One Year After Beychella, a New Era of Female Domination in the Desert
It is a matter of universally agreed-upon fact that Beyoncé’s 2018 Coachella performance—commonly known as Beychella—was one of the most instantly iconic live performances in musical history. And now it seems that Beyoncé has set the stage for a new era of female domination at the desert music festival that has overwhelmingly been ruled by male acts: The buzz from the first weekend of Coachella is focused squarely on co-headliner Ariana Grande’s highly ambitious, star-studded Sunday-night performance and the surprise festival debut of Selena Gomez with Cardi B.
Like one of her highly entertaining Instagram videos come to life, Grande brought her special glittery brand of 2000s pop nostalgia to Coachella in a 26-song extravaganza, which featured ’NSync (minus Justin Timberlake) on a mash-up of her track “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored” and their “It Makes Me Ill” before segueing—naturally—into “Tearin’ Up My Heart.” (“I’ve been rehearsing my whole motherfucking life for this moment,” Grande said, tearing up the heart of every ’90s-boy-band fan on Earth.)
Then Nicki Minaj joined her on “Bang Bang,” and Grande created another zeitgeist-y moment when Diddy and Mase did a rendition of “Mo Money, Mo Problems,” in tribute to her late boyfriend Mac Miller, the Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, and Nipsey Hussle.
Gomez also reminded the world of her pop prowess with a surprise performance of “Taki Taki” with Cardi B, DJ Snake, and Ozuna, on a stage that appeared to be bursting (in a good way) into flames, while wearing an all-white Versace and Ralph Lauren ensemble. The verdict from the crowd was unanimous: slayage.
There’s a definite impulse to call this strong showing by female acts the Beyoncé Effect, as Coachella has historically not been a festival known for women running the show—not in the least. Grande became only the fourth woman to headline in the 20 years since Coachella’s 1999 inception, after Bey, Lady Gaga (2017), and Bjork, a headliner in 2002 and 2007. Coachella’s top billing has overwhelmingly gone to rock and indie cool guys like Radiohead, the Cure, Tool, Rage Against the Machine, Kings of Leon, and Arcade Fire. It doesn’t feel coincidental that just a year after the power and pop-cultural magnitude of Beychella, Coachella passed the proverbial flower crown to another mainstream female star, or two, in Grande and Gomez. Here’s hoping it becomes a tradition: Minaj/Cardi 2020?
