Missy Elliott Delivers Show-Stopping Parade of Hits at Coachella
Indeed, those who attended one of the stops on 'Out of This World' would instantly recognize that the format was reapplied to her Coachella set, right down to the outfit billowing behind her during 'She's a Bitch' or the massive Mega Man Missy cruising through the cosmos behind her as she sang 'Sock It 2 Me.'
More from Variety
Benson Boone Performs 'Bohemian Rhapsody' With Queen's Brian May and Announces Sophomore Album 'American Heart' at Coachella
Coachella Livestream Schedule: How and When to Stream the Weekend 1 Performances
Go-Go's Unseal Lips for Pre-Coachella Reunion Show, Saluting Clem Burke, Interpolating Chappell Roan and Saying 'F-- Trump': Concert Review
But those who have already witnessed it would know it bears repeating. Last year, she embarked on her first headlining tour — yes, her first, if you can believe it — with a mind-blowing spectacle set against a journey into outer space. Accompanied by Ciara, Busta Rhymes and Timbaland, she toured her decades-long discography with a teeming crew of backup dancers, bringing audiences to the heavens with finely choreographed numbers and an arsenal of hits.
At Coachella, there were no special guests or dynamic tweaks, just the innovative strain of music and performance that grafted her brand of hip-hop onto mainstream pop. 'This is the one and only time you'll see anything like this in your life. So, shall we begin?' said the narrator at the beginning of the performance. The message rang true — after all, who's to say when Elliott will once again choose to grace us with her genius?
To kick off her set, Elliott channeled 'Transformers' with a car exoskeleton that she shed to reveal a sparkling racing outfit with a bedazzled bike helmet. She ripped through 'We Run This' and '4 My People,' two relative kernels in her oeuvre, before addressing the crowd: 'What's up Coachella! I say what's up Coachella! OK so I want to see if I can take you way back. Can I take you way back? Day one Missy Elliott fans make some noise! We gon' take it back, like 90-something? Let's go.'
Thus began the parade of hits, from 'I'm Really Hot' and 'Gossip Folks' to 'One Minute Man' and 'Hot Boyz.' She took attendees on a trip to Planet Neon, decked out in neon outfits to the tune of 'Work It' and 'Pass That Dutch' to a fitting conclusion of 'Lose Control.' There were familiar touchstones across decades, paced to a steady rhythm. It was exactly what you'd expect, and hope for, from Elliott, even after all these years.
It's easy to take for granted how transformative and truly original — a designation that's truly difficult to come by these days – Elliott has been throughout her career. 'Out of This World' was a victory lap, a reinforcement of excellence to longtime fans and those still discovering her music. Those who have kept tabs know that Elliott is for the ages; Coachella was just another reminder of that.
Best of Variety
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
What's Coming to Disney+ in April 2025
The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Chelsea Handler to Anthony Hopkins
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Elle
2 days ago
- Elle
We All Agreed That Diet Culture Was Bad. So Why Is It Back?
Has anyone noticed a shift lately? You open TikTok and sift through videos of 'fit checks, body checks, workout tips, not feeling much of anything at all. Except, of course, that vague sense of dread in the pit of your stomach. Is that influencer so slim because she follows a clean-eating plan, or because she doesn't eat at all? Maybe there's a seismic change in the air. Celebrities are losing weight, even those who branded themselves as body-positive icons. Others are being scrutinised for signs they're taking weight-loss drugs. Lana Del Rey, a star once reviled for no longer looking 25 years old, appeared at Coachella looking 25 years old. The internet's reaction to her reclaimed thinness was 'WE ARE SO BACK'. A stranger's weight loss, it would seem, is a harbinger of hope. Or maybe a testament that fat shaming works. 'I've seen a huge uptick in content online that promotes diet culture, and very often tips over into eating-disorder territory,' says Alex Light, a body-image speaker. 