Megan Thee Stallion was thee highlight of Coachella 2025. It was hard not to smile ear-to-ear while watching the Grammy-winning rapper make the Indio Valley Desert a thousand degrees hotter during her highly-anticipated performance on Sunday night (April 13). It wasn’t just the fact that her high energy earned her control over the entire audience, or the surprise performances from Queen Latifah, Victoria Monet and Ciara, or how sickeningly good she looked.
What made Megan Thee Stallion’s Coachella performance (dubbed “Megchella” by fans) so special was the glow she emitted during the entirety of the show. It was how happy she looked, how much fun she was having and how clearly proud she was of herself for the work she put in that led her to this coveted spot on Coachella’s mainstage. The energy, the surprise guests, the twerking on her surprise guests, and her stunning beauty just felt like added bonuses.
Seeing the 29-year-old rapper happy is a win for Black women. In the few years that Megan Thee Stallion’s star has ascended, the Houston Hottie’s (whose real name is Megan Pete) has experienced a bevy of trials and tribulations. In the midst of grieving her mother and grandmother, she faced a surplus of scrutiny — not enough support and protection — in the aftermath of Tory Lanez shooting her. On top of that, she was in the midst of a lawsuit against her record label, 1501 Certified Entertainment, and going through an ugly best friend breakup. Experiencing all of that back-to-back would be heavy for anyone.
When the world tried to tear her down, Megan Thee Stallion did the work to build herself back up stronger than before. As Black women so often do, she overcame. [Coachella 2025] was a victory lap.
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In her documentary Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words, the rapper revealed details about her healing journey. She spent a month at a mental health facility, took social media breaks, limited her alcohol consumption, and began working out. When the world tried to tear her down, she did the work to build herself back up stronger than before. As Black women so often do, she overcame.
So when Meg hit the Coachella stage as an independent artist for the first time (she was signed to 1501 during her 2022 Coachella performance), it was a victory lap.
Meg kicked off the performance with “Ungrateful,” donning a black, floor-length fur coat and cowboy hat to give ode to her Texas roots. The rapper performed a medley of her hits, including “Mamushi,” “Cognac Queen” and “BOA.” She even showed that growth doesn’t mean you can’t be a little petty, taking Nicki Minaj’s “Big Foot” diss track and turning it into a costume for her background dancers.
One of the biggest highlights of her performance, however, was the Black sisterhood on display with her special guests. Fans went wild when hip-hop icon Queen Latifah joined Meg onstage for “Plan B.” Queen treated the crowd to a performance of “U.N.I.T.Y.” Victoria Monet also made a special appearance, giving a delicious performance of “Spin” alongside Meg and following up with “On My Mama.” The Houston rapper also invited Ciara on stage for “Roc Steady,” which sampled the Atlanta singer’s “Goodies.” The crowd screamed as they hit the iconic “Goodies” dance in unison.
“I love you so much and I’m so proud of you,” Ciara told Meg, bringing Meg to tears before going into “Big Ole Freak.”
Meg paid homage to these ladies and that energy was reciprocated. She brought the power of multi-generational Black sisterhood front and center. That sisterhood is the community that roots for us and picks us up when we need it most. And it’s the community who celebrates with us when we’ve hit a well-deserved milestone.
From the outside looking in, Coachella was one of those milestones for Meg. It further solidified her place as an entertainer as she finessed through technical difficulties while maintaining an electrifying performance. And fans on social media agreed.
#Megchella trended on X into Monday afternoon. “Meg is hip hop,” one user said, while another stated that she should’ve been the headliner.
[Megchella] is a hopeful reminder of Black women’s ability to stand up over and over again through life’s B.S. More importantly, it’s a beautiful look into the joy and freedom we all deserve to feel.
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Towards the end of Meg’s set, her mic got cut. A Bluesky user caught video of the moments her mic was off. As the crowd chanted her name, Meg finished out her set and choreography with grace and professionalism, taking a bow as her performance came to an abrupt end.
Though Goldenvoice, the company that organizes the festival, didn’t give a reason why her set was cut short, unhappy fans believe the reason was to leave room for Post Malone, who was headlining.
“#Megchella was the greatest performance of the whole weekend and they cut her for Post Malone???,” one user asked. Another person said Meg should’ve been Sunday’s headliner.
Though next weekend’s performances won’t be livestreamed, Megan performs again on Sunday, April 20, the second weekend of Coachella.
Megchella was amazing to watch because of her talent and expertise. But it’s also so sweet seeing Meg at this point of her healing journey, and to be able to root for her knowing everything she’s been through. It’s a hopeful reminder of Black women’s ability to stand up over and over again through life’s B.S. And more importantly, it’s a beautiful look into the joy and freedom we all deserve to feel.
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