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(VIDEO) Coachella 2026: Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter Deliver Epic Coachella Duets: ‘Vogue,’ ‘Like a Prayer’
INDIO, Calif. — The Queen of Pop met the princess of pop under the Coachella stars Friday night, delivering one of the most anticipated surprise moments in the festival’s history. Madonna joined headliner Sabrina Carpenter during her Weekend Two set at the Empire Polo Club, turning the main stage into a dance-floor sanctuary with electrifying performances of “Vogue,” “Like a Prayer” and a brand-new unreleased collaboration.
The appearance came exactly 20 years after Madonna’s memorable 2006 Coachella set, which helped launch her “Confessions on a Dance Floor” era. On Friday, April 17, 2026, the 67-year-old icon emerged midway through Carpenter’s set as the crowd roared in disbelief. Carpenter, 26, had just begun “Juno” when she paused and teased the audience: “Have you ever tried this one?” Moments later, Madonna strode onstage in a sleek black ensemble, instantly elevating the night into pop royalty territory.
The duo launched into a high-energy rendition of “Vogue,” with Carpenter matching Madonna’s iconic poses and voguing flair. The desert night air filled with thousands of fans striking signature moves as the pair traded verses. They seamlessly transitioned into “Bring Your Love,” an unreleased track reportedly from Madonna’s upcoming album “Confessions II,” set for release in July. The song, described by early listeners as a pulsing dance anthem with classic Madonna production, received its live debut to thunderous applause.
Madonna then delivered a powerful snippet of “Get Together” before the pair closed their segment with a transcendent “Like a Prayer.” Carpenter’s youthful vocals blended beautifully with Madonna’s seasoned delivery, creating goosebump-inducing harmonies on the gospel-tinged chorus. Fireworks and dramatic stage lighting punctuated the emotional peak as the two embraced center stage.
The moment marked a full-circle passing of the torch. Carpenter, whose “Short n’ Sweet” tour featured a cover of Madonna’s “Material Girl,” has long cited the icon as a major influence. “This is surreal,” Carpenter told the crowd afterward, visibly emotional. “Madonna invented the playbook we’re all still playing from.” Madonna, rarely one for lengthy stage banter, kept it concise but heartfelt: “Twenty years ago I stood on this stage. Tonight I pass the energy to Sabrina and all of you. Keep dancing, keep pushing boundaries.”
Social media exploded instantly. Clips of the performance racked up millions of views within hours, with hashtags #MadonnaAtCoachella and #SabrinaMadonnaDuet trending worldwide. Fans called it “generational,” “historic,” and “the best Coachella moment ever.” One viral post read: “The Queen blessing the Princess. Pop music just won.”
Carpenter’s Weekend Two set built on the theatrical “Sabrinawood” concept from Weekend One, which featured celebrity cameos including Susan Sarandon. For Weekend Two, the production expanded with an extra 10 minutes allocated to the set — a detail that fueled pre-show rumors of a major guest. Dancers had hinted at something special during rehearsals, and eagle-eyed fans spotted what appeared to be Madonna preparing nearby.
The collaboration also teases bigger things ahead. Industry insiders suggest “Bring Your Love” will appear on “Confessions on a Dance Floor: Part II,” Madonna’s first studio album in years and a sequel to her landmark 2005 release. The original “Confessions” spawned global hits and redefined dance music; expectations are sky-high for the follow-up. Friday’s live debut served as a perfect launchpad.
For Carpenter, the duet caps a meteoric rise. The former Disney star turned pop powerhouse has dominated charts with infectious singles like “Espresso” and “Please Please Please.” Her Coachella headlining slot — one of the youngest in recent memory — solidified her status as a generational talent. Bringing out Madonna elevated the performance from excellent to legendary.
Music critics on site praised the technical execution. Despite the high stakes of a surprise collaboration in front of tens of thousands, the pair appeared rehearsed and in sync. Carpenter’s backing band adapted flawlessly to Madonna’s catalog, while the stage production incorporated voguing dancers and religious iconography during “Like a Prayer” that paid homage to the original music video.
The setlist adjustment was notable. Carpenter shortened “Juno” to accommodate the guest segment, then powered through the remainder of her hits including “Espresso,” “Good Luck, Babe!” and a reworked closer. The energy never dipped; if anything, Madonna’s appearance supercharged the final third of the show.
This wasn’t Carpenter’s first brush with pop legends at Coachella. Weekend One included comedic and acting cameos that leaned into her playful persona. Weekend Two shifted toward musical history, creating a more profound emotional resonance. Festival organizers have remained tight-lipped, but sources close to production described the Madonna moment as “a dream come true” for both artists.
Broader context adds weight to the evening. Coachella 2026 has already featured strong headliners including Justin Bieber and Karol G. Yet the Madonna-Carpenter union instantly became the most discussed performance of the festival so far. It also arrives at a time when pop music is enjoying renewed mainstream dominance, with younger stars like Carpenter drawing inspiration from icons like Madonna while updating the sound for Gen Z and Alpha audiences.
Madonna’s appearance was her first Coachella performance since 2006. That earlier set included a headline-turning performance that helped cement the festival’s reputation for surprise moments. Friday’s return felt intentional — a bookend to two decades of influence. At 67, Madonna continues to defy age expectations, delivering sharp choreography and commanding stage presence that belied any concerns about her recent health or touring schedule.
Fans left the polo fields buzzing. Many described the duet as a spiritual experience, with “Like a Prayer” evoking collective catharsis under the desert sky. Others focused on the fashion: Carpenter in sparkling custom pieces, Madonna in sleek, modern silhouettes that blended their aesthetics. The visual spectacle matched the musical one.
