Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival is one of the biggest music festivals in the world that brings music enthusiasts from all over the globe to enjoy one weekend of performances by the hottest talent on the scene today.
On Saturday, Canadian R&B artist The Weeknd took the main stage to perform for swarms of his die-hard fans. The 25-year-old, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, first made waves in the industry while touring with rap superstar Drake. The two, both Toronto natives, collaborated on a number of tracks that became massive hits. Singles like “Crew Love” were chart toppers and gained The Weeknd global recognition after finding a massive following in Canada.
Since his following has grown immensely and allowed him the opportunity to team up with a slew of artists, including Ariana Grande and Ty Dolla Sign. However, during his set at Coachella, The Weeknd went it alone and even when performing “Crew Love” and “Love Me Harder” the singer remained solo on stage. It was a “guest-less” set as Los Angeles Daily News recalls that “[d]espite the connection to the superstar hip-hop artist [Drake] who headlines on Sunday, there was no sign of [him] or any other guests on Saturday night.”
The Weeknd drew huge accolades for his cover of Beyonce’s “Drunk in Love” and although Bey was reportedly at Coachella Saturday, even she did not join the R&B star on stage to perform the hit together.
It’s not that The Weeknd is incapable of holding the attention of his fans when he goes it alone, it just seems that had his big-name guests joined him on stage for songs on which they collaborated with the artist, it would have allowed for “a jolt of much-needed energy.” The Weekend’s tracks, though appealing and unique, are generally more mellow. Amped up events like Coachella beckon high energy and promise ultimate entertainment.
Reviews of the set were still mostly favorable. Billboard was all for the solo performance .
“Instead, there was The Weeknd standing alone, much like his massive, God-like billboard that sprouted up over one of the highways between Los Angeles and Coachella earlier this week. There weren’t A-list guests or fireworks — just a masterful performance of The Weeknd’s best songs in front of a huge crowd.”
Drake is to take the stage Sunday and this begs the question as to whether the reason he refrained from joining The Weeknd on stage Saturday is due to a possible team up on stage tonight.
[Feature image via thissongissick.com ]
