Lizzo, Labubu steal Coachella spotlight during Sexyy Red set

Labubu’s leap from blind-box grail to celebrity-stage prop got a jolt at Coachella when Lizzo surfaced during Sexyy Red’s set with a life-size version of the character beside her. The moment landed on Friday, April 10, during Day 1 of Weekend 1 at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, with the oversized plush turning the performance into a very literal piece of Labubu spectacle.

Sexyy Red brought out Lizzo as a surprise guest, and the set mixed her own best-known songs with a quick burst of celebrity energy that played perfectly on a festival stage built for viral clips. Lizzo performed one of her 2025 tracks and reached for her flute, adding the playful, high-energy touch fans expect from her. With the Labubu onstage, the appearance felt less like a long-form promotional push and more like a meme-ready crossover that put the character in front of a crowd far beyond the collector lane.

Lizzo kept the moment alive after the show, posting several Instagram clips that recapped the appearance on Friday and Saturday. One of them centered on her Labubu dance, and another used the caption “THIS FOR PPL THAT LIKE FUN💕”. That kind of social follow-through matters for Labubu because the brand’s reach now travels through celebrity feeds as easily as it does through toy drops, resale groups and display shelves.

The Coachella backdrop gave the appearance even more weight. The festival’s official 2026 dates ran April 10 through 12 and April 17 through 19, and its livestream schedule marked April 10 through 12 as Weekend 1. With seven stages in the mix, a single prop in the Sahara Tent era of festival culture can travel fast, especially when it lands on a star like Lizzo and a breakout act like Sexyy Red.

For Pop Mart, the company behind THE MONSTERS line, the timing reinforces how far Labubu has moved. Pop Mart says artist Kasing Lung created the character in 2015, describing Labubu as a kind-hearted monster with high ears and serrated teeth. Pop Mart’s U.S. site still lists Labubu merchandise as active in 2026, while broader coverage of the company pointed to 2025 revenue of 37.12 billion yuan, up 185% year over year, a reminder that Labubu now sits inside a much larger global collectible engine.

That is why a single Coachella appearance matters so much to collectors. Once a character is carrying a celebrity set instead of just sitting in a display case, the market starts looking for the next move, whether that becomes an official release, a themed accessory or a collaboration built to ride the same wave of attention.