Coachella 2023

Filmmaker Hit With A Cease-And-Desist By AEG Over Unauthorized Frank Ocean’s Coachella Performance Footage

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Frank Ocean On The Streets Of Los Angeles 2019
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Coachella 2023 was one for the history books. The beloved music festival in the desert had several high points, including Blackpink and Bad Bunny’s record-setting performances. However, the fallout from Frank Ocean’s seemingly disappointing return to the event is far from over.

Although the “Novacane” singer took the stage for the first weekend, he dropped out of his headlining performance set for the second weekend, which reportedly cost the organizers millions in profits. While Ocean admitted that his solo set was “chaotic” because it had been years since he graced the stage and the live stream was pulled at the last minute, those attending the festival took out their phones to record the performance on social media.

Despite not attending Coachella, according to Variety, Los Angeles-based filmmaker Brian Kinnes was hit with a cease-and-desist by AEG, a festival partner, over unauthorized footage from Ocean’s set. “I’m just combining what’s already publicly available,” Kinnes told the outlet.

Supposedly, Kinnes sourced around 450 Ocean videos posted online over 80 hours. Then Kinnes allegedly sent the best audio clips to a sound engineer to create the final audio file.

“Essentially, [AEG’s] claims are pretty frivolous and almost completely baseless,” said Kinnes as he states, “[I] did not plan on making a single penny” from the video.

AEG disagrees. Although the performance was supposed to be streamed live on YouTube for free, it was not. If it was, the exclusive rights to the footage from Coachella belong to AEG. AEG’s notice demanded that Kinnes “remove and destroy all audio and video content of musical performances from the Festival…failure to do would lead to further legal action.” Kinnes’ footage has since been removed.

However, this isn’t the first time Kinnes has pulled videos across social media of festival footage. In 2017, he created a video of Ocean’s 2014 FYF Fest performance, which was also removed from the internet. Kinnes defends his creations, citing legendary hip-hop group Beastie Boys’ fan-shot 2006 concert film Awesome; I F*ckin’ Shot That!

Diplo Is ‘Not A Huge Fan’ Of Frank Ocean And Thinks Coachella ‘Might Be Having A Hard Time Booking Headliners’

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Diplo 2023
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Coachella continues to be the defining music festival of the year, but if you ask Diplo, when it comes to headliners, there’s something to be desired.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he said:

“I think they honestly might be having a hard time booking headliners. There’s not much left. We kind of left the era of great superhero acts, like the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Daft Punk. Their [2006 Coachella set] was the most epic show. Now they book acts like Bad Bunny and Blackpink, who are cool, but they’re just the most Top 40 there is. It’s almost like they’re stadium acts.

[Coachella producers Goldenvoice] have a hard time, because I think there’s not a lot of really culturally relevant new acts. I saw Labrinth. That was amazing. I think that represents real Coachella. He’s part of the zeitgeist. But the rest of it just felt like they had to scramble to find things that were cultural touchstones, but also could bring a big crowd in.”

He then noted that he’s not big on Frank Ocean (but did say he “has one of the best voices I’ve ever heard”) and speculated that “he just doesn’t really care about shows”:

“I don’t think Frank Ocean’s concert needs to be the best or worst anything. It was a show where the ice rink didn’t work and that’s all it needs to be. I didn’t see his show, because I’m not a huge fan. It’s probably a generational thing. I think I was a little older when Frank Ocean came out. I was in my 30s. He has one of the best voices I’ve ever heard. I really think he just doesn’t really care about shows. I think that’s Coachella’s fault. He doesn’t really care about his fans, to give them a concert. I don’t think it matters. He’s just a musician. Some people just don’t care.”

Diplo, meanwhile, is heading into a weekend at Stagecoach, another Goldenvoice festival.

Read the interview here.

Jeff Bezos Rolled Up To Coachella In A Butterfly Shirt To Watch Bad Bunny’s Headlining Set Alongside Kris Jenner

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Jeff Bezos 2021 People's Choice Awards
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It goes without saying, but Bad Bunny has a ton of fans: In 2022, he was Spotify’s most-streamed artist in the world for the third year in a row. Among those admirers, it would seem, is another hyper-successful figure: Jeff Bezos.

