The first weekend of Coachella has concluded, with Bad Bunny, Blackpink and Frank Ocean headlining this year's festival, which features one of its most international line-ups ever.
The popular music festival returned to Indio, California, for three days, with the second weekend to take place from April 21 to 23.
Although the concert was live-streamed on YouTube, for those who missed it, here are five highlights from the first weekend of the event.
Elyanna performs her set in Arabic
Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna took to the stage on Saturday and became the first artist to perform a set entirely in Arabic.
“I’m so honoured to be on this stage,” she said. “This is a great moment for our culture.”
She sang her hit Ana Lahale as well as an Arabic cover of La Vie en Rose called Al Kawn Janni Mawk.
The singer also debuted a new single, Janene Orrr (Drive Me Crazy), and sang tracks from her two EPs Elyanna and Elyanna II, as she wore a flowy white dress and shin-high black boots.
Her brother, Feras, accompanied her on the keyboard throughout as they performed the Egyptian ballad Awhak, a song she said the two of them “used to sing growing up”.
As she finished her performance, she waved a Palestinian keffiyeh, a black and white scarf symbolic for Palestinian nationalism, to cheering fans.
Blackpink makes history as first K-Pop band to headline
Arguably the most famous K-Pop girl group in the world, Blackpink made history as the first Asian and all-female band to headline the popular music festival. They first performed at Coachella in 2019 at the smaller Sahara tent.
The group — made up of Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisa — performed a nearly 90-minute set filled with some of their biggest hits including Pink Venom, How You Like That and Pretty Savage from their two albums 2022’s Born Pink and 2020’s The Album as well as other tracks from their EPs.
They also performed solo numbers with Jennie’s You & Me, Jisoo’s new single Flowers, Rose’s Gone and On the Ground and Lisa’s Money.
“You made us remember the passion for performing for you guys,” said Rose. “It’s a dream come true to be a headliner.”
Frank Ocean's return
The last headliner for the first weekend hadn't performed live in six years. Frank Ocean's original 2020 Coachella spot was cancelled because of Covid-19.
Although the star returned to the stage on Sunday, his performance was not available for live-stream.
He opened with 2011's Novacane before playing songs Crack Rock and White Ferrari.
But he told the crowd: “I want to talk about why I’m here because it’s not because of a new album … Not that there’s not a new album.”
Throughout his set, he began opening up more, sharing an emotional memory about the festival in which he first performed before releasing Channel Orange in 2012. He talked about attending with his late brother Ryan Breaux, who died in a car accident in 2020.
“My brother and I came to this festival a lot. I feel like I was dragged by him sometimes because I didn’t want to get a respiratory infection,” he said.
“I would always come here, and one of my fondest memories is watching Rae Sremmurd with my brother.
“I know he would be so excited to be here with all of us. I want to say thank you for the support and the years and the love all this time. Now I'll get back to the songs.”
Bad Bunny makes history as first Latin American act to headline
Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny also made history by becoming the first Spanish-language and first Latin-American act to headline.
He was the most streamed artist of 2022, for the third year straight, and had the highest-grossing tour that year, too.
Bad Bunny took to the stage for a two-hour set, entering dancing on a suspended stage wearing a colourful puffy jacket, his hair in cornrows.
“What do you prefer: me talking in English or hablando espanol?” he asked the crowd as he played some of his biggest songs, such as Un Verano Sin Ti, YHLQMDLG and Te Bote.
He was joined by Post Malone for a surprise acoustic rendition of La Cancion and Yonaguni, although Post Malone’s microphone cut out — after which the crowd stepped up and sang a cappella.
Blink-182 reunites for first live performance
For the first time since 2014, Travis Barker, Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge reunited as a trio as they took to the Sahara Tent for an hour-long performance on Friday.
The show was announced in the days leading up to the festival.
The band played some of their biggest hits including The Rock Show, What’s My Age Again and I Miss You as well as their latest single Edging.
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
Red flags
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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
Specs
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Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
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Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More about Middle East geopolitics
AIR
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
