By Radio.com Staff
Beyoncé was forced to cancel her headlining performances at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on the advice of her doctors; the singer is currently pregnant with twins.
Related: Beyoncé Cancels Coachella Performances
While Beyoncé is, of course, “irreplaceable,” here are our humble suggestions of five artists who could fill in for Queen Bey at this year’s Coachella.
Adele
Adele swept Beyoncé in the major categories at this year’s GRAMMYs (though even she felt Bey should have won Album of the Year), so if anyone could replace Bey, maybe it’s her. As she was accepting one of her GRAMMYs, she said, “My dream, my idol, is Queen Bee and I adore you… You move my soul every single day and you have for the last seventeen years,” adding later, “The artist of my life is Beyoncé.” So it seems like she’d be able to do a set with at least a few Beyonce covers, including — maybe — a few songs from Lemonade.
Katy Perry
Perry just dropped a new single, so perhaps a new album is coming this spring? The timing could be right for a high-profile festival appearance. The southern California native has attended Coachella multiple times but has never performed at the event.
Rihanna
RiRi crashed Calvin Harris’ 2016 Coachella set for a live version of their hit single “We Found Love,” but like Perry, she’s never played the festival proper. This could be her year. There have always been rumors that there’s a Beyonce/Rihanna rivalry, which Rihanna has squashed as recently as last December. It would be cool to see her drop a few Bey covers into her set.
Lady Gaga
Gaga — who collaborated with Bey on “Telephone” — is coming off a massive Super Bowl halftime spectacular and her Joanne world tour doesn’t kick off until August. She’s available and is in promotional mode so she could be a good choice.
Jay Z
Hova should take one for the team and fill in for his wife. Jay headlined Coachella back in 2010, so he’s familiar with the desert festival. Plus he could perform “Crazy in Love” and “Bonnie and Clyde” to bring some Queen Bey vibes to the show.