The R 'n' B crooner joined the band's headlining set three-fourths of the way for a mind-blowing collaboration.
- Apr 15, 2013
AceShowbiz - As French indie-pop band Phoenix headlined the April 13 show of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2013 in Indio, California along with The Postal Service and New Order, the group was rumored to bring out a cameo of fellow French act Daft Punk. The Thomas Mars-fronted band pulled off an even bigger surprise by featuring Grammy Award-winning R 'n' B artist R. Kelly.
Three-quarters into Phoenix's set, Kelly's voice rang out with the lyrics from one of his hits, "My mind's telling me no! But my body . . . my body's telling me yes!" putting the fans into a frenzy. Moments later, the R 'n' B/hip-hop star popped onstage to join the members of the popular alternative rock band for an unprecedented collaboration that surprised the crowd at the music festival.
Kelly then started a duet with Mars with his hit "Ignition" off 2003's album "Chocolate Factory", as bassist Deck d'Arcy, and guitarists Christian Mazzalai and Laurent Brancowitz rocked out to their own "1901" riffs before segueing to Kelly's "I'm a Flirt". The whole thing went on for a mere five minutes but it was enough to get credit as the most triumphant performance on Day 2 of the Coachella festival weekend.
Other similar hip-hop acts to get attention that day were rappers 2 Chainz and Pusha T, who both dished out their recent radio jams to the delight of the music fest goers. 2 Chainz dropped hits from his 2012 smash debut album "Based on a T.R.U. Story" while Pusha T delivered the tracks "Trust You", "Millions" and "Numbers On the Boards" among several others more.
