After Beyonce dropped the surprise bomb that she was pregnant with twins, we were curious how she was going to show up and perform for those Coachella headlining slots?
Turns out, even if Bey herself wanted to, doctors forbid her from dancing and singing while pregnant with two babies. That’s probably the correct decision. But an even bigger question hung in the air: Who would replace her?
Today Billboard confirmed that it will be none other than Lady Gaga, who is just off the release of a big album of her own, Joanne. According to Billboard, the Coachella organizers felt it was important to replace Beyonce with another female performer, and with Gaga stepping in, she’ll be the first female headliner since Bjork… a decade ago. Wow.
Gaga just proved she can handle an enormous stage and spotlight by taking on the Super Bowl, and is set to headline both weekends of the festival with her own supernova production. After that fiery performance at the Grammys — with an unfortunate technical glitch for Metallica frontman James Hetfield’s mic — perhaps Gaga will bring the metal legends back out for the functional collaboration they deserve?
Or perhaps we’ll get even more gravity-defying stunts? Then again, one of the best parts of Joanne was the slower, acoustic-leaning songs on the record. Perhaps the best way to handle a stage this big is to scale things back a bit?
Meanwhile, Coachella has been facing other negative press due to owner Philip Anschutz’s ties with anti-LGBTQ and climate change denial groups, the kind of thing that’s been under far more intensive scrutiny since Trump was elected. Anschutz has denied the ties, but the paper trail remains.
