Celebrity
Zendaya Stunned Fans With A Surprise Coachella Performance
“I have never heard screaming like that in my entire life.”
Zendaya’s surprise musical comeback was the high note of Coachella 2023. For her first live performance in seven years, the Euphoria actor hit the stage with Labrinth during the Indio, California music festival’s second weekend on April 22. The crowd naturally went wild when the duo sang their Emmy-nominated hit, “I’m Tired,” as well as “All for Us,” both from the HBO drama. Afterward, on her Instagram stories, Zendaya thanked festivalgoers who supported her and set the stage for those fans who weren’t lucky enough to be in attendance.
“I have never heard screaming like that in my entire life,” she said in a video message. “As soon as I turned the corner, I couldn’t hear anything. I couldn’t hear anything but you guys. So I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened ... I don’t know what I sounded like, but I just was like, ‘You know what? I’m just going to have fun. ... It was so special and everybody was singing along and it was just so cool, so so cool.”
After thanking Labrinth for making “such a magical, beautiful night” happen “so last-minute,” she showed more love to the “gorgeous crowd” who was there cheering her on. “Thank you all for welcoming me back on that stage with open arms,” Zendaya added. “It’s been a very long time, so I appreciate it.”
The video, which she filmed before she “headed to bed,” echoed a written statement she posted shortly beforehand. Again expressing her gratitude to her “brother,” Labrinth, for giving her “the most beautiful safe space to be on a stage again,” the Emmy winner wrote, “The love I received tonight made all my nerves melt away, I’m so grateful.”
Whether they were watching a livestream from home or were actually in the audience, Twitter users couldn’t get enough of Zendaya’s Coachella performance — once they got past the shock of her surprise appearance, that is.
For those watching from their computer screens, not being able to hear Zendaya’s vocals live seemed to give a widespread case of FOMO.
Because Zendaya only sang the two Euphoria tracks, she left fans wanting more, with many hoping she would have performed even a snippet of her 2013 single, “Replay,” which she included on her self-titled debut album the same year.
After dropping the Euphoria tracks, which also included “Elliot’s Song” (with co-star Dominic Fike), Zendaya tweeted about the positive fan response. “I stepped away from music quite a while ago, for a number of reasons,” she wrote in March 2022. “But I still really love it, so the kindness and support I’ve received the past few days just for a little tiny toe dip back into some music means the absolute world to me..thanks<3”
At that point, she’d already revealed more information about why she put her singing career on hold, during a November 2021 conversation with Issa Rae for A Sip. “I stepped away from music on purpose because of bad contracts, to be honest with you,” she explained, also citing a greater degree of privacy in the acting profession. “Acting allows for a character for people to fall in love with. But also for my own anonymity and a life of my own, which music doesn’t really afford. When you’re a music artist, it’s your face all the time. It’s you. So that’s another thing. That kind of scared me about music — it’s like not really being able to have as much of a life.”
