Music That Has Shaken the World in April

Coachella 2025 Recap

This 2025 line up was one of my favourites in recent years, with a wide range of genres and very global, a good reflection of what is popular and growing right now. While EDM still had a dominance, rock, indie, punk and post punk were very well represented, as well as hip-hop and pop and even orchestral music. When it comes to international artists Afrobeats, Amapiano, K-Pop and Latin Music were also very much present, even taking the main stage, showing the impact of these genres today.

Personally, one of my favourite shows (and discoveries) from the festival is the Argentinian duo Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso with their experimental and genre blending sound that captivated the audience. For sure the most energetic crowd over there!
I also loved seeing parts of the Hanumankind set, witnessing live the flourishing hip-hop scene happening in India right now.

Watching Tyla, Rema, Lady Gaga, Shaboozey and Charli XCX was also something I was looking forward to and their performances were incredible, with Lady Gaga Coachella show now being one of the best in the festival history.

Overall it was an incredible opportunity to see the biggest festival in the world and its impact: from the small artists that get the chance to perform there for the first time and get introduced to the world, now with the doors open for them in the industry and more visibility (and more expensive), to new and local genres that go global and get consolidated on the stages of Coachella (think about K-Pop & Brazilian Funk with Blackpink and Anitta, for example) to the big bands that get reunited for the first time in years to the epic performances of artists such as Prince, Beyoncé and now Lady Gaga.

Being there really makes one feel the magnitude of it all: the beautiful art installations, the size of the venue and the unreal beauty of the place that looks like a painting and the incredible structure of the stages that are an invitation for greatness in the performances.

HEINZ + Hip-hop

Recently, at least since 2023, HEINZ has been tapping into hip hop as one of the brand's audience matches in music culture globally, a company that has been looking deeply into music as a way to forge deeper connections with consumers.

In February of this year, the brand launched HEINZ x Mustard, a campaign in collaboration with producer and hitmaker Mustard timed to the Grammy Awards in February, when Mustard was nominated for both Producer of the Year and Record of the Year with Kendrick Lamar.

The campaign drops a limited-edition flavour that the musician helped make himself and debuted with a short film featuring the viral soundbite that became viral as on “tv off,” the seventh track of Lamar’s GNX album he name-drops Mustard. The film is a classic HEINZ Ketchup and morphed into a teaser for the partnership and Mustard’s new limited-edition flavour: a clever collaboration that feels natural.

Now, in April, HEINZ Brazil launched another interesting campaign aligned with hip-hop culture, bringing a custom made grillz to help open the sauce packets and turning a messy habit into a moment. This comes as no surprise as HEINZ Brasil has been supporting rap and hip-hop culture in the country for a few years, sponsoring and bringing activations to rap festivals.

Although not for sale, the idea is to create the narrative that you can keep your style dripping’ while the sauce stays drippin’ and it has been praised all over the world, with customers asking for the grillz to be sold too.

Favourite releases

If you follow my Music That Has Shaken The World Lately you already know that I love artists that like to experiment, getting out of their comfort zone and reinventing themselves and their sound. Last month, I briefly mentioned my appreciation for Miley Cyrus due to her immense vocal talent and ability to succeed in different genres.

This month she released Something Beautiful, an avant garde track that has Pino Palladino on bass and starts with a soft, jazz-infused intro evolving into a powerful, anthemic and more rock production towards the end and is probably the most ambitious single she ever released, indicating the direction her new album will probably follow.

You can hear this and much more in this month’s playlist. Check it out.