Weekend Two Was Coachella’s Real Show: Madonna With Sabrina, Billie Eilish With Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo With Addison Rae

Whoever flew home after the first weekend missed the good part. At Coachella’s second weekend, artists held back their most memorable cameos, and The Hollywood Reporter’s tally reads like an awards-show guest list: Madonna with Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish and SZA with Justin Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo with Addison Rae, and a stream of friends with PinkPantheress.

The guest list

Madonna shocked the crowd during Carpenter’s Friday set, and the two played several songs together, including a debut from Madonna’s upcoming Confessions II.

Read moreSabrina Carpenter Will Play Ginger Rogers Opposite Tom Holland's Fred Astaire

Bieber, who brought out Tems, Wizkid, the Kid Laroi, Mk.gee and Dijon the first weekend, added SZA for the “Snooze” remix on Saturday (April 18) and pulled up Billie Eilish for “One Less Lonely Girl,” reviving a tradition from his early touring days. Sexyy Red, Dijon and Big Sean also joined for songs.

Rodrigo came out for Addison Rae’s set to debut her new single, “Drop Dead.”

PinkPantheress brought out Zara Larsson, Chase Infiniti, Slayyyter and KATSEYE’s Manon, plus Janelle Monáe on guitar, Billboard reported, and a rose and a happy-birthday sign courtesy of actor Tyriq Withers during “Illegal.”

Karol G closed the weekend with J Balvin, Ryan Castro and Peso Pluma, and a tour announcement.

Why weekend two won

Nathan Hubbard, the CEO of the music company Firebird and a former Ticketmaster head, said on Threads that the Bieber-Billie and Sabrina-Madonna moments would reorder the festival’s pecking order. THR quoted his sharper line:

Combined with all the influencer bs last week, this year it’s clear: W1 is for the brands, W2 is for the fans.

Nathan Hubbard, The Hollywood Reporter, quoting Threads

THR’s reasoning is practical. By weekend two the sets don’t change much, millions have already watched the YouTube stream and the press has moved on, so a big guest is the quickest way to restore novelty. Weekend one has a reputation for influencers and brand activations, the trade paper noted, while weekend two is seen as the more casual night for people who actually go for the music.

What weekend one looked like

Weekend one, by contrast, was the more divisive one for Bieber. Rolling Stone called his Saturday set “messy,” with the singer largely alone on a huge stage, a mid-set exodus and old home videos on screens, though Billboard said it didn’t hurt: his catalog logged 24.6 million U.S. streams on April 12, his biggest day of 2026.

The Madonna cameo doubled as a promotional beat. THR said she and Carpenter played several songs together, including a debut from her upcoming Confessions II. That duet became “Bring Your Love,” released May 1, and the “Danceteria Afterhours” video with Charli xcx kept the rollout going.

Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter – Bring Your Love (Official Visualizer)Madonna · Watch on YouTube ↗

Coachella confirmed that 2027 tickets would go on sale on May 1, and weekend two still stands to benefit most from the headlines it generated. If Hubbard is right, those tickets will tell the story.

Added to the High Grailed archive on October 12, 2026.