5 Artists Who Can Substitute Kanye West As Coachella Headliner

It’s official; Kanye West is now not headlining Coachella in two weeks. We don’t know why he pulled out so all of the sudden. It may very well be that he actually is fulfilling his vow to cancel until Billie Eilish apologized to Travis Scott for apparently shading him whereas serving to a distressed fan at her present. Or, perhaps he’s actually going to get assist after spending a lot of the primary quarter berating his ex-wife, her new beau, and Trevor Noah. Whereas he’s pulled out of headlining earlier than, the final time was months upfront, leaving the competition organizers loads of time to prepare a alternative. This time, with simply two weeks till the large occasion, bookers might need to scramble to fill within the empty slot.

Luckily, there are a couple of candidates greater than able to filling in for Kanye, with some sources suggesting Swedish Home Mafia, The Weeknd, and Justin Bieber. As luck would have it, a lot of them are both simply coming off headlining excursions or festivals of their very own, which might assist alleviate among the potential logistical struggles of placing collectively a 90-minute set on the final second. Whereas this doesn’t imply they’d have the curiosity or availability to move to the California desert, the 5 artists beneath would all make nice headliners.

Doja Cat

Doja Cat, who’s already booked to carry out slightly below the headliners, has risen in prominence rapidly over the previous two years. After her TikTok-favorite hit “Say So” reached No. 1 on the Sizzling 100, her third studio album Planet Her launched 4 songs within the high 15, together with “Kiss Me Extra” that includes SZA. “Kiss Me Extra” simply gained Doja Cat her first Grammy Award for Greatest Pop Duo/Group Efficiency, placing Doja in uncommon air as precisely the form of artist that belongs within the high line of any competition lineup. She says she needs to give up, so she might at the very least exit with a bang.

Since she’ll already be at Coachella, it’d be a comparatively easy matter to bump her up and provides her extra time. Two weeks is probably not sufficient time so as to add a full thirty additional minutes to her hour-long set, however contemplating how adaptable Doja has confirmed to be previously, if anybody is as much as the duty, it’s her. Having Megan Thee Stallion’s set lead instantly into Doja’s would additionally provide a lift to the motion to focus on extra girls at main festivals.

Megan Thee Stallion

Alternatively, that dynamic may very well be flipped to supply Megan — undoubtedly one of many largest stars of the previous three years — the headlining slot. Megan, who dominated 2020 alongside Cardi B with “WAP,” can also be booked to carry out at Coachella. Talking of Grammy Awards, eventually yr’s ceremony, she turned simply the second feminine rapper (after Lauryn Hill) to win the Greatest New Artist award. On the 2021 AMAs, she tied with Doja Cat (and BTS) for many awards with three wins. And she or he’s simply coming off of a efficiency at the Oscars, maybe signaling her readiness to return to the highlight after taking a little bit of a break final yr. What higher strategy to kick off a brand new period than with a headlining set at Coachella?

After all, she’ll face the identical logistical points as Doja. As has been identified repeatedly previously, feminine rappers’ exhibits require much more planning and preparation than males’s exhibits — particularly concerning choreography. Nonetheless, Meg’s additionally flying excessive within the wake of her new collaboration with Dua Lipa, “Sweetest Pie,” so if ever there was a time to bump her as much as the highest spot, it’s now.

J. Cole

J. Cole has by no means headlined Coachella. Actually, he’s by no means even been on the poster. Contemplating he’s usually been referred to as certainly one of hip-hop’s Large Three alongside Drake, who headlined in 2015, and Kendrick Lamar, who did so in 2017, that’s a evident gap in his resume. 2022 could be a good time to resolve that discrepancy. The North Carolina MC simply headlined his personal Dreamville Competition, which implies he’s bought the set, the chops, and the expertise to fill in for Kanye West. He’s had a yr of apply too, due to his Off-Season area tour in 2021. There’s lots of overlap in his and West’s goal audiences as effectively; Cole is as a lot a pupil of Kanye as Drake or Kendrick, and an viewers already attuned to Kanye’s glitzy backpacker strategy would possible take to Cole simply as readily.

The one potential disadvantage could be that Cole’s already been performing this set everywhere in the nation. Positive, he might fluctuate issues up, however there’d be few surprises after he headlined Rolling Loud just a few months in the past. That mentioned, his final run lastly laid these “J. Cole is boring” jokes to relaxation. He’s an exciting stay performer with the business accolades to help placing him in as a pinch hitter assured to hit a house run.

Tyler The Creator

Tyler The Creator is one other performer simply coming off a headlining area tour, which concludes this week in Seattle. If something, he’d most likely have the best time bringing his elaborate staging to Indio. Simply route the touring to the desert when the tour wraps up and reproduce the outrageously stellar work he’s been doing on the street at Coachella. And simply in case you completely want his bona fides… He’s a two-time Greatest Rap Album Grammy winner, each of these albums went No. 1 back-to-back, and the person places on one hell of a present.

Sure, he did already carry out at Coachella very not too long ago. Actually, he was the sub-headliner of the second-to-last Coachella competition that didn’t get canceled resulting from COVID. However the folks really do should see this present, particularly if he can nonetheless handle to cram within the boat, the Rolls-Royce, the grass discipline, and all the opposite unimaginable components that made his newest tour a must-see occasion.

Silk Sonic

After sweeping the Grammys this previous weekend, it’s protected to say that Silk Sonic is mainly a bulletproof choose positive to please even the pickiest hipster (who most likely wouldn’t be at Coachella anyway, let’s face it). Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars are a stunning duo who deliver a way of old-school showmanship to their stay productions whereas nonetheless sustaining an aura of freshness and relatability for the youngsters — simply try the recognition of their track “Smokin’ Out The Window” on TikTok.

In the meantime, they’ve been having fun with a Las Vegas residency, which means they’ve already bought a large set that might work for the Coachella stage, particularly if their respective solo materials is added in as effectively. Heck, Bruno’s performed the Tremendous Bowl, he might most likely deal with Coachella by himself. Luckily, the 2 artists are presently clicking as a slick tandem. Coachella could be good to at the very least attain out.

Some artists lined listed here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an unbiased subsidiary of Warner Music Group.