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It means everything is possible.International acts?
Sets that are equal parts choreography as they are tight musicianship?
In a field that is the internet transposed IRL, 100 percent.
The lineup aligns with the collective masss Spotify algorithm.
Grande neednt be framed as Beys successor.
Coachella, Ive been rehearsing my whole fucking life for this moment, she says with her first address.
Make some noise for NSYNC!
Maybe thats what Coachella is post-Beyonce: a stage where you could live out your fantasies.
She takes Timberlakes vocals on the second verse.
I can die now, she says as the four men disappear.
Her set is a dedication to what brought her to fantasize about this moment.
A little clip ofthe filmThe First Wives Clubto introduce the new jack swing of Be Alright?
Choreography that involves a lot of seducing dancers by wrapping her limbs around them on items of furniture?
yo help yourself to this dining table, Ari, or this chair over here.
The crowd is extraordinarily quiet considering the fever attached to this moment.
Hysteria is much easier to feign online (#crying, etc.).
Its way more effort in reality.
Maybe theyre just anticipating the next piece of her career-spanning set.
Her signature breath-y voice a paean to Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera is out of control.
Those riffs and runs are enough to bring her competition to tears.
But its her personality, her smile, her audacity, and her riches that carry the night.
Grande loves to treat.
For Breathin she brings a chorus of violinists and literal fireworks.
Her guests feel like individual events.
Nicki Minaj is the second big surprise on Side To Side and Bang Bang.
Diddy nods to the deaths of Tupac, Biggie and Mac Miller.
Give it up for my sister, he says.
Shes been through a whole lot.
Its kind of all over the place.
You wonder what the thread is.
At this stage in pop music, there is no thread, says the guy next to me.
The undeniable Into You sees a crowd-wide dance-off release.
Its followed by the hot-as-hell Dangerous Woman and the EDM revolution of Break Free.
Running out of time, she cues No Tears Left To Cry and Thank U, Next.
The former an anthem of perseverance; the latter an ode to self-love.
A sensation that can never be overrated.
