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Coachella 2025: the festival’s best performances, from Lady Gaga to Charli XCX
Held in the heart of the Indio desert in California, Coachella is the go-to destination for music lovers. Each year, the festival assembles a plethora of artists delivering one jaw-dropping performance after another. As the first weekend of Coachella 2025 comes to a close, here’s a look back at the highlights that defined this edition—from Lady Gaga to Charli XCX, and Tyla in between.
by Jordan Bako.
Publié le 15 april 2025. Modifié le 16 April 2025.
Lady Gaga delivers one of the greatest concerts of her career at Coachella 2025
This was arguably one of the most dazzling performances of her career. Lady Gaga has long been known for her high-octane shows—from her legendary 2009 MTV VMAs appearance to her most recent Chromatica Ball Tour in 2021. This year, she worked her magic once again on the Coachella stage. It was her second time at the festival after stepping in for Beyoncé in 2017.
Headlining the opening day, Gaga transformed herself into a creature seemingly from another dimension. From the very first moments, she set the tone for a spectacle that would prove to be both extravagant and otherworldly. A hybrid performance teetering between baroque and futuristic, burlesque and macabre, rare gems from her discography and globally celebrated hits.
Draped first in a monumental scarlet gown concealing a giant cage within its folds—housing her dancers—Gaga underwent multiple transformations throughout her set. Skulls and skeletons intertwined with nods to the early days of her career (including the crown from the Bad Romance music video) and archive pieces by Thierry Mugler and Alexander McQueen. With this performance, Lady Gaga asserted herself as a maestro of musical epics, unleashing her showgirl prowess in a blaze of theatrical brilliance.
Charli XCX turns the desert into an open-Air club
If there’s one album that defined summer 2024, it was Brat by Charli XCX. A record that restored club music’s reputation, enthralling fans with bold, electrifying beats. As the mastermind behind the Brat Summer, the British singer continues to keep its fire burning, defying every prediction about its longevity.
Her Coachella 2025 set was a mirror of the album: a glittering, irreverent, high-energy show infused with a carefully curated disheveled aesthetic. She raced through the album’s top tracks with unrelenting tempo, while also indulging longtime fans with a blast from the past: I Love It.
The show also featured surprise cameos from her closest collaborators. Billie Eilish stepped in to chant the infectious chorus of the Guess remix, while Lorde and Troye Sivan joined Charli onstage for their respective duets.
Is the Brat Summer really over? Charli may have hinted at passing the baton with talk of a looming “Lorde Summer 2025,” but she wrapped up her show by projecting on screen: “I just want this moment to last forever, please don’t let it end!” A surprise DJ set organized off-site at the Guess Jeans estate only fueled the sense that the party is far from over…
Tyla channels the 2000s in a lively Coachella debut
Tyla, whose viral tracks have launched her to stardom, is emerging as one of the next big voices in R&B. At 23, the South African singer is often seen as a key figure in the revival of 2000s sounds—a weighty title she fully embraced during her April 11 Coachella debut.
Clad in a vintage Dolce & Gabbana Spring-Summer 2000 look, Tyla thrilled the audience with an electric performance. Push 2 Start, On My Body—featuring a guest spot by Becky G—and her hit Water, which saw her splash around in a mini pool, were all infused with her signature blend of pop, R&B, and sensual amapiano rhythms. A remix of Aaliyah’s Rock the Boat reinforced the sense that Tyla is carrying the torch of the late singer.
Another standout moment? Her now-viral choreography, which has taken social media by storm, confirming that Tyla has a bright future in the entertainment world. Though this was her Coachella debut, it likely won’t be her last.
Megan Thee Stallion pays tribute to the women of Hip-Hop
While her performance was unfortunately cut short to make way for Post Malone, Megan Thee Stallion didn’t need extra minutes to make an impact. This was her second time gracing the Coachella stage, and on April 13, she came prepared to own it.
Fireworks, cowboy hats, and razor-sharp group choreography… Megan Thee Stallion (aka Megan Pete) delivered a show that was nothing short of spectacular. From her breakout album Suga (2020) to her more recent hit Mamushi (2024), sung in both English and Japanese, she rolled through the most iconic verses of her career.
But beyond her own hits, Megan took time to spotlight other Black female artists shaping hip-hop, rap, and R&B today. Queen Latifah appeared for Plan B and U.N.I.T.Y., while Victoria Monét stunned the audience with a sensual, unforgettable duet on Spin—a track they previously collaborated on.
Coachella’s second weekend runs from April 18 to 20 in Indio, California.
