Asian acts at Coachella dominated the festival- opinion piece
By Matthew Landsman
April 28, 2025
The coveted event that is Coachella has come to a close after two weeks, with three days each of incredible sets from many of your favorite artists. We are here to discuss the Asian acts at Coachella that truly deserve a special spotlight and had some of the best sets of the festival.
First chronologically is Lisa of BLACKPINK. She performed at the Sahara stage on both Fridays, April 11 and 18. Her latest debut album “ALTER EGO” was the central theme of the show, performing as each ego on stage. I think the set design was some of the best I have seen from an artist, as she had unique visuals for each stage accompanying a custom fit for each “persona.”
The stage presence of Lisa is next level as she effortlessly hits choreography while either rapping or hitting soft, full notes. Lisa is not a stranger to the desert stage as her group became the first K-pop group to ever play there, and even headlined the festival their second time around. This set in particular was my favorite of the acts because there was a clear concept, and we got to hear all of the new songs live for the first time. Her energy was through the roof, and the audience was packed to the brim for both weekends.
Lisa is one of the best dancers in the industry, and it’s obvious there was attention to detail in everything she did. The best song live was “Elastigirl,” which started with an Arabic-inspired instrumental as she transitioned to a huge red velvet rope as a prop to dance with. She immersed herself in the performance and at the end hit a pose with her leg up straight, solidifying that Lisa is a one-of-a-kind talent with incredible flexibility. There was not a dull moment in her set, and she set the bar for performances by others.
ENHYPHEN is the second Asian act to discuss. They are a K-pop group under HYBE, home to BTS, and had one of the best performances of the night. They hit the Sahara stage on both Saturdays, April 12 and April 19. There was not a single moment of lip-syncing as they sang all of their songs in their native language, spreading the culture to a Western environment.
Dripped out in custom Prada outfits, as they are ambassadors for the company, they each looked very fashionable in custom individual outfits. This group is known for their live vocal ability and they kept the crowd hype with their upbeat tempo tracks.
The best song live by them was easily “Blessed-Cursed.” You can tell they love what they do when they sing this song and hit some impressive choreography that seems too complicated for any normal person to do. Member Heeseung was the star of the night as his energy was on a completely different level. His vocals were the most stable, and everyone online kept asking, “Who is the guy with red hair?” All of the members, though, did well, and I think the live band was the perfect accompaniment for their music. They tend to go for more pop/hip-hop-esque tracks, and having the band truly helped bring the performance together.
Jennie of BLACKPINK is the third act to discuss. This was her third performance in the desert, but this time without the help of her bandmate Lisa. She took over the Outdoor stage on Sundays, April 13 and 20. Her set was very simplistic as she wore ruby red both weekends to match the aesthetic of Jennie’s first studio, “Ruby,” named after her middle name. I think on weekend one, she seemed more nervous but still put on a good performance; however, on weekend two, Jennie blew me away.
Her energy was very up there, and she felt more comfortable being up there. The blend of perfect choreography, her vocal ability, and her stamina made this performance one for the history books. Jennie’s professionalism really showed on weekend two, and she sang all of her new songs that everyone wanted to hear. There was a lot of feedback about her not performing her old solo music, and she even added a dance break moment to it, which shows she wanted to cater her performance to the fans. The best song live from Jennie had to be “LIKE JENNIE.” The crowd went absolutely nuts over this song, and she delivered rap lines flawlessly while hitting the intense dance moves that looked exhausting. She didn’t look tired or sloppy at all, and to me, she left everything on the floor on weekend two.
Last but not least we have to talk about XG. In my opinion, they were the best set for Asian acts at Coachella. There was not a minute when my jaw was not on the floor. They closed the festival on the Sahara stage on Sundays, April 13th and 20th. This girl group left their mark at the festival as they had the best custom outfits I have ever seen.
There was not a lyric in their songs that they didn’t sing or rap live. The stage presence was next level, and even on weekend one, there was no fear in their faces. The confidence was at level 100, and to me, XG was born to be on stage.
XG is a girl group that is Japanese but promotes globally with all their tracks in English. To me, this group has been very underrated, and Coachella proved to the world that they are a force to be reckoned with.
The set was cool, playing off the group’s concept of being space wolves. The synchronization from them was next level, not missing a beat, and when they would go change, G’s backup dancers kept the energy of their performance alive, busting moves to remixed versions of their tracks. The best song live was “WOKE UP.” This is an entire song full of rapping, and to rap with no heavy breathing while hitting every beat of choreography was just astounding. They are going to go far after this performance and truly gave a masterclass on how everyone should be performing at Coachella.