'A lot of it is subtle, disguised as 'wellness', but some of it is blatant – like 'what I eat in a day' videos glorifying extremely low-calorie [diets], or creators encouraging their followers to be 'skinny legends'.' When you start to notice them, the signs are everywhere. Noughties fashion trends are having a revival, along with the idealisation of Noughties-era bodies. Wellness discourse is crossing into alt-right territory. AI is making everyone even more image obsessedwith people asking ChatGPT if they're 'hot enough'. Politics is influencing beauty trends. Unabashed 'skinny influencers' are mainstream. What on earth happened, would be a fair question to ask. Didn't we all agree, around a decade ago, that diet culture was bad? That there's more to life than being thin? 'Arguably what scares me more is the engagement on these posts: thousands of likes and comments applauding the dedication, or asking for tips,' Light continues. 'It shows this isn't happening in a vacuum – there's a wider cultural appetite for this kind of content.' An 'anti-diet advocate', Light is the author of You Are Not a Before Picture and co-host of Should I Delete That?, a podcast she co-hosts with Em Clarkson, which attempts to apply the nuance 'that is often left out of the polarising conversations that take place on social media'. Indeed, these symptoms of our divided times could be linked to diet culture's big comeback. 'The algorithm doesn't tend to reward nuance, compassion or content that doesn't focus on aesthetics or transformation,' Light says. 'What's common is 'wellness' content that ends up reinforcing body ideals: 'gentle' weight-loss goals, 'healthy swaps' or hyper-disciplined routines. It might not look like traditional diet culture on the surface, but it reinforces the idea that your body is a problem to fix.' Dr Johanna Keeler, a psychologist specialising in eating disorders, confirms that seemingly benign social-media content can have an insidious effect. She points to a recent study of TikTok algorithms, which found that people with an eating disorder were far more likely to be shown appearance-oriented, dieting and exercise content. ('They were 4343% more likely to be shown toxic eating-disorder videos,' she adds.) The problem is that the algorithm perpetuates a 'vicious circle' – those with eating disorders are more likely to be shown triggering content, and the triggering content exacerbates disordered eating. 'The worrying thing is that, because of smartphones, we're exposed to this content a lot more.' This is made more extreme due to tailored content from the algorithms, causing vulnerable people to get stuck in a harmful echo chamber. It's not the first time social media has sparked these concerns. 'This era echoes pro-anorexia Tumblr, but it has a shinier, more socially acceptable veneer,' Light says. The website was host to a huge number of 'pro-ana' blogs that posted 'thinspiration' in the form of personal pictures and Kate Moss gifs, fostering one-upmanship around users' daily food intake and workout routines. While this phenomenon was more brazen in its promotion of dieting, Light argues that 'the result is the same: we're still being told that our value hinges on how small, controlled and ideal our bodies look'. A lot of today's viral content is more implicit in its promotion of the beauty standard – a cursory glance at Instagram's Explore page will reveal paparazzi pictures of celebrities in bikinis, their figures picked apart in the comments, and fitness influencers sharing weight-loss tips. 'It's dressed up as 'wellness', 'clean living' or 'biohacking',' Light says, referencing the coded terms creators use to avoid being cancelled. But as Keeler's research suggests, this can function as a gateway to more extreme, pro-ana subcultures, and influencers who are less precious about their wording. Liv Schmidt, a 23-year-old former TikTok creator, shared videos telling followers what she eats in a day 'to stay skinny', with slogans including: 'It's not a sin to want to be thin'. After being barred from the app, Schmidt started a membership programme she calls the Skinni Société, where subscribers pay $20 a month to gain access to her 'portion-controlled' food diaries, and group chats where members compare step counts and 'progress pics'. 'Seeing Gen Z engage with his rhetoric has been a big shocker,' says Gina Tonic, senior editor and podcast host at Polyester Zine. 'The worst thing I've seen is SkinnyTok and eating-disorder Twitter accounts making their way into 'normal' algorithms – being seen by many who didn't know they existed prior to that.' Though TikTok has banned the #SkinnyTok hashtag, the community is still active and growing on the app. 