Coachella 2023 has been a bit of a mess. This has primarily revolved around Frank Ocean’s sudden departure due to a leg injury. That has left Coachella scrabbling to replace him and find a use for the giant ice rink they had built for Ocean’s set. It’s a prominent blemish on the festival’s usually spotless resume.
The festival’s second weekend kicked off on Friday night, headlined by a hyped closing set from Bad Bunny. Weekend’s 2 Saturday lineup is anchored by the likes of BLACKPINK, Charli XCX, and Eric Prydz. However, people are once again talking about Weekend 1 thanks to new footage concerning The Weeknd. While not as dramatic as the Frank Ocean debacle, it does raise some questions about safety at Coachella.
The Weeknd Dodges Pyrotechnics
The Weeknd is not performing at Coachella 2023. However, the artist made a surprise during Friday’s Metro Boomin set. Boomin and The Weeknd linked up so that The Weeknd could drop his verse from Future’s 2016 hit “Low Life”. However, as The Weeknd encouraged the crowd to sing along, a large pyrotechnic display ignited near the performer. The Weeknd, surprised by the sudden burst of flame, took a visible step back and could be heard saying “whoooo”. However, the Canadian performer was unharmed and finished out the performance in style. Metro Boomin was closing out the Sahara stage at the time. He holds the same set in Weekend 2.
Overshadowed by the Ocean drama, the moment resurfaced April 21, when an account tweeted out the clip with the caption, “Be careful Abel”. The clip spread yet further when The Weeknd himself retweeted it, adding in a quote tweet “ALMOST COOKED ME.” The Weeknd’s tweet has received nearly 51,000 likes and nearly 800 comments. There is no word if The Weeknd will be returning to the festival for Weekend 2. However, if he does, he will be sure to keep a closer out for big columns of fire. But this does raise an important question – what’s going on at Coachella? This was the potential for a second major injury to a second major star in the same weekend. Regardless, Coachella runs until Sunday, April 23.
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