Beyoncé is the first black woman and Ariana is the youngest person to ever headline the festival.
“Because Beyoncé came in last year and did her thing and kind of set the bar, basically Coachella becomes a competition, which is ridiculous,” Ariana’s production designer LeRoy Bennett told The Hollywood Reporter. “And artists who are strong should just come in and do their own thing and just be who they are. And that’s pretty much what Ariana has done. There’s not like there’s a bunch of gags. She’s being Ariana and singing and doing her thing.”
Beyoncé’s fans have taken to social media to share their surprise—and displeasure—with the payout difference, especially with the news that there were hiccups during Ariana’s performance. “Y’all can’t compare #ARICHELLA with #Beychella. Pitting Beyoncé performing with a 20+ year catalogue with Ariana’s 5-ish years of mainstream relevance isn’t really fair to either party,” one person wrote. Another person said, “Ariana Grande is NOT a performer. She can sing; but she cannot entertain. Also, that entire set was a disaster. #BeyChella is the best thing to happen to Coachella & it will NEVER happen again, unless Beyoncé performs, again. Goodbye & goodnight.”
Even the L.A. Times wrote, “With routines from her current arena tour jammed together with special-for-Coachella numbers, this thing told no coherent story — a must for any pop extravaganza that plays in the wake of Beyoncé’s game-changing performance last year.”
https://twitter.com/b4bey/status/1117678768208797696
https://twitter.com/diomicordero/status/1117687951884836865
https://twitter.com/sunflowerssim/status/1118547161350852610
https://twitter.com/Chris_LDX/status/1117690862199279616
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