'You hope younger generations will be more socially aware but it's not necessarily the case; they make the same mistakes we do, and that's hard to watch.' Tonic notes the responsibility to police this content ultimately lies with social-media platforms, who seem to 'prioritise engagement over wellbeing and social justice'. She says an early sign of the pendulum swing back to diet culture was 'creators who centred their brand on self-love or body positivity or fat liberation shifting to be around weight loss'. Many TikTok users who have undergone transformations opened up about their use of GLP-1s, which have been hailed as miracle drugs while giving rise to ethical concerns. Part of a cultural shift to the pursuit of thinness at all costs, these admissions seem even more jarring to those who remember a time when showcasing diverse bodies on the internet was celebrated. 'In the 2010s, we had a mainstream wave of body positivity,' says Light. In an interview with BeautyMatter, beauty-industry critic Jessica DeFino said that, during this time, 'anti-diet culture limited what beauty standards the media could promote without facing public backlash'. But even if the movement was more about optics than genuine progress, with celebrities cashing in on wokeness for clout, Light claims this was preferable to the situation we find ourselves in. 'A lot of it wasn't perfect, of course, but it cracked open the conversation, gave marginalised bodies visibility and challenged narrow beauty standards.' And though it can seem like progress has been permanently reversed, Tonic believes sometimes things have to get worse before they get better: 'Fat liberation, a lot like feminism, has come in waves of popularity, and the tide seems to be out at the minute. I do think it'll come back full-force soon.' In the meantime, it's important to practise awareness, and to consider safeguarding measures. In a recent study, almost one in five UK women screened positive for a possible eating disorder. The most effective way to break yourself out of negative thinking patterns? Addressing that pesky phone addiction. 'Any sort of intervention to try to limit your exposure should help improve your appearance-satisfaction and wellbeing', Keeler advises. Tonic agrees, but also advocates engaging with online content that makes you feel good. 'I think making an active commitment to following and engaging with accounts that are body positive and seek to decentre and oppose these conversations will help so much,' she says. 'Curate a feed and algorithm that feeds you the right things. Negative things online are unavoidable at this point, but pointedly engaging with content that counteracts it will do wonders.' Light, similarly, has found hope by building a positive online community. 'The messages I get from people who've started to eat more freely, wear the clothes they love, stop punishing themselves… all of it reminds me that change is happening, even if it's gradual and it's not trending,' she says. 'I think a great question to ask yourself is, 'Who benefits from me believing I need to be smaller?' The answer is never you. It's the multi-billion-dollar diet industry. Knowing that I'm fine exactly as I am and that I don't need to be smaller is an act of rebellion. Real joy and confidence come from opting out.' If you're worried about disordered eating or concerned about someone else, there are resources that can help: ELLE Collective is a new community of fashion, beauty and culture lovers. For access to exclusive content, events, inspiring advice from our Editors and industry experts, as well the opportunity to meet designers, thought-leaders and stylists, become a member today HERE.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
King and Queen feed polo mints to champion racehorse on visit to Newmarket
The King and Queen each fed a polo mint to the champion racehorse Stradivarius on a visit to the National Stud in Newmarket, Suffolk. Charles, 76, held out the treat on his right palm for the stallion to take, then stroked the horse on the head. Camilla, 78, also gave the horse a mint then petted it as the animal loudly crunched on it. The King said afterwards: 'At least he didn't bite.' His consort said 'keep away from their teeth', adding: 'Now he's looking for more polos.' Charles and Camilla were shown four resident stallions on their visit to the National Stud, with each individually paraded before them. The last of the four was Stradivarius, who has career earnings in excess of £3.4 million and 18 Group wins – more than any other European horse. The King and Queen, who arrived by helicopter, also spoke to people involved in the horseracing industry during Tuesday's visit. Charles shovelled soil into holes beside two already-planted field maple trees and Camilla then watered them from a watering can, before a round of applause, and they left the National Stud in a dark blue BMW car.


Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Joshua Tree's hotly contested music scene gets a new gem in Mojave Gold
Out on the moody, flame-licked front patio of Mojave Gold in Yucca Valley, Ryan and Alexis Gutierrez took in their first goth show in their new neighborhood. The couple had just moved to the high desert from the Inland Empire, and given the considerable face tattoo count between them, they'd been looking for some witchy fellow travelers. After watching the electro project Tantra Punk's set — a singer marauding across the stage, fogged over with blood-colored lights — the couple passed by a merch booth hawking fresh herbs planted in tiny metal pots. The two were pleasantly surprised they'd found their people here. 'I didn't even know there was a scene for this out here,' Alexis said. 'I literally just passed this place and thought it looked hip. We used to drive to San Diego for something like this.' 'It's kind of slower out here in the desert, but there's things like this that make it fun,' Ryan said, 'Being in the alternative scene, having shows like this is really important to us.' The six-week-old Mojave Gold is the most promising new entry in a desert music scene that, lately, has seen its share of high-stakes ownership drama at venues like Pappy & Harriet's and the Alibi. Mojave Gold's owners are betting on a more permanent, independent-minded scene for local acts and edgier nightlife in its wake. 'A part of why we moved here 10 years ago was that there are so many amazing musicians, and a lot more people live here now,' said the venue's co-owner Cooper Gillespie. 'I'm like, 'Yes, bring on all the amazing music venues and new places for the music community to be.'' While Joshua Tree is famous for its rough-and-tumble (if sometimes set decorated) roadhouse aesthetic, Mojave Gold looks more like it zigged left up the 111 from Palm Springs. A black and gilt disco vibe permeates the 500-capacity space, from the undulating wood ceiling made from salvaged Hollywood Bowl seats to velveteen booths and a winking poster advertising Quaaludes. 'There's a purposeful make-out corner,' said Mojave Gold's interior designer Brookelyn Fox, wryly arching her eyebrows toward the rear of the venue. Mojave Gold's attached restaurant is worth a visit in its own right (a cactus and citrus ceviche, charred cauliflower steak and a chocolate mole custard looked especially eye-catching). But in a small town with an outsize presence on the region's music scene, it could help turn the area into a year-round tour stop in its own right and become a new festival-season mainstay. 'If you've got all these bands playing Coachella every year, well, only one of them is going to be able to play Saturday night at Pappy's,' said Dale Fox, who manages the venue's financing. 'Now, there's another place.' Landers residents Gillespie and her Mojave Gold co-founder Greg Gordon are both former Pappy's employees, working under longtime owners Robyn Celia and Linda Krantz. They suspected there was room for more live music than that beloved and hotly contested venue could handle year-round. They had their eyes on the former AWE Bar space since it closed after a brief run in 2023, with ambitions to rebuild it into a locals-first venue. 'The space and the time we've had is so much more than we could have done in L.A.' Gillespie said. 'Everything takes a lot of time and money in the city, and out here, I feel like there's a lot more space in all aspects of your life to create. We'll have national acts, but also bring up our local talent and give them opportunities to have a place to call their own.' They got lucky when Liz Garo, the talent buyer for the late, lamented Alibi in Palm Springs, was unexpectedly free and looking for a new project in the area after decades booking the Echo, Regent and other venues in Los Angeles. The shows so far have spanned the modern desert's full range of scenes — country dance nights, the scuzzy punk of Throw Rag, cabaret drag acts and gothic folk from Blood Nebraska. 'It was a part of some music scenes where you didn't even know who's playing, but you went to the Echo because you knew all your friends were going to be there,' Gillespie said. 'That's what we want this place to be.' Mojave Gold arrives as a new crop of nightlife spots have opened to serve both desert lifers and newcomers to the small towns near Joshua Tree National Park. The Red Dog Saloon, Más o Menos and the ad hoc gay bar Tiny Pony Tavern have found their footing for more ambitious desert nightlife. There's still room for more, Gordon said. 'The big surprise for me when we opened, is that there was not one moment where I felt a sense of competition,' Gordon added. 'None of the other restaurants or venues had this kind of cutthroat mentality. There's no zero-sum thinking. I think we're still so young out here that ... everybody adds something to the market.' But passions about development run deep out here, especially after the pandemic-fueled boom in property flipping. The sad fate of the now-shuttered Alibi, the brutal court skirmish over Pappy's and the gleaming nearby Acrisure Arena (which just landed the kickoff date and sole SoCal stop of Paul McCartney's tour) prove that moneyed interests still have their eye on the area's land and cultural scene. For now though, the string of little desert towns are happy the Airbnb flippers have taken a beating and longer-term visions for local culture are taking root. 'Shout-out to the city government in Yucca,' Gordon said, saluting. 'They're constantly thinking of ways to beautify the area and respect Old Town and encourage curated growth.' The Mojave Gold team hopes that this sometimes-shaky boomlet of independent music in the desert can foster a scene like Silver Lake's in the early 2000s — big enough to be nationally influential, but neighborhood-y enough to roll in twice a week and see where the evening takes you. Even if it's straight to hell on goth night. 'A big part of those scenes were free or very inexpensive nights when you even if you didn't have a lot of money, you could go out and have a great time,' Gillespie said. 'I hope that the focus here is on fostering the local creative community and not just profiting.'