First chronologically is Lisa of BLACKPINK. She performed at the Sahara stage on both Fridays, April 11 and 18. Her latest debut album “ALTER EGO” was the central theme of the show, performing as each ego on stage. I think the set design was some of the best I have seen from an artist, as she had unique visuals for each stage accompanying a custom fit for each “persona.”
The stage presence of Lisa is next level as she effortlessly hits choreography while either rapping or hitting soft, full notes. Lisa is not a stranger to the desert stage as her group became the first K-pop group to ever play there, and even headlined the festival their second time around. This set in particular was my favorite of the acts because there was a clear concept, and we got to hear all of the new songs live for the first time. Her energy was through the roof, and the audience was packed to the brim for both weekends.
Lisa is one of the best dancers in the industry, and it’s obvious there was attention to detail in everything she did. The best song live was “Elastigirl,” which started with an Arabic-inspired instrumental as she transitioned to a huge red velvet rope as a prop to dance with. She immersed herself in the performance and at the end hit a pose with her leg up straight, solidifying that Lisa is a one-of-a-kind talent with incredible flexibility. There was not a dull moment in her set, and she set the bar for performances by others.
ENHYPHEN is the second Asian act to discuss. They are a K-pop group under HYBE, home to BTS, and had one of the best performances of the night. They hit the Sahara stage on both Saturdays, April 12 and April 19. There was not a single moment of lip-syncing as they sang all of their songs in their native language, spreading the culture to a Western environment.
Dripped out in custom Prada outfits, as they are ambassadors for the company, they each looked very fashionable in custom individual outfits. This group is known for their live vocal ability and they kept the crowd hype with their upbeat tempo tracks.
The best song live by them was easily “Blessed-Cursed.” You can tell they love what they do when they sing this song and hit some impressive choreography that seems too complicated for any normal person to do. Member Heeseung was the star of the night as his energy was on a completely different level. His vocals were the most stable, and everyone online kept asking, “Who is the guy with red hair?” All of the members, though, did well, and I think the live band was the perfect accompaniment for their music. They tend to go for more pop/hip-hop-esque tracks, and having the band truly helped bring the performance together.
Jennie of BLACKPINK is the third act to discuss. This was her third performance in the desert, but this time without the help of her bandmate Lisa. She took over the Outdoor stage on Sundays, April 13 and 20. Her set was very simplistic as she wore ruby red both weekends to match the aesthetic of Jennie’s first studio, “Ruby,” named after her middle name. I think on weekend one, she seemed more nervous but still put on a good performance; however, on weekend two, Jennie blew me away.
Her energy was very up there, and she felt more comfortable being up there. The blend of perfect choreography, her vocal ability, and her stamina made this performance one for the history books. Jennie’s professionalism really showed on weekend two, and she sang all of her new songs that everyone wanted to hear. There was a lot of feedback about her not performing her old solo music, and she even added a dance break moment to it, which shows she wanted to cater her performance to the fans. The best song live from Jennie had to be “LIKE JENNIE.” The crowd went absolutely nuts over this song, and she delivered rap lines flawlessly while hitting the intense dance moves that looked exhausting. She didn’t look tired or sloppy at all, and to me, she left everything on the floor on weekend two.
Last but not least we have to talk about XG. In my opinion, they were the best set for Asian acts at Coachella. There was not a minute when my jaw was not on the floor. They closed the festival on the Sahara stage on Sundays, April 13th and 20th. This girl group left their mark at the festival as they had the best custom outfits I have ever seen.
There was not a lyric in their songs that they didn’t sing or rap live. The stage presence was next level, and even on weekend one, there was no fear in their faces. The confidence was at level 100, and to me, XG was born to be on stage.
XG is a girl group that is Japanese but promotes globally with all their tracks in English. To me, this group has been very underrated, and Coachella proved to the world that they are a force to be reckoned with.
The set was cool, playing off the group’s concept of being space wolves. The synchronization from them was next level, not missing a beat, and when they would go change, G’s backup dancers kept the energy of their performance alive, busting moves to remixed versions of their tracks. The best song live was “WOKE UP.” This is an entire song full of rapping, and to rap with no heavy breathing while hitting every beat of choreography was just astounding. They are going to go far after this performance and truly gave a masterclass on how everyone should be performing at Coachella.