Coachella

The Indio Desert is in full swing as the second day of the Coachella Music Festival heated up the festival goers and tons of Hollywood celebs in the process.

Olivia Culpo, Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner, Justine Skye, David Dobrik were just a few of the famous faces that could be spotted roaming the desert for while acts like Megan Thee Stallion, 21 Savage, Billie Eilish ... and even music composer Danny Elfman performed to the excited throngs of fans.

The day was not only filled with music and art ... there was a ton of VIP parties going down in the surrounding area. Anastasia Karanikolaou and Lena Waithe partied at the Spotify Party while Revolve continued their model day parties.

This year's fest has been getting referred to as the "Influencer Olympics" and you can see why ... people like YouTuber James Charles and Lele Pons have been making most of the photo ops around the grounds.

Post Malone spreads the love -- and the message of love -- at a wild party during Day 2 of Coachella.

Post performed Saturday night at Coachella Revolve Party at the Merv Griffin Estate in the Palm Springs area, and he had words for the crowd.

Post was emotional, talking about the need to spread love to family, friends and strangers. He talked about struggles -- in Ukraine, the COVID pandemic, and just dealing with life. He tried to inspire the crowd, saying it takes a second to help course-correct someone who is struggling.

Then he gave the crowd what they came to see ... an awesome performance of "Congratulations," and for good measure, he brought out Quavo.

Then, as the show was about to end, P.M. jumped into the crowd, lost his shirt and everyone went wild.

Harry Styles' Coachella set was one for the ages, and although he brought out droves of people for his headlining set ... Big Sean had a healthy swath of his own right before.

The singer was the marquee act of the night for Day 1 on Friday, where he was scheduled to start performing at around 11:30 PM at the main Coachella stage -- whereas Sean was winding down his performance at the Sahara stage across the way around the same time.

There may have been some overlap -- these things never get started or end quite on time in real life -- but it's a good thing they staggered these two gents ... because, apparently, folks seemed kinda torn on who exactly they wanted to catch as the curtains were going down.

That's the word on Twitter anyway, and the proof is in the pudding on the crowd sizes -- check out the huge sea of people that were rocking with BS throughout ... it's massive!

Folks are buzzing online about how well Sean did and how packed his audience was ... and some are even (jokingly?) saying he might've been the real headliner for the night considering how many flocked to go see him.

Indeed, his set looked pretty epic and he definitely had an army of fans in attendance -- but if you look at what Harry was able to do ... you'll see it's nothing to sneeze at either. Concertgoers appeared just as eager to catch their boy -- evidenced in photos.

His stage design was elaborate, as it was actually immersed in the crowd itself ... with everybody surrounding him from all sides. As you can see -- people definitely showed up to catch him, especially toward the beginning of his set.

And, while we're sure he maintained a good amount until his show was over ... some videos seem to suggest the crowd was dwindling as the performance went on -- as it looks like people on the outskirts were able to creep in further and further later into the night.

That's to be expected though ... the last performer of the night is often more prone to losing people as they trickle out. And, of course, this ain't a pissing contest either -- it's just interesting to see that Sean was as appealing and widely attended as he turned out to be.

Justin Bieber hit the Coachella stage partially clothed for his surprise performance on Day 1.

JB came out shirtless as he performed "Peaches" with Daniel Caesar ... just as TMZ told you Friday! The crowd loved it. JB flew in from Miami where he had performed as part of his world tour.

Daniel and Justin regaled the music festival crowd with a rendition of their song "Peaches," which was included on Justin's album "Justice" last year.

Harry Styles headlined the night and brought out a legend -- Shania Twain! Harry, who has busted open stereotypes, sang Shania's biggest hit -- "Man! I Feel Like a Woman." The crowd ate it up! The venue lit up with fireworks as Harry performed his set.

Turns out Harry's a big fan of Twain ... he told the audience he recalled his mother driving him around with Shania blaring out of the radio. He said "Shania Twain taught me to sing," adding in a moment of self-loathing, "She also taught me that men are trash."

Big Sean was a big hit, as were YG and Jhene Aiko ... in case you didn't know, Sean and Aiko are BF/GF.

There was also a moving tribute to Ukraine by Arcade Fire. Frontman Win Butler said, "I want to dedicate this to everyone in the Ukraine. Everyone in a punk rock band in the Ukraine right now. I'm thinking about everybody who is dealing with the war right now." Then they performed "The Suburbs" to honor Ukrainian citizens.

