Coachella 2015: The return of Kanye West

Late into a set that stretched into Sunday morning, the Weeknd told the crowd he had a new outlook on his Coachella experience.

“When I said last Saturday that it was the greatest night in my life. Well, I take that back,” the alt-R&B singer announced. “Tonight is the greatest night in my life.”

The reason for his change of heart? Kanye West.

In what was both this year’s closely guarded secret and best surprise – sorry, Madonna – West appeared toward the tail end of the Weeknd’s late night set, which closed out Saturday’s offerings of mainstage acts.

FULL COVERAGE: Coachella 2015

After the Weeknd moved through a nimble cover of West’s “Heartless,” West walked out to the tune of his smoldering anthem, “Can’t Tell Me Nothing.”

A white glow took over the crowd as thousands of smartphones immediately went soaring into the sky to capture a glimpse of West.

The Weeknd fully ceded the stage to West, and like the thousands of us in the crowd, became his hype man – jumping about, cheering him on and occasionally providing backing vocals.

And West didn’t just move through a medley of hits, he owned the entire weekend in less than 20 minutes.

He lept off the stage and charged through the crowd during the visceral “Black Skinhead,” led a bounce during his guest verse on the remix to Chief Keef’s brash “I Don’t Like” and turned everyone into moshers by running through his new, swaggering single “All Day.”

West’s mini-set provided a chance to relive the nirvana that came with his stunning headlining set in 2011, and gave those who braved the wee hours on the field a reward worth pinching themselves over.

Now as for that pesky yearly question of which weekend is better – looks like West had the answer.

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