We love Phoenix here at Contactmusic but we certainly couldn’t have predicted this: the French band, making their much-anticipated comeback this year with new album Bankrupt!, played the first weekend of Coachella on Saturday night (April 13, 2013) and, though rumors were that they’d be joined by fellow countrymen Daft Punk on the night, the special guest they did get out from the wings turned out to be someone very different indeed – R Kelly!

That’s right, the warbly soul singer and otherwise general loon came on stage to join Phoenix in a frankly weird mash-up of the French band’s big hit ‘1901’ and Kelly’s own smash ‘Ignition (Remix).’ Now given that everyone was hoping that legendary electronic duo Daft Punk were to be the ones making a cameo, you could perhaps expect a little disappointment from the Coachella crowd. Not a bit of it, and after the initial shock subsided, the packed out audience went mad for it, turning the venue into a giant dance floor.

Aside from that, the group largely previewed their new album, though left plenty of room for hits like ‘Lisztomania’ and live staple ‘Love Like A Sunset’. The whole shebang’s rolls back into Florida next weekend with the same line-up and a crowd still a-waiting their Tupac Hologram moment.

R Kelly
R Kelly was Phoenix's surprise guests at Coachella