Ariana Grande took to the mainstage at Coachella 2019 Sunday, kicking off one of the most anticipated festival performances of the year.
The “thank u, next,” singer performed a whopping 26 of her biggest songs and brought out some of music’s biggest names like Nicki Minaj, members of NSYNC, Diddy and Mase. She also managed to include what’s becoming something of a tradition for the singer, a tribute to her late ex-boyfriend, Mac Miller, who died last fall of a drug overdose.
Grande is the youngest performer to headline at the festival, making history for the star. Both #AriChella and #Ariana were trending Monday morning as it seemed everyone was talking about the show on social media.
While there had been days of speculation as to who would join her, the highlight of the performance was certainly Grande being joined onstage by her very famous friends, like NSYNC, giving us all the late 90s nostalgia our hearts could possibly desire. Both Grande and the members of NSYNC had been dropping hints for days that the collaboration was set to go down.
With the exception of Justin Timberlake, who was wrapping up his own tour, all the members of the group joined Grande, who recently sampled their song “It Makes Me Ill” for her single “break up with ur girlfriend, i’m bored.”
“I’ve been rehearsing my whole m—–f—ing life for this moment,” she said before they performed “It’s Tearing Up My Heart,” with Grande filling in at Timberlake’s parts of the song.
Another high came from the moment Nicki Minaj joined her on stage during their songs “Side 2 Side” and “Bang Bang,” although there were some sound issues that threatened to sour the moment just a bit.
At one point, Grande even said “we can’t hear anything,” as the two reportedly could no longer hear the music to know where their place in the song was.
Finally, Mase and Diddy joined her onstage, where Diddy tributed the late Notorious B.I.G. by performing “Mo Money, Mo Problems.” It was, once again, a nod to the 90s and full of nostalgic vibes.
“My sister here been through a whole lot and she’s still standing and she’s with you,” Diddy said to the crowd of Grande. “Give it up for the number one artist!”
Check out the top fan reactions and highlights from Grande’s performance below:
Check out the full #AriChella setlist below, via Just Jared:
1. Raindrops (An Angel Cried)
2. God Is a Woman
3. Bad Idea
4. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored – with NSYNC
5. Tearin’ Up My Heart – with NSYNC
6. R.E.M. (Wake Up)
7. Be Alright
8. Sweetener
9. Side to Side – with Nicki Minaj
10. Bang Bang – with Nicki Minaj
11. 7 Rings
12. Love Me Harder
13. Breathin’
14. Needy
15. Right There
16. Break Your Heart Right Back
17. Mo Money Mo Problems – with Diddy and Mase
18. NASA
19. Everytime
20. Goodnight n Go
21. The Light is Coming
22. Into You
23. Dangerous Woman
24. Break Free
25. No Tears Left to Cry
26. Thank U, Next