Someone in the crowd had a medical emergency. He was taken out on a stretcher. We don't know his status. As it happened, the band stopped performing ... obviously a call-back to the Astroworld tragedy, where 10 people died in a stampede and crowd crush.

Lil Baby also performed, and ended his set with "The Bigger Picture" ... a song he dropped just days after George Floyd's murder. Lil Baby brought Gunna out during his set.

And, there was more ... hip-hop duo City Girls hit the stripper pole and twerked with perfection!

Phoebe Bridgers brought out her friend Arlo Parks  -- the first time for both musicians to perform on the Coachella stage.

The duo performed a rendition of Bridgers' "Graceland Too."

Snoop and Anitta also hit the main stage.

As for Snoop, well he was true to form, smokin' a joint while he performed with Anitta as he danced around the stage. Again, a huge crowd fav.

Word at the venue ... Day 1 was a blast.

Coachella -- Day 1 -- it's a big deal since this is the reset after the pandemic, and one thing was clear ... celebs weren't scared to bring back the fun.

Chanel Iman, Michael Foge, Amanda Stanton and Storm Reid were among the celebs who descended on the Empire Polo Fields outside Palm Springs, to take in the sun, party with intent and stand elbow-to-elbow to watch Harry Styles, Justin Bieber and co.

There were performances by Carly Rae Jepsen, Snoop, Lil Baby, Arcade Fire ... and others who popped up on stage.

Coachella is only partly about music ... the weather was perfect, and Shanina Shaik, Alessandra Ambrosio, Josephine Skriver and others hit the pool. Kendall Jenner made it partly business by hawking her 818 Tequila at a bash she hosted.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Saweetie and Doja Cat are among some of the big names who've secured entry to the biggest and most exclusive party during Coachella, TMZ has learned.

Neon Carnival is known as THE party of the weekend at Coachella, and our sources in the desert say Shailene Woodley is also on the guestlist for the event ... which goes down Saturday night into Sunday morning at the Desert International Horse Park. about 15 minutes outside the music festival grounds.

Doja's performing Sunday night at Coachella ... so, she probably won't be raging too hard, but Shailene's presence creates a little mystery -- will her man, NFL superstar Aaron Rodgers be raving with her at Coachella??? We're told it's unclear if the Green Bay Packers QB will be on hand, but what a sight that would be.

Paris Hilton's gonna be spinning some tunes in the virtual world ... and she's also hosting a virtual replica of the after-party experience, courtesy of the Metaverse.

The virtual experience, dubbed "Paris World," is for folks who don't have an actual ticket to the party ... or a big enough name to get on the guestlist ... and it will recreate what it feels like to actually be inside the velvet ropes. Futuristic stuff, for sure.

Neon Carnival, which is sponsored by Levi’s in association with Liquid I.V., is definitely the place to be for the first Coachella weekend since 2019, and another one of its sponsors is Don Julio tequila, so you can already hear the chants ... shots, shots, shots, shots!!!

Don't let these two nearly identical Kendall Jenner shots throw you off the Coachella stage. So, lose the stage fright and see if you can spot the differences in these two similar snaps of one of Coachella's fan favorites.

Kendall definitely made her presence in Palm Springs known and got a head start on Coachella -- throwin' up a show-stoppin' Insta, which of course showcases her model physique and her 818 Tequila ... do you have what it takes to spotlight the minor changes performed on these images?

Justin Bieber is traversing the United States of America so he can shock fans on opening night with a surprise performance.

Coachella production sources tell TMZ ... Justin will take the stage with fellow artist Daniel Caesar for their rendition of "Peaches."

As you know ... "Peaches" is JB's song, featuring Daniel and Giveon ... unclear if Giveon will pop out too.

Justin performed in Miami Wednesday night and doesn't have another "Justice World Tour" concert until next Tuesday, when he'll perform in Cincinnati. Since he's making the trek across the country, he may perform more than one song ... TBD.

The Coachella stage has played an important part in Justin's career. He joined Ariana Grande at the festival in 2019 -- following the cancellation of his last tour.

Kanye West is already a very wealthy man, but his bailing on Coachella left an enormous amount of money on the table ... millions and millions of dollars.

Sources with direct knowledge of the deal tell us ... Ye's deal was $8 million for his 2-weekend-long Sunday headlining gig. We're told in addition to that, Coachella was dishing out $500,000 in production costs.

However, while Kanye and his team only alerted Coachella festival that he was backing out at the last minute, it appears he hadn't been serious about taking the Coachella stage for quite some time, if ever.

