The Weeknd & Swedish House Mafia Are In At Coachella, And Kanye Is Out
The Dawn FM singer and the DJ group are performing together.
Coachella has officially replaced Kanye “Ye” West. The Weeknd and DJ group Swedish House Mafia will take over Ye’s April 17 and 24 headlining spots at the star-studded music festival in Indio, California.
On April 6, both The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia posted an updated Coachella lineup on their Instagrams, featuring their names in the Sunday headlining slot once held by Ye. Based on the name placement, it appears the singer and DJ group will perform together. This won’t be their first collaboration. Last year, they released the song, “Moth To A Flame.”
Swedish House Mafia was previously announced as a Coachella headliner this year with their name appearing prominently on the original 2022 lineup poster; however, at the time, a performance date was not assigned to the group.
While no reasoning for the lineup change was announced, it follows April 4 reports first by TMZ and confirmed by Variety that Ye pulled out of Coachella. This is the second time Ye has backtracked on his scheduled Coachella gig. Variety reports Ye previously pulled out of the 2020 lineup only for the festival to later be put on hold amid the lockdown.
While no reason was specified for Ye’s departure, Variety reports a source told them the rapper hadn’t “rehearsed or prepared” for his set. Prior to pulling out, Ye announced in February that Travis Scott would take the Coachella stage with him. This came a few months after 10 people were killed at Scott’s December Astroworld festival following a crowd surge during his set.
Prior to the Coachella replacement, Ye was also barred from performing at the 2022 Grammys. The Associated Press reported in March that the Recording Academy revoked his scheduled performance due to “concerning online behavior.”
In recent months, Ye has repeatedly called out Pete Davidson on Instagram for the Saturday Night Live star’s new relationship with his ex-wife Kim Kardashian. Ye’s posts have, at times, included screenshots of text messages with Kim and threatening messages to Davidson, such as his song “Eazy” and subsequent music video.
As of April 6, Ye has not publicly responded to the Coachella lineup change.
