Coachella 2022: Doja Cat owns the moment and more in epic main-stage performance

Doja Cat didn't say much during her set Sunday night at Coachella. But that was probably because she was too busy doing pretty much everything else.

She was acrobatically flipped by her backup dancers. She rode up on various elevated platforms (and on Easter Sunday no less). She quite literally owned every minute on stage.

And that was doubly impressive because this stage was not easy to own. There were lasers, there were flames, there were dancing mushrooms and wild space visuals. It was a S-P-E-C-T-A-C-L-E.

To put it simply (although this show was anything but simple), this was the kind of epic performance Coachella is made for. And Doja more than met it as she strutted and swaggered and surely commanded all of the thousands of eyes that turned out for this performance.

I was initially unsure what to make of the slightly longer-than-usual pauses that came throughout the set. But then I realized they were needed to give Doja just enough time to complete the many costume changes that came during the set.

Although there were no shortage of highlights, this nothing-short-of-epic spectacle came to a crescendo when Rico Nasty joined Doja on stage for a raucous rendition of their shared hit "Tia Tamera" (although admittedly it was hard to hear the performers over the crowd belting out the now familiar lyric "My twins big like Tia, Tamera.)"

Or maybe the crescendo came a few minutes later when Doja closed out the show with a snippet of an unreleased song that again whipped the crowd into a frenzy.

Although the show didn't include the anticipated reunion of Doja with her "Kiss Me More" collaborator SZA after their memorable acceptance moment at the Grammys (Doja Cat was on a bathroom break when the win was announced and had to run to the stage), it didn't have to, as this night was rightfully all about Doja, who was not going to be matched by anyone.

When Kanye West dropped out of the Sunday headlining spot less than two weeks ago, many called for Doja Cat to replace him. We'll see what Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd do in mere minutes, but Doja proved tonight that she would've been more than worthy of that top billing.

And as for the indications that Doja's upcoming tour will be her last; say it ain't so. But if this was it for the 26-year-old LA native (who previously played Coachella in 2019), then what a way to go out.

Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the City of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and via email at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella 2022: Doja Cat owns the moment and more in epic main-stage performance