Watch Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj Ride Out Sound Problems at Coachella 2019

Jazz Monroe
The duo navigated monitor issues, stumbling over each other’s lines and calling for help

On the final night of Coachella’s first weekend, Ariana Grande’s headline set ran into trouble: After she introduced Nicki Minaj for “Side to Side,” they pivoted into “Bang Bang” while occasionally gesturing at their earpieces, indicating technical issues. For Minaj’s verse, both fell out of sync with the beat, apparently having lost sound in their monitors. Riding out the malfunction, the duo shared expressions of amusement and horror as they stumbled into each other’s lines. At two points, Grande yelled, “We can’t hear anything!” Watch it all happen below.

Pitchfork has emailed the artists’ and festival’s representatives for comment. It wasn’t the weekend’s first high-profile hiccup: During Billie Eilish’s set, surprise guest Vince Staples hit the stage rapping but didn’t make a sound. He later tweeted, “Im actually mute so there’s that. Cillie Eilish Coachella !!!”

Watch the full “Bang Bang” performance below:

Watch footage of “Side to Side”:

Head here to see more from Grande’s set—including *NSYNC, Diddy, and a Frank Ocean cover—and follow along with our full coverage of Coachella 2019.

See the video.