Following her stunning pregnancy announcement earlier this month, Beyoncé’s reveal that she is expecting twins was cause for celebration for members of the Beyhive. This exciting news was quickly met with one big question for many ticket holders—what would this pregnancy mean for Bey’s headlining Coachella set?
Beyoncé showed off her pregnancy in all its golden glory at the 2017 Grammy Awards in February, but with the Coachella Music Festival not taking place until April, only a few months before Bey is set to give birth, things weren’t looking good. Finally, Beyoncé’s camp confirmed today that the singer would understandably not be headlining the music festival alongside Kendrick Lamar and Radiohead, instead returning to headline Coachella in 2018.
Of course, the next question is, who will fill Beyoncé’s headline slot? While no artist can truly take the place of Queen Bey, there are many other incredible performers to choose from. We’ve checked their tour schedules and made our predictions.
Lorde
New Zealand singer Lorde took the music world and Coachella by storm, both literally and figuratively, with her brilliant debut album Pure Heroine. In 2014, the then teen singer pushed through a sandstorm that threatened to ruin her set, instead giving one of the best performances of the festival. Lorde was just announced as the musical guest on SNL on March 11, debuting her new single and possibly her highly anticipated second studio album the same month. She’s already scheduled to perform at Coachella, with Beyoncé’s absence possibly moving the young singer from featured artist to headliner?
Lady Gaga
Mother Monster has already crammed in two huge performances in 2017—and we’re only in February. She earned the highest ratings ever for her height-defying Super Bowl Halftime Show and later saved Metallica in their technical difficulty-riddled performance at the Grammy Awards. Gaga isn’t kicking off her Joanne World Tour until August 11 in Vancouver, which means she’s free to rock to Coachella.
The Weeknd and Daft Punk
The Weeknd had one of the biggest albums of 2016 with Starboy, thanks in large part to the title track, which was produced by Daft Punk. The Weeknd and the French electronic duo delivered a huge performance at this year’s Grammys, so why not go for a second round at Coachella?
Katy Perry
It’s been four years since Katy Perry’s last album Prism was released and while the singer isn’t in any hurry to drop her fifth studio album, she’s already topped the charts with singles “Rise” and “Chained To The Rhythm.” What better place to take her purposeful pop than the liberal-loving Coachella Music Festival?
Drake
Drake dominated the charts with 2016’s Views, taking home trophies at just about every awards show this year and teaming up with Rihanna for her massive single “Work.” Drizzy wraps his Boy Meets World Tour in Europe on March 16, giving him a few weeks to kick it in the 6ix before heading West to headline Coachella.
Frank Ocean
Following the release of his highly anticipated album Blonde in 2016, Frank Ocean announced four festival dates in 2017, including the Hangout Music Festival, Sasquatch! Music Festival, and NorthSide Festival in the U.S. as well as Lovebox Festival in England. Really, what’s one more festival?
Lana Del Rey
West Coast lover Lana Del Rey hasn’t played Coachella since 2014. Add in the fact that the dreamy singer dropped the lead single “Love” from her upcoming fifth studio album this week, and we think it’s time for Del Rey to head back to Cali.
Coldplay
British band Coldplay have headlined just about every music festival in their two-decade career, including Coachella in 2005. The group just dropped “Something Just Like That” with chart-toppers The Chainsmokers at yesterday’s Brit Awards (watch here) and their 2015 album A Head Full Of Dreams is still producing singles. Coldplay? Coachella? We could see it.
Who do you think is taking the coveted spot? Tell us in the comments.
