There’s no way Beyoncé could top her first Coachella performance…….. right? Such will be the question on everybody’s mind when she takes the stage late Saturday night for the sequel, a performance able to be viewed only by those in attendance.
Coachella traditionally attempts to replicate its first weekend as completely as possible the second time around so that they are selling essentially the same festival to fans. But rules don’t really apply to Beyoncé, and it’s hard to imagine her not putting on a slightly different sort of spectacle than the first one.
This feeling was confirmed yesterday by Jo’Artis Mijo Ratti, a dancer in the show who told Variety that Beyoncé will “switch up a couple things” for the second set. Still, there’s only so much she can realistically change from a performance that was so meticulously planned and choreographed that people like Questlove were freaking out over the sheer logistics of the thing. Here are some guesses as to how she might change things up.
New songs to dance to
Her set last week contained several dance breaks, the best of which featured her and her dancers going off to a version of OT Genasis’ “Everybody Mad.”
WHOA!! The Queen ? Danced To My Beat At Coachella? No F*ckin’ Way!! ??? Thank You @beyonce!! #EverybodyMad @otgenasis You’re A Legend My Boy. ??? #ProducedByJeremeJay pic.twitter.com/acBJtERePL
— Jereme Jay (@J2daROC) April 15, 2018
This kind of stuff was peppered throughout, both in full-on interludes to songs like “Swag Surfin” and in weaving hits like “Back That Azz Up” and “Dirt Off Your Shoulders” into her own tracks. Most of this stuff will probably be carried over (“Swag Surfin” felt like an integral part of the show), but some of it would be easy to change. On her Formation World Tour she would sometimes switch up these dance breaks, slipping in a tribute to Shawty Lo in Atlanta, for instance.
New songs to perform
Immediately after the first performance, Beyoncé’s website was updated with a bunch of new photos, both of the show and from its rehearsals. One of the pictures seemed to tease that she had rehearsed songs not included in that night’s set list, with the obvious suggestion being that they might pop up on the second weekend. Those songs include canon fodder such as “Ego” and “Upgrade U,” plus Destiny’s Child‘s “Bills, Bills, Bills.”
Is Beyoncé teasing a new set list for #Beychella Weekend 2? #Coachella2018 pic.twitter.com/xIv8Gsbxaa
— KC (@KarenCivil) April 16, 2018
“6 Inch” and “End of Time” were staples of the Formation World Tour and figure to be easy to integrate into the Coachella set.
New guests
Weekend one was a family affair, with the only guests brought onstage being Jay Z, Solange, and Destiny’s Child. (DJ Khaled’s disembodied voice notwithstanding.) She may bring them all out again—whether Destiny’s Child was just a first weekend surprise is a major question—but she could also easily unveil any number of collaborators.
Kendrick Lamar was at Coachella last weekend and appeared during sets by both Vince Staples and SZA, and could come out for his verse on “Freedom,” though it appeared very early in the set. The Weeknd headlines Friday night, and could help out with “6 Inch.” Eminem headlines Sunday and could come out for their recent single “Walk on Water,” though that would be frankly terrible. J Balvin could appear for “Mi Gente,” which was included in last weekend’s set. Nicki Minaj, who has performed both “Flawless” and “Feeling Myself” during Beyoncé shows before, could pop up, as could Drake or Lady Gaga? The possibilities are not endless, but almost feel like they could be. WHERE IS SEAN PAUL?