Kanye West is Expected to Headline Coachella 2022
Kanye West is expected to return to Coachella as headliner for the first time since 2011.
After two years of cancellations, Coachella is back in effect. According to Variety, Kanye West and Billie Eilish are slated double up as headliners of the April festival on Saturday and Sunday night, respectively. West first headlined the festival in 2011, preceding the release of Watch the Throne, his collaborative album with JAY-Z. Eilish had a slot at Coachella 2019 — the last year the festival was held. At 20-years-old, the singer is the youngest Coachella headliner.
The announcement comes less than a month after it was reported that Travis Scott was kicked off the Coachella 2022 bill. Initially slated as headliner, Scott was removed from the Coachella lineup following Astroworld Festival in November, where 10 attendees were killed by a crowd surge.
In 2020, Scott was announced as Coachella headliner alongside Frank Ocean prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the festival was postponed four times, with Ocean moving his appearance to 2023.
“Dates for the 21st Coachella moved first from April to October 2020, then to April 2021, and then October of that year — although the October 2021 dates were never officially confirmed by promoters — and last fall the current dates appeared on the festival’s website,” Variety said.
West’s headlining slot at Coachella follows the release of his Grammy-nominated 2021 album DONDA. According to Billboard, the rapper is rumored to land a second stage performance for his backing choir Sunday Service. Eilish is slated to begin her Happier Than Ever Tour in February, preceding Coachella. The singer’s also released concert specials Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry on Neon and Apple+ and Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles in 2021.
Both West and Eilish are also up for multiple Grammy nominations this year, both duking it out in the Album of the Year category.