Kevin Bronson on April 18th, 2019

0

Ariana Grande wrapped up Weekend 1 of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in a stylish bow Sunday night, turning in a slickly produced main-stage set that seemed worth every cent of the hefty paycheck she surely earned as the pop headliner at the 20th binge in the desert.

To a massive crowd that got younger as you threaded your way towards the stage, the 25-year-old serenaded fans with hits and truncated versions of her songs as the set moved along crisply through wardrobe changes and video interludes. Early on, she was joined by 80% of *NSYNC (Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass and JC Chasez, with that one guy missing) for “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored,” which samples *NSYNC’s “It Makes Me Ill.” They stayed to join the songstress in “Tearin’ Up My Heart.” Nicki Minaj’s cameo was fouled by sound problems, and Diddy and Mase joined Grande for a rendition of Biggie’s “Mo Money Mo Problems.”

■ Also: Day 1 highlights; Day 2 highlights

But as poptastic as Grande was, it was hard to beat singer-rapper Lizzo, the highlight of the day for anyone who was in or near the Mojave Tent during her early-evening set.

That and other moments from Sunday:

Best display of moxie

“I don’t need a crown / to know that I’m a queen,” Lizzo sang in “Scuse Me,” and if that self-affirmation wasn’t enough, the 30-year-old force of nature got it from the delirious crowd, who sang along, danced and shouted encouragement when sound problems threatened to derail her momentum. Lizzo’s backing tracks went silent during “Worship” (she kept singing, and her dance troupe gamely shimmied on), and she soldiered on similarly twice more when sound problems surfaced. “I need everybody over here and over here,” she said at one point, gesturing sidestage, “to get your technical shit together, because when I’m headlining next time, bitch, I’m gonna need my motherfuckin’ ears to work.” She then asked the crowd for a couple of “amens” and a “hallelujah,” and she got ’em.

The Detroit native inserted a piece of Aretha’s “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” at one point, touted her album “Cuz I Love You” (which comes out Friday) and drew laughs and cheers for “Jerome Go Home.” And there was much twerking. For a woman who, as she says, is all about “body positivity and self-love,” it was a plus-size performance.

Most energetic set that wasn’t Lizzo

Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern, aka Sofi Tukker, were positively Day-Glo in the Mojave Tent. Playing off each other amidst an even more colorful set design than they sported at Coachella 2017, the duo played highlights from their 2018 album “Treehouse” and the new single “Fantasy.” Li Saumet of Bomba Estereo guested on “Playa Grande,” and Brazilian singer/drag queen Pabllo Vittar joined in on “Energia.”

Best place to beat the heat and rock out

At 3:45 on a toasty afternoon, Danish punk-rockers Iceage shredded for 35 minutes in the Sonora Tent, which was not only air-conditioned but had a bar area in the back. It was a good spot to sip a cold beverage and search the Sunday schedule for anything else that might constitute hard rock. Alas, there wasn’t. But for inventiveness, Coachella Valley homies Ocho Ojos’ groovy psychedelia/cumbia/funk was a tasty alternative to Zedd’s button-pushing in the 7 o’clock hour.

Best artists who had to be booked by the same algorithms that made them “internet sensations”

Both Norway’s Boy Pablo in the Gobi Tent and Massachusetts’ Clairo played sets of Instagram-pop that would make old-schoolers shake their heads. The crowds were pleased.

Most stylish choreography

Japanese girl-group Perfume make piercingly auto-tuned electro-pop and back it with similarly bright visuals. Their set may or may not have been totally lip-synched. But the trio have the dance moves and wardrobe changes down to a science.

Best sartorial advice

CHVRCHES’ set in the Mojave Tent (which included a cameo by Marshmello when they covered “Here With Me”) included some words from Lauren Mayberry about what to wear at Coachella. It was the third time the Glaswegian band played the festival, and, Mayberry said, it’s important to wear clothes that are loose-fitting enough to let … certain body parts breathe.

The peak Coachella moment

That would have come at 6:12 p.m. If you ducked out to hit an iced coffee stand at that moment, you heard Lizzo going full bore in the Mojave Tent, Dermot Kennedy singing his heart out in the Gobi, the opening notes of Blood Orange’s set at the Outdoor Theatre and the crowd roaring for Puerto Rican reggaeton sensation Bad Bunny on the main stage. Oh, and Soccer Mommy was just finishing up in the Sonora. It was the best time to take advantage of short lines at concession stands.