Biggest Surprise Acts In Coachella History

The 2015 Coachella festival was chock full of surprises, but perhaps the most unexpected cameo that year occurred when Drake shocked us all by bringing out Madonna during his set -- then making out with her onstage. It was certainly... something.

It's probably a safe bet that whenever you go to see Ice Cube perform live, he'll perform some classic N.W.A. tracks. He went one further last year, inviting surviving N.W.A. members MC Ren, DJ Yella, and Dr. Dre to the stage to perform some old-school west-coast classics.

It's funny to think that Justin Bieber, one of the most universally reviled figures in music, is close friends with Chance the Rapper, one of the most universally beloved. They have made appearances at each others' shows in the past, and back in 2014, Chance the Rapper brought Bieber onstage during his Coachella set.

I uh, I don't think anybody saw this coming. Back in 2013, Thomas Mars of Phoenix brought R. Kelly on stage during his set. The two of them ended up performing a live mashup of hit songs "1901" and "Ignition (Remix)" to bewildered, confused, and elated fans.

This one probably wasn't all that surprising given how popular "We Found Love" was at the time, but Rihanna's surprise appearance during Calvin Harris's 2012 Coachella set was electric nonetheless.

You're probably not surprised to hear that Paul McCartney made a surprise appearance at 2011's Coachella festival. You may, however, be surprised to learn the nature of his appearance.

I'm willing to bet that nobody at Afrojack's set could have predicted that the DJ would be joined by McCartney (and Usher) partway through the performance.

When the Jesus and Mary Chain reunited back in 2007, they certainly came back on the scene with a bang. During their Coachella performance that year, they brought out Scarlett Johansson to join them for "Just Like Honey" -- a song featured in her movie "Lost in Translation".

Rilo Kiley may be no more, but Jenny Lewis is still going strong. Back in 2015, during her Coachella set, she brought out Haim to perform "Girl on Girl" -- and for fans of her work with Rilo Kiley, she also brought out former bandmate Blake Sennett to perform "Portions for Foxes".

Run the Jewels' 2016 Coachella performance was as packed with superstars as a cheesy network TV Christmas special. After being introduced by Bernie Sanders, they brought out Nas, DJ Shadow, Big Boi, Blink-182's Travis Barker, Gary Clark Jr., and Rage Against the Machine's Zack de la Rocha. It was one of the most legendary sets in Coachella history, and for good reason.

As surprising as it may have been when 2 Chainz brought out Fall Out Boy to perform "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light 'Em Up)" during his set in 2013, it was not the first time the two had collaborated. They did a similar thing months earlier, performing together at the 2013 NBA All-Star Game.

Perhaps they were brought together by their love of weird hair. How else can you explain Skrillex bringing out Jonathan Davis, lead singer of Korn, during his set at Coachella 2011?

A$AP Rocky's set at Coachella 2016 was surprising enough on its own (check out that Donkey Kong Junior arcade cabinet in the background!), but he really took it to the next level by bringing out Kanye West to perform "Father Stretch My Hands (Pt. 1)".

Kanye's 2016 appearance, however, had nothing on his 2015 cameo. He crashed The Weeknd's performance and pretty much put together his own set -- treating guests to "Can't Tell Me Nothing", "Black Skinhead", "Don't Like (Remix)", and "All Day".

Arcade Fire has made a habit of challenging expectations and surprising fans, so it makes a certain amount of sense that they'd have something up their sleeve for their Coachella set back in 2014. They ended up bringing out Blondie's Debbie Harry to join in for a show-stopping version of "Heart of Glass".

During Pharrell's set back in 2014, he was able to enlist a whole bunch of superstars to join him -- most notably Jay-Z, T.I., and Usher, who performed his hit song "U Don't Have To Call". 

The Black Keys' 2012 Coachella performance featured a very tender moment, when they brought their hero John Fogerty on stage to pay tribute to the recently deceased Levon Helm -- legendary drummer for The Band. Of course, they did so by performing an amazing version of "The Weight".

It's well-known that Atlanta rappers stick together, so when Outkast gave a rare live performance at Coachella back in 2014, it was great to see them bring out fellow Dungeon Family alumnus Future.

Sure, they're married so it wasn't the most unexpected cameo in the world, but that didn't make it any less electrifying when Jay-Z was joined onstage by Beyonce for "Young Forever".

The Chainsmokers' 2016 Coachella set was certainly star-studded, but perhaps the most surprising moment came when Stephan Jenkins, frontman for Third Eye Blind joined the band to perform his hit song "Jumper".

2012 was special for Frank Ocean fans who missed the Odd Future days. During Ocean's 2012 Coachella set, he was joined onstage by Tyler, The Creator -- and though it wasn't a full Odd Future reunion, it was a nice treat nonetheless.

Back in 2011, Kanye West was on top of the world, having recently released "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" to rave reviews. For his Coachella performance, he chose to invite collaborator Justin Vernon of Bon Iver onstage with him as well.

It's been a big year for Anderson .Paak, and as his star was rising last year, he put on a whirlwind Coachella performance. His 2016 set included cameos from Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, and T.I.

As part of Grimes' set last year at the 2016 Coachella festival, she brought out Janelle Monae to perform their collaboration "Venus Fly".

Back in 2015, hotshot indie duo Odesza went for a more unconventional cameo for their Coachella debut. Instead of bringing on a well known artist or band, they instead enlisted the USC marching band drumline to join them for "IPlayYouListen" and "Tell Me Closer".

Coachella 2012 probably had the most surprising cameo ever when, thanks to advanced holographic technology, Tupac Shakur was able to make a posthumous appearance at Dr. Dre's epic set.