This past Friday (April 21), Bad Bunny headlined the first night of Coachella’s second weekend for 2023. As People reports, the billionaire Amazon founder, who was once the wealthiest person in the world (he’s currently third), was seen attending Bad Bunny’s performance alongside partner and reporter Lauren Sánchez, Kris Jenner, and Corey Gamble. Fan-shot videos also show Bezos and Sánchez enjoying the show.

Bezos’ look drew some attention. As People notes, “Bezos, 59, also kept it casual in a long-sleeve light blue button-up shirt with butterflies on the front, a pair of jeans, and white sneakers with dark trim around the ankle.” Some onlookers took notice of the shirt, which can apparently be bought on Amazon for about $12 (or at least one that looks just like it can). One Reddit user summarized the ensemble, “Jeff looking like the dude that comes into a store and asks to buy the outfit off the mannequin.”

This comes months after Bezos gave Dolly Parton $100 million to use for philanthropic purposes.

Latto’s Coachella Set Was Directed By Teyana Taylor, Who Is Now The Rapper’s New Creative Director

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Latto “brought all the energy” for her first-weekend Coachella set at the Sahara tent, as observed by Uproxx, bringing out Lola Brooke and Saweetie. She didn’t disappoint for Weekend 2, either — squashing beef (or just a misunderstanding?) with Coi Leray while performing her new single, “Put It On Da Floor.”

“More special guests, choreo, stamina, ass & abs today at Coachella on the Sahara Stage at 5:05pm,” Latto tweeted on Sunday, April 23.

Yung Miami wasn’t able to join as planned due to traffic:

But Latto still had a special guest behind the scenes. Teyana Taylor and her The Aunties Productions handled the creative direction of Latto’s set.

“The Aunties are not just regular creative directors, we’re cool creative directors @theauntiesinc,” Taylor captioned an Instagram compilation video of how Latto’s Coachella set came together, beginning the morning of April 16.

“I am truly a proud AUNTEYYYYYYYYYYYYY @latto777 you did ya big one both weekends,” Taylor continued. “I’m so proud of your growth, willingness to be a student to better your craft and your dedication! I’m so excited for the journey ahead with you as your CD. 4 shows down together and a lot more to goooooooo! Let’s goooooo!”

Latto posted from the Special 2our, kicking off on Friday, April 21 — Lizzo’s second North American leg of her 2022 Special Tour, which Latto has opened for in its entirety. The second photo in the Instagram carousel is of Latto backstage with Taylor.

Latto and Taylor have been developing their creative rapport for a while, as Vibe pointed out in June 2021 that Taylor served as the creative director for Latto’s debut PrettyLittleThing campaign.

Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group

Frank Ocean’s Expensive Coachella Ice Skating Rink Was Used After All During Skrillex, Fred Again.., And Four Tet’s Set

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Skrillex Fred Again Four Tet Coachella 2023
Skrillex

The end of Coachella’s second weekend didn’t look how organizers originally planned. After Frank Ocean pulled out of his second performance after an ill-fated first weekend, Blink-182’s set was moved to Sunday (April 23) and Skrillex, Fred Again.., and Four Tet were brought in to follow them and close out the festival.

Ocean scrapping his second performance reportedly cost the festival millions of dollars, but Goldenvoice and the electronic trio made use of one particularly expensive asset.

Last week, Billboard reported the festival was “trying to make the best out of the millions of dollars spent on building a giant ice pad that was supposed to accommodate over 100 skaters during Ocean’s set last Sunday,” and that “the Goldenvoice team is working out how to incorporate it into another yet-to-be determined performance.” Another report from the publication indicated the trio would use the ice skating rink as a satellite stage of the main stage and perform in it.

Indeed, that is what happened: Skrillex, Fred Again.., and Four Tet made a stage (ice-free) out of the ice skating rink and people loved it.

This stage setup allowed fans to surround the performance area, which drew some SpongeBob Squarepants comparisons:

Check out some clips from the performance below.

Burna Boy’s Coachella Performance Was Superb, But Fans Can’t Get Over His ASL Interpreter’s Rendition Of His Songs

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Burna Boy Coachella 2023 Weekend Two
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Burna Boy is a masterful live performer. The “Rollercoaster” musician has had a ton of experience molding his skills, including the NBA All-Star Game Halftime show, Dreamville Fest, Afro Nation, and Coachella. Across the international music star’s discography, he displays the infectious nature of Afrofusion music, pulling inspiration from across the diaspora.

