Pharrell Williams performs at the 2014 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Saturday, April 12, 2014, in Indio. (Tom Bray/Staff)
With the glitz and glam of backup dancers and a roster of super special guests, Pharrell Williams put on essentially what was a headlining set on Saturday night at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Opening with “Lose Yourself to Dance,” which Williams sang on Daft Punk’s excellent “Random Access Memories,” he set the stage for a giant dance party that seemed to draw the attention of the entire Coachella crowd.
Williams kept apologizing for his voice amid the gusty winds and subsequent dust, but he sounded great and the spectacle was so much fun, even if he didn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered.
Williams, who is not only known for his work behind the microphone, but also his work behind the mixing board, brought out a blend of his own songs and work he did for others.
And with the hits came the stars. “Hot in Herre,” made famous by Nelly, but co-written and produced by Williams as part of The Neptunes, was the first number that brought out a star during the set. Nelly was there and that just kicked off a star-studded adventure that was packed full of more talent than Prince’s 2008 set.
Snoop Dogg, another former headliner, joined Williams for “Drop It Like It’s Hot.” Diplo, Busta Rhymes (who also showed up during Girl Talk’s set Friday night) were among the other stars.
And then, wait for it, Gwen Stefani came out to do “Hollaback Girl.” It was bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
When Williams got to “Blurred Lines,” his hit with Robin Thicke and T.I. that dominated 2013, I was surprised to see Williams going it alone. We only got a little taste of it, though.
Williams wrapped up his set with “Get Lucky,” another hit of 2013, but there were no French robots in sight, and then his big hit “Happy.”
The dance party was a blast, everyone seemed to have a good time and the star power was staggering.
OutKast, you might want to take some notes for next week.
But Williams wasn’t the only one bringing out the starpower during the gusty night. Solange brought out sister Beyonce to dance and Bey’s husband, Jay-Z, a headliner in 2010, joined Nas onstage, too.