Drake underwhelms as Coachella headliner

After the announcement of headliners that generally perplexed and frustrated popular music fans at the onset, Drake was marked as the redeemer for young lovers of the mainstream. He wasn't the dark horse like Jack White, or the old faithful like AC/DC — he's the young steed, the superstar. The Canadian rapper has a net worth of $55 million, a prolific career including a Grammy and 12 No. 1 singles, his own search engine, video game, and iPhone app.

In short, Drake is supposed to be a big deal.

But on Sunday, his performance proved otherwise. After a 20 minute wait, Drake announced, "I'm not looking to change your life, but I'm looking to be a part of it." The crowd cheered — this was the hype they had been waiting for. "I didn't come here to do long talking, I came here to play the hits."

For the next one hour and twenty minutes, Drake did just as he promised — he played the hits.

It was almost as if he had a checklist in front of him: first, get the audience to sing along to a hit; second, play the popular tracks; last, say, "Coachella" at every possible moment during a song. In the first thirty minutes, Drake cruised through 14 songs, including "Tuesday" and "Crew Love." The crowd thinned, and there was a wavelength of anticipation wavering over the crowd.

"Coachella, where you all at?" Drake asked the crowd, walking the stage. Somewhere in the audience, a fan yelled back, "Waiting for you, Drake!"

The waiting continued even after Madonna's surprise guest appearance. The 1980s pop star sang "Hung Up," parading around stage as some in the audience skittishly asked, "Who is that?" and "Is that Madonna?" Beyonce's name was tossed around, as well as Nicki Minaj, until people finally realized — yes, it was Madonna. People reluctantly pulled out cell phones to take a picture, or shuffled their feet, or looked around to make sure they weren't crazy, that Drake had indeed brought Madonna onstage. She aggressively kissed Drake and proclaimed, "B****, I'm Madonna!"

Awkwardly, the audience watched as Madonna exited the stage and left Drake laughing, half-grimacing. Finally, he stood up, smiled, and said, "That was weird."

We saw 60-year-old Angus Young rise, shirtless, from a crowd. We saw Jack White. They were weird, but that word doesn't quite describe the Sunday headliner show.

After ending with "Legend," Drake stood in fake rain pouring from the stage ceiling, doubled over as the crowd walked away, deflated — not only from a tiring weekend, but an over-hyped, underwhelming performance by Drake, the supposed redeemer.