Weaving together his native languages, Yoruba (primarily spoken across West Africa) and English, Burna Boy has amassed a cult-like following. Unfortunately, it seems like his multi-language smash songs aren’t as easily translated when it comes to American Sign Language. But, just as Coachella prides itself on having a lineup of diverse musical acts, the event has also worked to ensure it is just as inclusive for the hard-of-hearing communities.

Festivalgoers felt that the interpreter for Burna Boy’s performance delivered the vibe of his music but not the lyrics. In a video uploaded to social media of the interpreter, fans commended the interpreter on his impeccable dance moves but laughed about him not quite getting the words correctly.

Burna Boy’s interpreter wasn’t the only professional working at Coachella that fans felt nailed the featured entertainer’s vibe. Blackpink, Doechii, Kali Uchis, GloRilla, and Bakar’s interpreters all received love on social media.

@kattinsley_

#blackpink #interpreter was A WHOLE VIBE #coachella

♬ MISS JENNIE SLAY – Paulo Emeterio

@kaliuchisgirls

things she ate and survived…THIS #kaliuchis #moonlight #coachella #asl #signlanguageinterpreter #aslinterpreter

♬ original sound – kuchi kingdom

@kat7_ne

Bro I swear I don’t think she was a sign language interpreter she had no badge on😭 the things you see this was so funny😂 #Coachella2023 #CoachellaASL #coachella #fyp #fypシ #viral #Doechii #firstlineup #musicfestival #sephoraliplooks #mydolcemoment

♬ original sound – Kat✨

@rnbgirlies

Need her at every show now 🔥 #glorilla #signlanguage #asl #aslinterpreter #coachella

♬ original sound – RnB Girlies

@anaesparzac_

Bakar’s sign language interpreter popped off!!!!!! #coachella2023 #bakar

♬ original sound – Ana Esparza

In February, Rihanna’s Superbowl ASL performer Justina Miles went viral for her epic signing of the pop star’s songs.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Zendaya Makes Surprise Coachella Appearance

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Coachella 2023 has been incredibly talked about. Some of the topics under discussion have been less than positive. These include the drama surrounding Frank Ocean, be it the money he’s costing the festival, the ice rink he had built, or his sudden departure from the festival. While Ocean has been the primary negative topic about Coachella, it’s been a sizable negative on its own.

However, there have been some good things about the festival. Bad Bunny’s Weekend 2 set has been hailed as a highlight. Furthermore, k-pop fans were going wild for BLACKPINK’s Saturday night closer. There have also been plenty of surprise guests, such as The Weeknd joining Metro Boomin in Weekend 1. And one Weekend 2 guest has fans going crazy.

Zendaya Joins Labrinth To Perform “Euphoria” Theme Song

Zendaya got her start as a Disney Channel star and released an album, Zendaya, in 2013. However, she is now better known for her non-Disney Channel acting. From MJ in the MCU to Lola Bunny to Euphoria, Zendaya’s got range. But she returned to her musical roots as she surprised fans by appearing on stage at Coachella. While she had released “I’m Tired” with Labrinth and “Elliot’s Song” with Dominic Fike in 2022, it was Zendaya’s first live performance in years. Safe to say that the Mojave stage was closed out in style on Saturday night.

Labrinth has a wealth of bangers, but his link to Zendaya includes the 2022 collab and providing the theme song for Euphoria. Labrinth even won an Emmy for his Euphoria work. As Labrinth started up “All Of Us”, Zendaya appeared on stage to screams of surprise and delight. Zendaya then proceed to perform the song alongside Labrinth as the crowd went wild. It’s the second guest Labrinth has had at Coachella, with Billie Eilish joining him during Weekend 1. While Euphoria isn’t set to return until 2024, Zendaya has a handful of projects in the works. She will appear in the sports rom-com Challengers in September and the sci-fi sequel Dune: Part Two in November. What did you think of Zendaya’s performance? Be sure to check out all of the best from Coachella 2023 on HotNewHipHop.

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Zendaya Joined Labrinth On Stage At Coachella For A Surprise Euphoric Performance

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Zendaya Labrinth Coachella 2023 Weekend Two
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The bar was set high for Coachella’s second weekend, even though Frank Ocean announced he would be dropping out. Weekend one was filled with notable guest appearances, song debuts, and more. In his closing set, singer and songwriter Labrinth was sure to fire off on all cylinders. After bringing out Billie Eilish for an exceptional performance of their song, “Never Felt So Alone,” last Saturday, April 15, fans were curious how he would one-up himself.

