“We have a full moon, you have a ticket and I have the flavor,” Harry Styles told the massive sea of Coachella attendees on Friday night (April 15), where the star delivered his first-ever headlining set at the festival.
You would never guess that it was Styles’ first time performing at Coachella, given the 28-year-old Grammy winner’s “flavorful” blend of onstage charisma, impressive vocal control, inspiring moments of gratitude and, of course, his sense of style… yes, pun intended.
To kick off the hour-and-a-half set, nature scenes of yellow wildflowers, rabbits, deer and more flashed across the screen, as the instrumental for Styles’ Harry’s House lead single, “As It Was,” played over the speaker, introducing the new, enlightened era for the British star.
Styles then appeared in an oversized, black faux fur coat, where he performed the Billboard Hot 100 chart topper for the first time, removing the coat after the second verse to the sound of deafening squeals, revealing a sequined, rainbow-colored jumpsuit underneath.
He went on to perform a robust 18 songs (full setlist below), ranging from Fine Line hits “Adore You,” “Watermelon Sugar,” “Cherry” and “Golden” to his debut album’s “Woman” and “Kiwi.” He even gave OG One Direction fans a performance of “What Makes You Beautiful.”
“If you know the words to this – Lord knows I do – please join in with me,” he joked to the audience before delving into a lower octave, more mature take on the 2011 smash hit that skyrocketed the teenage boy band into superstardom.
Following “What Makes You Beautiful,” the stage went dark, as the beginning notes of Shania Twain‘s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” began to play. Styles playfully looked around, acting confused, before Twain herself appeared onstage, shouting, “Let’s go, girls!”
The duo oozed chemistry as they flirtatiously performed the high-energy ode to being a woman, before they performed Twain’s romantic 1997 hit, “You’re Still the One,” which Styles recently covered with Kacey Musgraves.
Harry Styles and Shania Twain at #Coachella preforming “Man, I feel like a Woman!” pic.twitter.com/BUJO37Nv8s
— Harry and Niall News! (@HarryNiallNews) April 16, 2022
“Now I have to tell you, in the car with my mother as a child, this lady taught me to sing,” Styles told the crowd of Twain, who was beaming with joy next to him. “She also taught me that men are trash. [laughs] But to you, for the memories you gave me with my mother, I’m forever grateful.”
“I’m at a loss for words, I’m a bit starstruck,” Twain replied. “When I was writing this song, you were just a kid, so it’s kind of a dream and very surreal to be sitting right here with you.”
With Harry’s House set for release on May 20, Styles also took the big stage opportunity to debut two never-before-heard songs from his upcoming third album. The first, “Boyfriends,” is, in Harry’s words, a big “f— you” to “boyfriends everywhere,” particularly men who have treated the women in their lives poorly. “Boyfriends / They think you’re so easy / They take you for granted,” the song opens.
The second new song, “Late Night Talking,” is a much sweeter, uptempo track from a smitten Harry. “If you’re feeling down, I just want to make you happier baby,” he sings in the chorus. “We’ve been doing all this late night talking / About anything you want until the morning / Now you’re in my life, I can’t get you off my mind.”
And it wouldn’t be a Harry Styles concert without kindness, right? To wrap up his first Coachella performance, in front of tens of thousands of cheering fans, Styles shed his rockstar persona and became Harry. He encouraged the crowd to “go outside, be kind to each other and tell the people you love that you love them,” before closing his set with his debut solo single, “Sign of the Times.”
See Styles’ setlist below, and catch his second Coachella performance on Friday (April 22).
Harry Styles Coachella Setlist:
As It Was
Adore You
Golden
Carolina
Woman
Boyfriends
Cherry
Lights Up
She
Canyon Moon
Treat People With Kindness
What Makes You Beautiful
Man! I Feel Like a Woman (with Shania Twain)
You’re Still the One (with Shania Twain)
Late Night Talking
Watermelon Sugar
Kiwi
Sign of the Times
