Music news: Madonna returns to the Coachella stage two decades after debut

Madonna Coachella
Madonna Coachella

During the second weekend of the 2026 Coachella music festival, headliner Sabrina Carpenter was joined on stage by Madonna during her set.

The iconic pop star appeared during the well-known pose break in Carpenter’s performance of “Juno”.

The track then went into Madonna’s “Vogue,” and the two performed the hit song together. The crowd went wild.

This marks two decades since the queen of pop debuted at the festival.

Two decades of Madonna at Coachella

2026 is the third time that Madonna has performed at Coachella.

Her first performance at the festival took place in 2006, and she also joined Drake on stage during his 2015 set.

She addressed this on stage, explaining how she performed at Coachella twenty years ago.

“It was the first time I performed Confessions from the dance floor. Same boots, same corsets. It’s like a full circle moment,” said the pop star.

The two vocal powerhouses then went on to close out Sabrina’s set with an electric performance of Madonna’s hit “Like a Prayer”.

READ MORE: Billie Eilish becomes Justin Bieber’s ‘One Less Lonely Girl’ at Coachella 2026

Billie Eilish and Justin Bieber at Coachella weekend 2
Billie Eilish and Justin Bieber at Coachella weekend 2

Madonna’s 2006 Coachella outfit

Following the festival, several pieces of Madonna’s outfit went missing. These included: the purple jacket, corset and dress she wore on stage.

The star took to Instagram to offer a reward for the safe return of the pieces.

“These aren’t just clothes, they are part of my history,” she wrote.

The pieces are particularly significant, as they are the same items she wore during her 2006 Coachella performance.

A police spokesperson told TMZ that “there was no evidence to suggest the bags were intentionally stolen,” but could have fallen off a cart on the way to the bus.

“I’m hoping and praying that some kind soul will find these items and reach out to my team,” Madonna wrote on Instagram.

A new Madonna album

During Carpenter’s set, the two women also performed an unreleased song of Madonna’s.

The track is believed to be from Confessions II, the sequel to her album Confessions on a Dance Floor.

Given that her 2006 performance was the precursor to her successful Confessions tour, this return to the Coachella stage teases the new era.

Since the performance, the star has released a song off the album, “I Feel So Free,” but the lead single remains unannounced.

Confessions II is due July 3, 2026, via Warner Records.

The album will be Madonna’s first since her 2019 project Madame X, and promises a return to the underground dancefloor with synth-pop and house music influences.

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By Sarah Sharp

Sarah has received two degrees from the University of Cape Town: a Bachelor of Arts in Film & TV Studies, Media & Writing and English Literary Studies, as well as an Honours qualification in Film & TV.

She has written a feature-length screenplay about a South African women's soccer team, and when she's not writing can be found messing around with her film camera.

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