Coachella 2022 Day.. Friday’s festival featured a number of unexpected visitors and an Aqua performance of “Barbie Girl.”
Coachella returned on Friday after a two-year hiatus (15 April).
The desert event, which takes place in Indio, California, has grown in popularity over the years due to its opulent Instagram-worthy dress code and many celebrity sightings.
Here are ten of the most talked-about topics from day one.
1. Harry Styles surprised fans with new songs – and a surprise appearance by Shania Twain, the country icon. Onstage, the former One Direction member acknowledged Twain with training him to sing, and then invited her out to duet on the ageless megahits “Man I Feel Like A Woman” and “Still The One.”
2. Shania was not the day’s only unannounced special visitor. Snoop Dogg, the West Coast rap icon, took time out of his hectic schedule to perform with Brazilian pop sensation Anitta.
3. Atlanta rapper Lil Baby had one of the most moving performances of Coachella’s first day, closing his set with a dramatic performance of the protest song “The Bigger Picture,” which he wrote and released in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder.
4. Justin Bieber also made a surprise appearance at Coachella, joining Daniel Caesar on stage for a performance of their collaboration “Peaches” – shirtless, no less.
5. Arlo Parks, a rising British talent, collaborated with Phoebe Bridgers on a transatlantic duet – a “amazing” rendition of Bridgers’ love song “Graceland Too.”
6. Following their headline performance in 2014, Arcade Fire returned to the festival’s small Mojave Tent, where they produced a cathartic and happy performance.
7. Slowthai orchestrated one of the day’s most unexpected delights – a dance party themed to Aqua’s 1997 song “Barbie Girl.”
8. Idles proceeded to win over American fans with a ferocious concert – not to mention guitarist Mark Bowen dressed in the kind of lacy white gown Kurt Cobain would have worn in the 1990s.
9. Grammy-winning rapper Baby Keem demonstrated that he is far more than “family ties” with a thunderous set that required no assistance from cousin Kendrick Lamar.
10. The crowd that gathered to witness Carly Rae Jepson visibly thinned out after she performed “Call Me Maybe” midway through her set – however those who left early missed “I Really Like You” and “Cut to the Feeling.” Heathens.