On Saturday, April 22, Labrinth was joined onstage by Zendaya for a surprise Euphoria-centered musical performance. After singing songs “I’m Tired” and “All for Us,” fans of the show were giddy to see the two coming together for this monumental moment to close out his Coachella 2023 appearance.

While Zendaya has become one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood, at one point in her career she was avidly pursuing music, leading to the actress and Labrinth’s initial pairing. Labrinth composed the series’ score and, along with the series creator Sam Levinson, co-wrote both “I’m Tired” and “Elliott’s Song.” Eventually, Zendaya walked away from music due to the “difficulties” she faced behind the scenes.

Zendaya took a moment during her set to thank Labrinth for providing her with the opportunity to perform at the festival, saying, “I cannot express my gratitude enough for this magical night. Thank you to my brother [Labrinth] for inviting me and giving me the most beautiful safe space to be on a stage again…wow…my heart is so full; I can’t thank you enough for the love I received tonight, made all my nerves melt away.”

Coachella Reportedly Scrap Frank Ocean Ice Rink

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Frank Ocean has loomed large over Coachella 2023, despite only spending about an hour playing at it. After injuring his leg in the week leading up to Weekend 1, Ocean’s bizarre behavior overshadowed the festival’s first weekend. He was late to his own set, only performed for an hour, and didn’t even livestream what little he did perform.

Then came the shocking announcement that just days before the second weekend was due to kick off, Ocean had pulled out. In response, Coachella has been forced to shell out millions to replace his Sunday night performance. Furthermore, they have been left with the dilemma of what to do with the giant ice rink they had built for his set. Due to liability issues, they were unable to open it as a public rink. Instead, Coachella’s organizers hoped that they would be able to incorporate it into another performer’s set. However, as Coachella 2023 reaches its final day, this doesn’t appear to be the case.

Leaked Photos Show Scrapped Rink

According to TMZ, Coachella has chosen to scrap the rink rather than repurpose it. Sources informed the outlet that the 100 skaters hired for the set had been informed Thursday that they would not be performing during Weekend 2. Instead, they would receive payment for rehearsals and their Weekend 1 performance. There is no word of where the ice rink is currently. However, it has likely been moved off-site for a more private dismantling. Coachella has not officially commented on the rink.

TMZ also obtained footage of the ice rink during rehearsals. According to sources, security was incredibly tight as Ocean wanted the ice as pristine as possible for his performance. This may be due to the unverified rumor that the ice would reveal an image of Ocean hidden beneath the surface. This may also explain why Coachella ultimately chose to scrap the prop entirely. It wouldn’t make sense for, say, GloRilla to showcase Ocean’s face. Ocean was replaced by blink-182 as well as a new closing act from Skrillex, Four Tet, and Fred again… Coachella’s final day begins at 12pm PDT, with sets from Eric Sanchez and Minus the Light. Other major performers on the final day include GloRilla, WILLOW, Latto, and Noname.

[via]

Bad Bunny Apologized To Harry Styles For Displaying A Shady Tweet During His Coachella Performance

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bad bunny coachella 2023
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Bad Bunny‘s performance at weekend two of Coachella was even more electrifying than that of the first weekend. During his set last night (April 21), he brought out Latin music legends Grupo Frontero, and Jose Feliciano. He also addressed a controversial tweet that displayed on the screen during his set last week.

During Bad Bunny’s performance at weekend one, a tweet directed at Harry Styles suggested that Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, could perform one of Styles’ hits better than he could, and Styles couldn’t ever perform one of Bad Bunny’s hits.

“goodnight benito could do as it was but harry could never do el apagon,” read the aforementioned tweet.

This was one of the most talked about moments of Coachella last week, as many thought Bad Bunny was purposely throwing shade at Styles.

Last night, Bad Bunny cleared the air by sharing a new message on-screen, apologizing for the mix-up.

“Sorry Harry. It was a mistake from my team. We love you. <3,” read the message.

Perhaps this means a collaboration is in order. After all, Bad Bunny did express that he is a fan of Styles during a special episode of Carpool Karaoke.

You can see images from the Coachella performance above.