Our Kanye sources say Ye really hadn't seriously rehearsed for a performance that some artists take months to prepare for. We're told he did have a team in place that was actively talking to Coachella producers, but there was still a ton of work to be done.

We're told the Coachella producers were caught completely off guard, with no plan B.

TMZ broke the story -- Kanye's spot has been filled by The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia. Our sources say The Weeknd will earn the same amount as Kanye.

Page Six was first to report the money.

The honchos at Coachella have found their replacement act to fill Kanye's slot as headliner for the biggest night of the festival -- The Weeknd will join Swedish House Mafia.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Abel has agreed to the gig, and Swedish House Mafia -- who was supposed to headline Friday night -- will now go Sunday. The pairing makes a lot of sense, the two have the hit song "Moth to a Flame" together, released just this year.

SHM and The Weeknd also both have the same management team, under SALXCO ... so both sides were already familiar.

What's more ... the performance marks SHM's big return to the desert as well as a sort of kickoff to their album "Paradise Again," which will release April 15 followed by a world tour this summer.

We're told at this time it's unclear exactly how the show will work, if one will perform before the other, or if they'll switch off throughout the set ... however, we're told given time constraints to get a show ready, Weeknd's show will likely be shorter than usual, and he's essentially a bonus to what would've already been a kickass SHM set.

TMZ broke the story -- The Weeknd, Silk Sonic and Red Hot Chili Peppers were on the organizer's short list of acts to take Kanye's spot ... Silk Sonic shut it down, as Bruno Mars didn't believe there was enough time to get a worthy show together.

However, our sources say there were some other names being considered by organizers as well, including Justin Bieber and Travis Scott. We're told Travis was unable to get a show together because of time constraints.

Of course, Travis was supposed to headline in 2020 -- but that was canceled because of COVID -- and again in 2022, but Coachella canceled his performance after the tragedy at Astroworld. Obviously, it's a good sign for TS fans wanting to see him back on mainstream festival stages if Coachella execs were willing to start talks back up with his team.

Coachella organizers are hard at work figuring out who will take Kanye's headlining Sunday spot at the festival -- and we've learned of 2 acts at the top of the list to take over.

First, who's out. We're told the organizers were hot for Silk Sonic, the dynamic duo of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. The pair make a lot of sense, coming off a clean sweep at The Grammys, including Record of the Year for "Leave the Door Open."

We're told Bruno Mars shut it down, saying there wasn't enough time for them to get a proper show together in time for Coachella.

As for who's still in play -- there's The Weeknd, who is coming off an insane year on the charts -- a new album and an upcoming stadium tour. We're told there's been talks between both sides, which stalled at one point ... but there's still a chance he takes the stage in some capacity.

Our sources say organizers were testing the waters to see if The Weeknd would perform a few songs along with Swedish House Mafia. They were also interested in The Weeknd as a stand-alone act. Our sources say no decision has been made.

Finally, our sources say The Red Hot Chili Peppers are a name that's being seriously considered. The group is set to hit the road this summer -- and recently played a low-key show in L.A. -- so they're ready to go. What's more, our sources say RHCP makes a lot of sense, because currently there's no major rock 'n roll act on the lineup.

One thing our sources have stressed -- there are others who are being considered, but the ones we just mentioned are at the top of the list.

Kanye West has left Coachella organizers with a massive headliner hole they need to plug in less than 2 weeks ... but organizers aren't pissed -- they just want him to get better.

We've spoken with festival honchos who tell us there's not currently another artist locked in to take Ye's Sunday spot. However, our sources say there's no animosity toward Kanye ... Coachella organizers understand he's been through a lot lately, and want him to take the time to work on himself. We're told if that means having to miss the gig, so be it.

It's interesting ... Coachella producers were blindsided by Ye's withdrawal. In fact, they learned about it from us. Nevertheless, no hard feelings.

The month of March saw Kanye on a social media tear, going after Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson and others -- eventually resulting in a suspension from Instagram for the racist attack against Trevor Noah.

In fact, just before the suspension, he teased the Coachella performance with a still image of Pete Davidson's head in the "Eazy" music video and caption, "Y'all ready for Coachella?"

Our sources say Kanye's team didn't provide a specific reason as to why he was no longer going to be headlining -- but he's obviously been suffering through personal issues.

TMZ broke the story ... Kanye backed out of Coachella, and in doing so fans will no longer see Travis Scott who was supposed to hit the stage with Kanye during his show.

While he's out of the show, Kanye hasn't gone into hiding ... he was spotted in Beverly Hills Monday glued to his phone.

