For a festival like Coachella, sometimes the most unforgettable moments aren’t the ones listed on the line up. This year, an array of surprise guests were brought out, crossing decades and genres. Here’s my ranking of the coolest guests who stole the show. 

1. Sabrina Carpenter (Madonna, Will Ferrell and Terry Crews) 

Sabrina bringing on the Queen of Pop music herself, Madonna, was more than just a surprise: it was culturally significant. It was a passing of the torch, a merger of 2 generations of pop music, a way of showing her respect to those who paved the way before her. Amongst that, Sabrina incorporated other insane guests like Will Ferrell as an electrician in her elaborate set and had Terry Crews play as his famous character from White Chicks, Latrell Spencers, singing A Thousand Miles. This was completely unexpected, yet worked so perfectly, exactly what a Coachella guest appearance should entail. 

2. Justin Bieber (Billie Eilish, The Kid LAROI, and SZA) 

Justin Bieber’s presence alone was enough to leave the whole crowd star-struck and with a case of Bieber-Fever, but his choice to bring out SZA and The Kid LAROI, whom he sang Snooze and STAY with, made for a STACKED lineup. Despite these songs being collabs and the surprise not being the most shocking, it didn’t make it any less powerful and cool. However, Billie Eilish being the One Less Lonely Girl ( a tradition Bieber used to do when he was younger, bringing out a fan from the audience and serenading her), was a surprise for Eilish herself. It was very full circle as Eilish grew up a superfan of Bieber’s.

3. KATSEYE (HUNTR/X) 

They may not be everyone’s favorite music-wise, but you can’t deny that those girls can put on a show. KATSEYE, a new up-and-coming global girl group, played the girls from Netflix’s insanely popular film, KPOP Demon Hunters, and sang a rendition of the notorious song, Golden. It was the perfect crossover to engage Katseye’s younger audience and I thought they sounded great. 

4. Addison Rae (Maddie Ziegler and Olivia Rodrigo) 

This duo caught the world by surprise. They captured a different side of the internet: the dance and reality TV side of the internet. Addison’s social media presence, the catalyst of her success, and Maddie Ziegler’s connection to not only the dance world but also the reality TV industry as a persona on the show Dance Moms resonated strongly with Addison’s exact audience. Not the most musically significant, but pop-culture relevant. During weekend two, Addison brought out Olivia Rodrigo for a performance of Addison’s song “headphones on.” 

5. Sombr (Billy Corgan) 

Sombr bringing out Corgan, lead singer of The Smashing Pumpkins, a band who is headlining Lollapalooza this summer, felt like the perfect way to bring them back into the limelight right in time for their big day.  This was the perfect indie/mainstream crossover as they covered The Smashing Pumpkins hit, 1979. 

All in all, Coachella may be a music festival, but at its core, it’s a host for some of the most iconic and jaw-dropping surprises and crossovers which make the pricey trip worth it.