Despite being one of the biggest festivals in the world, it has been claimed that two huge performers turned down the chance to headline Coachella 2025.
There were question marks over the annual bash earlier this year amid reports of lackluster ticket sales and disappointment over the star-studded line-up – which saw Doja Cat, Lana Del Rey and Tyler, The Creator storming the stage across both weekends.
All eyes have been on who could head to Indio, California, next year, with bosses reportedly tapping up Rihanna for a surprise comeback, as well as Kendrick Lamar – while Fred Again is rumored to have signed up to headline.
However, Bloomberg reports that both declined the opportunity – the Not Like Us rapper is thought to be planning a mammoth tour following his Super Bowl Halftime show stint next February.
According to the outlet, Rihanna, who headlined last year’s NFL showdown, is busy with her ever-growing beauty and fashion empire, and isn’t fussed about the exposure or the money.
While neither have spoken out about the reports, Coachella co-founder Paul Tollett is now allegedly scrambling to secure similarly big performers for the main slots next April, with many suggesting that the festival has become a victim of its own success as the music industry continues to change.
Headliners are thought to make between $8million and $12million across the two weekends, which is a giant sum for most, but some of the biggest artists in the world are able to earn more from setting up their own shows, which may explain why bosses are struggling to sign A-Listers.
The first official Coachella festival took place in 1999 with Beck, Tool and Rage Against The Machine headlining, while Morrisey, Underworld and the Chemical Brothers also performed.
Over the years, it grew massively with 125,000 in the crowd and the Cure, Ariana Grande, Harry Styles, Snoop Dogg, Drake, Billie Eilish and Eminem among those landing coveted spots on the jam-packed line-up.
Beyonce turning the festival stage into her very own concert and blessing everyone with Beychella in 2018 will live rent-free in our minds for eternity.
It wasn’t quite the same vibe last year when Coachella-goers were full of complaints after Frank Ocean suffered an ankle injury, which threw his first weekend set plans into chaos.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the livestream was also shut off, meaning those who didn’t get tickets weren’t able to watch from home as they usually do.
Frank then ended his set after just over an hour and subsequently pulled out of the second weekend, leading Blink-182 to take his spot at the last minute.
After years of headlines, enviable Instagram shots and tickets being snapped up immediately, the LA Times reported that 2023 marked the first year in over a decade that both weekends didn’t sell out, while 2024 sales were the slowest in a decade.
Dissecting possible issues with the bash on Reddit, many suggested that the attempts at flashy and trendy line-ups may have something to do with it.
Cr2152 penned: ‘The state of affairs when artists are passing on headlining Coachella. Get back to your roots, Paul. Go after that 2004-looking lineup.’
-ManDudeBro- agreed: ‘Kendrick just did a festival tour so I’d imagine his next step is a new album, full headlining tour, then festivals again. Rhianna hasn’t really played steady shows in a long ass time.
‘I do understand them wanting to improve off last year’s headliners and going straight to the top but neither were likely.’
KnowledgeisPower wrote: ‘I remember when Coachella was mainly for rock bands and edm… The first and last time I went there I truly enjoyed the edm and rock line up hopefully they go back to their roots.’
While Moist-Cloud2412 added: ‘I went 2001,2002,2004,2006..I will never go again. It’s no longer the same as those early days. And 1 weekend was magical..2 weekends is just greedy.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted reps for Rihanna, Kendrick and Coachella for a comment.