The Weeknd.Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty for ABA
The Weekndgave good reason for Coachella 2022 attendees to save their tears for another day.
On Sunday, the singer, 32, closed out the annual music and arts festival in Indio, California, with a high-energy set that followed co-headliners Swedish House Mafia. The two acts were onlyannounced as headlinerstwo weeks before the show, after original headlinerKanye Westpulled out of his performance.
Referencing the last-minute change during his 17-song set, The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) told the crowd, “Coachella, you know I always got your back when you need me.”
The Weeknd.Kevin Mazur/Getty
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He also debuted songs from his latest albumDawn FM, including “Out of Time.”
Prior to The Weeknd’s set, Swedish House Mafia did a full-length set of their own. The Weeknd also joined them for a performance of their collaboration “Moth to a Flame” from their new albumParadise Again.
The performance marked The Weeknd’s second time headlining the festival, as he also was on top of the bill in 2018. He will return for weekend two next Sunday.
The announcement that West, 44, had pulled out of Coachella came after a tumultuous few months that saw the rapper publicly air his grievances with ex-wifeKim Kardashian, 41, and her new boyfriendPete Davidson, including harassing messages on Instagram.
West had alsothreatened to pull his performancefrom the music festival in February, when he demanded that Saturday night headliner Billie Eilish apologize toTravis Scott.
West claimed Eilish shaded Scott whenshe stopped her showto help a fan who was having trouble breathing and said onstage: “I wait for people to be okay before I keep going,” only a few months after theAstroworld Festival tragedywhere 10 concertgoers died and hundreds were injured in a crowd surge.
In addition to Eilish, The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia, Harry Styles headlined on Friday night.
source: people.com
