The Coachella lineup sparks discourse every year without fail: it can tell you who might have an album dropping soon or who’s less famous than they may have initially seemed, the sounds that will dominate pop over the coming year and the legacy acts set to re-form. This year, the poster featured a jarring but not unwelcome surprise: on the second line of the Friday lineup, ahead of upstart rappers GloRilla and Latto, below near-mythical figures Frank Ocean and Björk, was Jai Paul – the London producer who sent ripples through the pop landscape with two singles in the early 2010s, before basically disappearing altogether.
Billing on a festival poster might seem inconsequential, but it can mean the world to an artist – just ask Lana Del Rey, who threatened to pull out of Glastonbury this year after not appearing high enough on the lineup. It symbolises a career milestone that some artists spend their entire lives trying to reach. Which is why it’s unheard of for an artist such as Paul, who has never even played a live show, to achieve that status on his first go. Of course, it’s not unwarranted: Paul’s music remains totally singular and goodwill towards him is strong.