It's business as usual for Kanye West -- despite dropping out of Coachella -- he's apparently still on his work grind ... stopping by a construction site in L.A.

Ye was spotted in Beverly Hills Monday, just hours after we broke the story that he was no longer going to headline the music festival. For the most part, it appears Kanye's got his head buried in his phone ... perhaps reading fan reactions to his cancelation.

What's interesting ... recent reports suggested Kanye was leaving town to get treatment and better himself after his social media outbursts. However, that just doesn't seem to be true.

Coachella organizers have not yet named Ye's replacement ... Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and Swedish House Mafia are all still scheduled to headline.

Kanye West is pressuring Billie Eilish, and holding Coachella fans hostage in the process ... threatening to pull out of the festival if she doesn't say she's sorry for an apparent jab at Travis Scott.

Ye just posted a manifesto, of sorts, demanding -- in all caps -- the 20-year-old singer "APOLOGIZE TO TRAV AND TO THE FAMILIES OF THE PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES."

You'll recall, last week BE stopped her concert in Atlanta to make sure a fan near the front row was okay, as they were having trouble breathing. Then came the shot at Travis -- "I wait for people to be okay before I keep going."

Well, now Ye's coming to Travis' defense, saying ... "TRAV DIDN'T HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING WHEN HE WAS ON STAGE AND WAS VERY HURT BY WHAT HAPPENED."

As you know, Ye and Billie are both scheduled headliners at Coachella this year -- and in his post, Ye says he plans to bring Travis with him to the festival ... that is, IF he goes now.

As he threatened, "NOW I NEED BILLIE TO APOLOGIZE BEFORE I PERFORM."

It's unclear if Ye meant Travis would be onstage performing with him, or if he'd just be there for moral support. Either way, Mr. West is now bullying Billie and, in a way, Coachella.

Billie Eilish brought her concert to a full-stop halt over one fan who appeared to be in distress -- and if you're thinking about Astroworld Fest here ... well, so was she.

The singer was performing in Atlanta Saturday, where State Farm Arena seemed to be packed to the gills with fans -- especially down below near where she was performing ... and where one gal apparently started getting crushed in the pit.

Check out this video we got of the moment BE paused everything once she became aware of what was going on ... it seems the lady in question was having trouble breathing, and needed an inhaler.

Luckily, Billie actually had one on hand ... and instructed the stage crew to get it to her ASAP. While the fan was being attended to, Billie settled down the crowd, told them to take a deep breath and step back -- at the same time, noting she wants to take care of her own ... something she's made sure to do in past concerts of hers as well, dating back years.

Then came a shot at what was clearly aimed at Travis Scott, with Billie saying ... "I wait for people to be okay before I keep going." That got huge cheers from the audience.

Of course, she's referencing the fact that Travis' November set continued for several minutes after the event was declared a mass casualty event -- with many suspecting TS was aware of what was going on. He's strongly denied that, claiming ignorance to the severity of things.

What's interesting here is the fact that Billie is replacing Travis at Coachella this year. Although an official announcement has yet to be made, the cat's outta the bag -- he got bumped amid the controversy -- other headliners dropped out too, FWIW -- and BE's one of the new artists who've been tapped in their stead.

Travis Scott's fans are pushing hard for him to headline next year's Coachella, and even have a petition going to get him on stage this year ... and they're getting a big wave of support.

Following the tragedy at Astroworld, Travis has pulled out of multiple festivals, including Coachella, and while he's opting for a break ... his fans still want him to return to live performances.

The petition that's circulating online is pushing for a Coachella make-good -- they want organizers to commit to Travis being a headliner next year ... OR guarantee Kanye West brings him out as a guest during his set this year.

After 3 days, the petition has almost 70,000 signatures.

Keep in mind, there's another petition out there ... this one started immediately after 10 people died at Astroworld in Houston, and demanded Coachella ban Travis, who, at the time, was rumored to be headlining in the desert. Right now that one has 63,000 signatures and counting.

According to the new petition, many of Trav's fans feel Coachella did him dirty -- it says, "After Coachella unfairly removed Travis Scott for Harry Styles, they need to do the right thing and rebook him immediately."

It also absolves Travis of any wrongdoing in Houston, saying ... "We all know Astroworld tragedy wasn't Travis's fault. Let him get back to performing on the biggest stages!"

As for the potential guest spot with Ye? We do know they have the Kardashian-Jenners in common, and Ye recently thanked Trav for helping him find Chicago's birthday party.

Right now it seems unlikely he'd be up for performing -- especially because he voluntarily bowed out -- but then again, the festival's not until April.