Can you feeling it coming? Yes, it is really almost time for the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
The highly anticipated music festival begins its twin weekends at the Empire Polo Club on Friday, April 13, and it boasts some pretty high profile artists, including headliners Beyoncé, The Weeknd and Eminem. And with so many big-name acts comes the possibility of some big-name surprise guests.
Coachella sets usually involve some surprises, whether they are guests, new songs, etc. — hopefully this year will be no different. Since all of the headliners have had high profile collaborations throughout the years, they each have a long list of guests that could make for Coachella moments.
And while we’d love to see Lana Del Rey, a regular collaborator with The Weeknd, show up, she’s in Europe right now. And Pink would be a natural with Eminem, but she’s on the East Coast during Coachella.
So here are some suggestions of guests we might see that have a better chance of appearing than a thunderstorm at Coachella:
1. Jay Z
Honestly, it would be shocking if Jay Z, Beyoncé’s husband and frequent collaborator (“Crazy in Love,” “Déjà Vu,” “Upgrade U,” “Drunk in Love,” etc.), didn’t make an appearance during at least one of her two sets. We are hoping for a Blue Ivy appearance as well.
And since Bey showed up and did “Young Forever” during Jay Z’s headlining set back in 2010, he owes her one. Plus, it’s great promotion for the pair’s upcoming “On the Run II” trek.
2. Kendrick Lamar
After being a surprise guest for a few years, Lamar got his own headlining act at Coachella last year. However, we could see him return to his surprise guest role this year. He collaborated with Beyoncé on “Freedom” on her album “Lemonade” and with The Weeknd on “Sidewalks” from his album “Starboy.” Get ready Coachella, Kung Fu Kenny may be headed back to the desert.
3. Daft Punk
The electronic music duo collaborated with The Weeknd on not one, but two songs (“Starboy and “I Feel It Coming”) on his album “Starboy” — so we’re still holding out hope that the French robots will be on stage during at least one of the singer’s sets. But let’s be honest, this one is less likely than a snowstorm in Indio in April.
4. Rihanna
If this happened, it would be huge. Rihanna had quite a few hit songs with Eminem (remember “Love the Way You Lie” and “The Monster”?), so it would be completely plausible for the superstar to join Eminem during his Sunday night headlining performance. Bad Girl Riri also is no stranger to the festival–she showed up for Calvin Harris’ headlining set in 2016 for “We Found Love.” We are keeping our fingers crossed and suggest you do the same.
5. Ed Sheeran
Yes, Ed Sheeran. He has collaborated with both The Weeknd (“Dark Times” on “Beauty Behind the Madness”) and Eminem (“River” on “Revival”) recently, so he could possibly show up during both of the sets, one of them or neither. Sheeran is on tour in Asia, but wraps up on April 14, so there is a chance he could show up with Eminem, but it would likely be for weekend 2.
6. Drake
Drake has been a frequent surprise guest at Coachella, so it would not be a shock to see him this year (though, always welcome). Drake has collaborated with The Weeknd on “Live For” on his album “Kiss Land” and with Beyoncé on “Mine” from her self-titled album. Will he collaborate with both of them at Coachella this year? We will know soon.
7. The headliners collaborate with each other
Beyoncé has worked with both of the other headliners throughout her career so don’t be too shocked if she crashes another headliner’s set or they crash hers — in fact, we want it to happen. Beyoncé and Eminem collaborated on the song “Walk on Water” from Eminem’s latest album “Revival.” The Weeknd and Beyoncé collaborated on “6 Inch” from Beyoncé’s “Lemonade.” Forget “Avengers: Infinity War” being the most ambitious crossover event in history–Coachella might be.
