Ariana Grande's performance on the third day of Coachella made her the youngest artist ever to headline the festival at the age of 25. Thoughout her career, Grande has partnered with fellow musicians to deliver a host of collaborations and star-studded partnerships. Grande's Coachella set on Sunday night was no different, as the singer performed a 26-song set alongside some of the biggest names in music: Nicki Minaj, P. Diddy, *NSYNC, and Mase.
The singer brought Nicki Minaj on stage to perform their hits "Side to Side" and "Bang Bang." As the two artists shared the stage, Grande and Minaj were singing/rapping over one another as technical difficulties prevented Nicki from being able to hear anything.
Nicki appeared to lose audio in both of her ear pieces and she became visibly frustrated while on stage. Although Grande attempted to keep the mood up despite the mishap, she urged the sound technicians to resolve the problem quickly by yelling into the microphone, "we can't hear anything." Both artists continued to encourage one another on stage.
Prior to Minaj's swift exit, *NSYNC joined Ariana to perform thank u, next track "Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored." Grande samples the *NSYNC track "It Makes Me Ill" on the hit, which prompted many to anticipate that the group would perform the song alongside Grande. The band (sans Justin Timberlake) also put on a performance of "Tearin’ Up My Heart."
"I’ve been rehearsing my whole fucking life for this moment," Grande told the crowd.
Mase and P. Diddy were the final guests to appear during the headlining set, accompanying Ariana on stage to perform a rendition of "Mo Money Mo Problems." Although they too seemed perplexed by the faulty audio situation, the trio paid homage to Biggie, Mac Miller, and 2Pac. "You got to keep that love in your heart," Diddy instructed the crowd. He then turned the spotlight on Grande, by applauding her strength and persistence. "She’s been through a lot, and she’s still standing. Give it up for the number one artist in the world."
