Her duetting with Becky G and a mariachi band was one of the night\u2019s highlights, but the medley of aughts classics delivered by Puerto Rican reggaetonero Wisin reinforced just how long it took the rest of the world to get hip to Spanish-language hip-hop paving the way for Karol\u2019s landmark run. Twenty years on, \u201cRakata,\u201d \u201cPam Pam,\u201d \u201cSaoco,\u201d and such are still matchstick records making crowds explode. \u2014C.J.<\/p>\n LOW: The wind<\/p>\n Sometimes, the biggest villain of all is nature. DJ Anyma\u2019s planned set was canceled on Saturday due to winds. \u201cdon\u2019t have many words other than to say I\u2019m truly devastated and deeply sorry to everyone who showed up to the main stage, and to those watching the livestream at home,\u201d the disappointed artist wrote on X<\/a>. \u201cHaving the opportunity to perform the new \u00c6DEN show and share all the new music and art means more to me than I can express. It\u2019s incredibly painful, especially after working day and night for the past year, not just me, but my team and the @coachella crew, who poured everything into this.\u201d During John Summit\u2019s surprise set on Friday, the wind blew a light fixture off the stage, injuring a concertgoer. Hopefully, the wind abates by next weekend and leaves everybody free to party. \u2014 J.P.F.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Vulture Daily<\/p>\n An entertainment newsletter for the pop-culture obsessed.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n