SPIN

Toronto hip-hop smoothy Drake's second annual OVO Festival took place Sunday at that city's Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, and it was packed with highlights -- including a surprise appearance from Stevie Wonder! SPIN contributor Dave Morris picks the event's five top moments.

SEE THE FIVE BEST MOMENTS >>

Abel Tesfaye, aka R&B newcomer the Weeknd, has exactly one other gig to his credit -- a hastily-announced club show last week in his hometown Toronto that earned him plenty of praise. It apparently didn't go to his head, though; throughout his short set at OVO Fest, the singer clung to his mic stand like it was a lifeline. Hey, if your second gig was to 16,000 people you might, too. But, still, his performance was spot-on.

Dressed down in a denim vest, camo pants, and hat pulled low, Tesfaye and his assembled band strutted through the atmospheric and melancholy cuts from his much-downloaded LP House of Balloons. The group amped up their sound to fill the massive venue, channeling a goth/industrial vibe on gems "High For This" and "Wicked Games." But after debuting a promising track from his upcoming mixtape, Tesfaye's jitters intervened when he asked the crowd, "Are you ready for the next act?" After a hefty roar, he replied, "I'll get off the stage, then." Hang on, that's not what we meant...

Following 2010's OVO Fest, which was graced by both Eminem and Jay-Z, rumors about this year's special guests were flying out of control -- word even got around that Lebron James was slated to appear. When Nas turned up for a two-song quickie in the middle of Drake's set (a thundering "Made You Look" and "If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)") nobody was complaining. Lil Wayne's appearance, however, was a bit more notable; the Canadian border has stopped artists with far shorter arrest records than Weezy's, so the fact that he made it -- and for someone else's show, considering that he's headlining the same venue in a few weeks -- was a minor miracle. And a particularly vital one, too, since Young Money posse cut "Every Girl In The World" would have been deeply lacking without his impish presence. Not to mention "I'm On One," which reunited Drake, Ross, and Wayne for a run through their hit remix.

Whatever you thought of Rick Ross' latest album, last year's Teflon Don, you had to admit it was astonishingly over the top, with its Louis Vuitton linen and armies of cars and boats. So it was a disappointment when Ross came out with only a white t-shirt, a small golden neck chain, and no apparent desire to overwhelm anyone. His canned intro banter could have been done by a gruff-voiced Speak & Spell, and while hits from "Hustlin'" to "B.M.F. (Blow Money Fast)" were potent enough, they didn't quite dispel the sense that Officer Ricky was counting down the minutes until the cheque cleared.

There was a lot of eye-rubbing and jaw-dropping when Stevie Wonder appeared onstage, sitting in front of his keyboards and banging out "Sir Duke" like it was 1976. Breaking out a mini-set of his biggest hits with a bare-bones backing trio, the Motown hero blessed fans with an especially vibrant "I Wish," "Signed, Sealed, Delivered,""Ribbon In The Sky," and a well-received "Superstition," though it was his harmonica solo on "My Cherie Amour" that prompted the loudest cheers. Drake even dropped a verse on the easy-listening staple, spitting, "If you know me and you love me, send me a text / With Stevie on the keys, I wonder who's next?"

It's not the first collabo for Wonder and Drake. The keyboard legend also appears on Drake's October 24 album, Take Care. "He helped me out with a lot of the music, just came and sat with me, listened to my music, told me where I could add a couple things to make it more sonically appealing, and not only that but we actually are writing together, which is an incredible experience," Drake told MuchMusic. "He was supposed to do two songs and he did like six. It was incredible."

"I promised myself I wouldn't rush this, so let me just take a moment to see how beautiful you all look." Oh, Drake, you smooth talker, you. Mr. "Best I Ever Had" was in fine form in an "OVO" tank top, bounding around the stage and saluting eager fans who brought homemade signs like, "I came all the way from Timmins [in remote northeastern Ontario] to see Drake."

In between the singles from Thank Me Later, including stadium-rock-worthy performances of "Forever" and "Show Me A Good Time," he gave props to the city ("you know there's only one thing I care about and that's Toronto, Canada") and unveiled several new tunes, including a smouldering "Trust Issues" with The Weeknd in tow, and the snappy "Headlines," though the latter was cut off mid-song as the lights were unceremoniously switched on, in what looked like an act of unhappy-venue gods.

Before that wet blanket of an ending, though, Drake made a startling admission during the intro of "In The Morning" (featuring J. Cole, who had dropped in for a couple tracks): "I've been preparing hard for this show... [so] I haven't f*cked nobody in at least, like, two months." But Drake didn't leave his ladies hanging, announcing, "Tonight I am off that hiatus." Now imagine the sound of an arena full of women simultaneously texting their friends to find out where the afterparty is.