Drake did not make the Coachella lineup, and he let the festival know how he felt. Right after the poster dropped on Tuesday night, he left a crying emoji on Coachella’s official Instagram page. That is the whole reaction, and it is already doing numbers in our group chats.
This one stings because the talk was real. Drizzy was floated as a possible headliner earlier this year, and there were even rumors that he was a finalist, HotNewHipHop reported.
The Crying Emoji
One emoji, no caption, and everybody has a theory. On the surface, it reads like a man who wanted the slot and is feeling left out. But this is Drake we are talking about, so there is a very real chance it was just petty.
We lean toward petty with a side of honesty. He did not write a paragraph or start a fight. He dropped a tiny face and let the internet do the rest, which is a very Drake way to handle it.
What We Know
- The Coachella lineup was announced on Tuesday night.
- Drake was not on it, despite earlier headliner chatter and finalist rumors.
- He reacted with a crying emoji on Coachella’s official Instagram page.
- There is no explanation yet for why he was left off.
That last point matters. Maybe the festival decided he was too controversial. Maybe Drake turned it down himself. Nobody has said, so anyone claiming to know is guessing.
Why It Feels Like A Miss
On paper, Drake made sense. He has three new albums worth of material this year, and some of it turned into massive hits. Fans would have shown up ready to sing every word, and that is exactly what a headliner is supposed to deliver.
Instead, you will not be hearing ICEMAN at the biggest festival in music. For a guy with that much fresh catalog, that is a strange hole in the poster.
Who Is Playing Instead
The headliners are Dua Lipa, Tame Impala, and SZA. The rest of the lineup includes Madonna, Zara Larsson, Steve Lacy, Don Toliver, Kehlani, and Fetty Wap.
It is a big list, but hip hop is thin this year. Don Toliver and Fetty Wap are repping for us, and SZA is a huge name, but a lot of fans were hoping for more rap at the top. For some of them, the lack of hip hop is a real vibe killer.
The Dates
Coachella takes place at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, and runs across two weekends. The first is April 9 to 11, and the second is April 16 to 18.
Plenty of time for a surprise, if you believe in those. We are not predicting one, but we will be watching to see whether the lineup changes or Drake says anything else about it.
The Takeaway
Drake wanted us to see that emoji, and we did. Whether he was hurt or just messing around, the missing name on that poster is louder than any caption could be.