On Saturday night, Zendaya surprised Coachella 2023 attendees in the Mojave tent with a performance alongside British musician Labrinth, taking to the stage for her first live performance as a singer in eight years. The Euphoria actress sang two songs written for her Emmy award-winning HBO show: “I’m Tired” and “All Of Us.”
Fans were absolutely floored to see her, and quickly took to social media to share clips and their excited reactions.
And Zendaya herself seemed to be having an absolutely incredible time, which she confirmed later in several Instagram Stories, first writing, “I cannot express my gratitude enough for this magical night. Thank you to my brother @labrinth for inviting me and giving me the most beautiful safe space to be on a stage again. And to the crowd tonight…wow… my heart is so full, I can’t thank you enough for the love I received tonight, made all my nerves melt away, I’m so grateful.”
Later, in a video just before going to bed at what was close to 4AM in Indio, California time, she expressed her gratitude again.
“I have never heard screaming like that in my entire life,” Zendaya said. “I couldn’t hear anything but you guys, so I don’t know what I sounded like. It was so special.”
Zendaya’s self-titled album debut was released in 2013, but she stepped away from singing to focus on her acting career to great success. Her collaboration with Labrinth on “All of Us” won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. In 2022, she updated fans on her singing career in a tweet following the win, thanking them for their support.
“I stepped away from music quite a while ago, for a number of reasons, but I still really love it, so the kindness and support I’ve received the past few days just for a little tiny toe dip back into some music means the absolute world to me..thanks<3”
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.