Kanye West drops out of Coachella less than two weeks before festival begins

Kanye West has withdrawn from Coachella just over a week before America’s biggest music festival was due to begin - here’s who wants to replace him.

Grammy-winning duo Silk Sonic, pop superstar The Weeknd and Californian party-starters Red Hot Chili Peppers are among the big-name artists vying to take over Kanye West’s headlining slot at Coachella.

Within an hour of the news West had pulled out of performing at the globally-renowned festival, organisers were hit up by agents touting the availability of their star clients.

The Weeknd’s world tour kicks off in July so it might be a stretch for him to be match-fit for the Coachella slots on April 17 and 24.

Silk Sonic are gig ready thanks to their recent Las Vegas residency and the Chili Peppers have been busting out the occasional TV slot and show in the lead-up to the release of their new album Unlimited Love.

Coachella is North America’s largest music festival. Picture: AFP

But the Goldenvoice promoters who stage the event appear to have kept an artist in their back pocket as rumours swirled in recent weeks that the erratic and problematic West was unlikely to go ahead with his Coachella gigs.

Electronic pop supergroup Swedish House Mafia are on the line-up but haven’t had their time slot confirmed so could easily take on the headlining spot.

But will rap fans who bought tickets to West be keen on another pop headliner considering Billie Eilish and Harry Styles are the star attractions on the other two nights?

West dropped out of Coachella less than two weeks before America’s biggest music festival is set to begin.

TMZ reported that rapper Travis Scott, who was supposed to join West on stage, has also withdrawn from the festival.

The reason for West’s last minute cancellation was not disclosed, although Variety reported that the rapper had not rehearsed or prepared for the appearance.

Coachella is North America’s biggest festival and runs over two consecutive weekends every April.

Kanye West and girlfriend Chaney Jones at an NBA game last month. Picture: AFP/Getty Images

West’s withdrawal from the festival is not widely seen as a shock. In recent months, the rapper has displayed unpredictable and combative behaviour, which had put a question mark over his appearance even as it was announced.

West was pulled from Sunday night’s Grammy Awards due to what was described as his “concerning online behaviour”.

The New York Post reported that West had told his ex-wife Kim Kardashian that he was “going away to get help” and would not be “making any public appearances or inflammatory social media statements”.

West was previously scheduled to be one of the headliners for Coachella alongside Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and Swedish House Mafia.

Kanye West and Travis Scott with the Kardashian-Jenner family at the Met Gala in 2019. Picture: AFP

However, after a series of social media tirades against Kardashian and her boyfriend, Pete Davidson, the music festival was under pressure to remove West as a performer.

Under the alias “Kim Pete,” an individual launched a Change.org petition saying organisers “should be ashamed of themselves” for giving West “any more of a platform” to spew hate.

The petition reached nearly 50,000 signatures with one petitioner, writing, “Kanye is a narcissistic egotistical bully who thinks his money and celebrity give him a free pass to abuse, threaten, shame and defame others. Why he has been allowed to get away with this appalling behaviour for so long is a joke.”

Billie Eilish hit back at Kanye West after he told her to "apologise” to Travis Scott. Picture: Getty Images for The Recording Academy

In February, West had already had a run-in with fellow Coachella headliner Eilish and had threatened to drop out of the festival unless she “apologised” to Travis Scott.

West shared a screenshot of a blog post about Eilish pausing her show and offering an inhaler to a distressed fan at a concert in the US.

The blog post claimed that she “dissed” Scott, though Eilish singer never mentioned Scott nor Astroworld onstage.

Ten fans were killed and hundreds injured at Scott’s Astroworld show in Houston last November after a crowd surge.

“Come on Billie we love you please apologise to Trav and to the families of the people who lost their lives no one intended this to happen,” West wrote.

“Trav didn’t have any idea of what was happening when he was on stage and was very hurt by what happened.”

He added: “And yes Trav will be with me at Coachella but now I need Billie to apologise before I perform.”

Responding in a comment on West’s Instagram post, Eilish wrote, “literally never said a thing about Travis. was just helping a fan.”

– with the New York Post

Originally published as Kanye West drops out of Coachella less than two weeks before festival begins