Coachella has been in search of a replacement headliner for the Sunday spot at the California Festival after Kanye West decided to drop out. Some of the top contenders for that spot included the Red Hot Chili Peppers and recent Grammy winners Silk Sonic. But, Bruno Mars determined there was not enough time to prepare for the show, according to TMZ.
But in a quick turn of events, The Weekend has agreed to that Sunday spot along with house music supergroup Swedish House Mafia, who was supposed to headline on Friday night. The pairing released the song “Moth To A Flame” earlier this year. The Weeknd, along with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Silk Sonic were among the Coachella organizer’s list of acts to replace West.
The Weeknd has been busy this year releasing his new album Dawn FM in January and a TV special on Amazon.
West has been under fire for the last couple of months for what many in the public saw as harassing and stalking his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, and her boyfriend SNL cast member Pete Davidson on social media, including a music video where it appears that West acts out killing Davidson and burying him.
Other names that were considered were Travis Scott, who was originally going to join West on stage but could not because of time restraints, according to TMZ
Scott was originally going to headline in 2020, but the annual festival was canceled because of COVID-19. He again was set to headline this year, but the backlash from the Astroworld tragedy led to Scott being removed from the lineup.
Other names that are set to perform at Coachella 2022 include Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Lil Baby, Daniel Ceasar, Big Sean, Baby Keem, City Girls, Pink Sweat$, 21 Savage, Giveon, Ari Lennox, Isaiah Rashad, Koffee, Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, Arlo Parks, J.I.D., Masego, Vince Staples and many more.
Many of the artists were nominated and big winners at the 2022 Grammys.