The rumors were true.
Like a “Ray of Light,” one of pop music’s biggest stars popped up as a surprise guest for Coachella headliner Sabrina Carpenter during her Friday, April 17 set. Madonna came out to some, but not enough, cheers from the crowd — many of whom were born long after her biggest hits were on the radio.
They teamed up to sing Madonna’s hit “Vogue” and then went into another Madonna song, before the two talked to the crowd about their mutual admiration for each other. Madonna, 67, was wearing a lavender one-piece similar to the design of Sabrina’s out fit at that moment.
After the five-minute conversation, the same-heighted duo broke into a duet of Madonna’s megahit “Like a Prayer.” When it ended the two hugged, Carpenter grinning from ear to ear. Then Madonna disappeared into the floor. Carpenter went on with her show, following Madonna’s visit with her own biggest hit “Espresso.”
Many social media users pushed the rumor forward in the days leading up to Carpenter’s Weekend 2 performance, with the resounding consensus being that it would just make sense — Carpenter loves to pay homage to the pop songstresses that came before her, and this month marks the 20th anniversary of the last and only time Madonna has ever been on the Coachella lineup: April 30, 2006.
The timing also makes sense because Madonna released “I Feel So Free,” her first single off her upcoming album, “Confessions II,” on Friday, just hours before the Coachella gates opened for the first day of Weekend 2.
We really started to feel like the rumors were true, however, when we noticed on Friday afternoon that Madonna’s manager, Guy Oseary, posted a lengthy message to his Instagram Friday morning about how he asked Coachella Co-Founder Paul Tollett to get Madonna on the Sahara stage for Coachella 2006. The end of the post seemed to give a massive hint, saying “Confessions On A Dance Floor -2006 Confessions On A Dance Floor PART II -2026.”
Madonna at Coachella in 2006
Madonna has had two much-talked-about Coachella moments, and the talk has not aways been positive. The only time she’s been on the Coachella lineup was in 2006, and, put simply, it was a disaster.
Madonna had a mid-day, 50-minute set scheduled, which overwhelmed the small-ish Sahara Tent where she performed to an overflowing crowd the likes of which hadn’t happened to that point at Coachella. Then, the Material Girl was about 25 minutes late for her 50-minute set and with the rigid time schedule of Coachella, she could only play six songs.
It was a flop. She didn’t have time to play any classics, just her current jams like “Hung Up” and “Ray of Light.” People left disappointed. It was a rare epic fail for the festival.
Madonna’s only other visit to the main stage came with a cringe-y viral moment with headliner Drake in 2015. Madonna came out as a surprise guest, singing her songs “Human Nature” and “Hung Up.” Before she left the stage, she planted a long, long, long kiss on Drake that didn’t seem all that well-received. It was uncomfortable, but memorable.
(This story was updated to add a photo and new information.)
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Madonna stuns as surprise Coachella 2026 guest for Sabrina Carpenter
Reporting by Niki Kottmann and Shad Powers, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
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