Industry observers predict the collaboration will boost both artists’ streams and sales. Carpenter’s catalog saw immediate spikes on Spotify after the set, while anticipation for Madonna’s new album reached fever pitch. Whether “Bring Your Love” becomes an official single remains to be seen, but the live reaction suggests strong commercial potential.
As Weekend Two continues, the bar has been set extraordinarily high. Coachella has a long tradition of unforgettable guest appearances — from Prince to Beyoncé — but few carry the symbolic weight of a passing-of-the-torch moment between two eras of pop dominance. Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter didn’t just perform together; they created a bridge across generations that felt both nostalgic and forward-looking.
In the end, Friday’s desert night belonged to two women who understand the power of performance. One built the empire. The other is expanding it. Together, they reminded everyone why Coachella remains the world’s premier stage for pop culture moments that transcend music and become history. The images, videos and memories from that set will circulate for years — proof that when pop royalty collides, magic happens.
The sentiment improved progressively, aided by easing concerns and supportive global cues. The India VIX came off significantly by ~8.73% to 17.20. Nifty ended the week with a net gain of 302.95 points (+1.26%).
The broader structure remains corrective within a larger range-bound setup. While the index has staged a rebound from lower levels, it continues to face a formidable resistance zone between 24,500 and 24,700, which also aligns with key moving averages and prior supply areas. Unless this zone is convincingly taken out, the current upmove may remain a pullback within a broader consolidation. The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is likely to lend positive sentiment, potentially leading to a firm start; however, sustainability above the mentioned resistance zone will be critical for any directional trend to emerge.
Failure to do so may result in the markets facing some broad consolidation. The coming week is likely to begin on a positive note. Immediate resistance levels are seen at 24,500 and 24,700, while supports are placed at 24,100 and 23,850.
AgenciesThe weekly RSI stands at 46.90 and remains neutral without showing any divergence against price. The weekly MACD continues to stay below its signal line, maintaining a negative crossover and reflecting a lack of strong bullish momentum. The index has formed a bullish candle, indicating a strong rebound continuing throughout the week.
From a pattern perspective, Nifty has continued with its technical rebound for the second week in a row. The index is trading below its 50-week moving average (~25,043) and around the 100-week MA (~24,503), making this zone technically significant.
The inability to reclaim these levels decisively keeps the larger trend under pressure despite intermittent rebounds. Given this setup, a cautious and stock-specific approach is advisable for the coming week. While the rebound may extend initially, the proximity to a strong resistance zone warrants restraint in aggressive long positions. Traders should focus on protecting gains, avoiding chasing rallies, and selectively participating in stocks showing relative strength.A disciplined, level-based approach would be the most prudent way to navigate the week ahead.
In our look at Relative Rotation Graphs®, we compared various sectors against the CNX500 (NIFTY 500 Index), representing over 95% of the free-float market cap of all the listed stocks.
AgenciesAgenciesThe Relative Rotation Graph (RRG) shows Nifty Midcap 100, Energy, Pharma, Metal, PSE, and Infrastructure Indices are inside the leading quadrant. Among these, groups like PSE and Metal are sharply giving up their relative momentum. However, collectively these groups may relatively outperform the broader markets.
The Bank Nifty, PSU Bank, Auto, and Financial Services groups are inside the weakening quadrant.
While stock-specific individual performance may be seen, the overall relative performance will continue take a back seat for these groups.
The Nifty IT and Services Sector Indices continue to languish inside the lagging quadrant. The Nifty Realty Index is also inside the lagging quadrant, but it is seen sharply improving its relative momentum against the broader Nifty 500 Index.
The Media and FMCG Indices are inside the improving quadrant.
Important Note: RRGTM chartsshow the relative strength and momentum of a group ofstocks. In the above Chart, they show relative performance against the NIFTY500 Index (Broader Markets) and should not be used directly as buy or sell signals.
Derek Sylvester with members of his family, team and mascot Molly, who was featured on the dealership’s logo.
Courtesy Sylvester Chevrolet
Derek Sylvester’s father built the family’s original Chevrolet dealership with his bare hands on Main Street in rural Peckville, Pennsylvania, in 1972.
The store and family have been a pillar of the village, outside Scranton, ever since. That was until late last month, when Sylvester and his family closed a deal to sell Sylvester Chevrolet to a New York-based dealer group.
“As a family, we decided this might be the time,” said Sylvester, who at 67 has been contemplating retirement. “Unless you’re a larger store, a much larger store, it’s a little bit harder to make money. … It’s just scale.”
Many of Sylvester’s family members plan to continue working at the dealership, but he said they didn’t feel they were in a position to continue running the business amid the rapidly changing automotive retail landscape in the U.S. The industry is facing a tumultuous adoption of all-electric vehicles, technological shifts such as artificial intelligence, and growing demands from automakers.
Sales of dealerships such as Sylvester Chevrolet are occurring across the country at a rapid pace as the business of selling cars, once considered the purview of mom-and-pop shops, has evolved into a lucrative trillion-dollar industry rife with consolidation that has drawn more notice from Wall Street and investors in recent years.
While the National Automobile Dealers Association, or NADA, reports that the vast majority of its U.S. franchised dealers are small business owners such as Sylvester who have fewer than six stores, the top retailers in the country have significantly grown.
The top 150 dealers sold 27% of all retail and fleet new vehicles in 2025, up from 24.3% in 2021 and 21.2% in 2015, according to Automotive News’ annual ranking of top automotive retailers. They also owned roughly a quarter of dealerships last year, up from less than 20% a decade ago, according to the trade publication.
Meanwhile, top publicly traded dealers such as Lithia Motors and AutoNation have ballooned to market caps of more than $6 billion each. Even online used-car retailer Carvana — and its $74 billion market cap, which surpasses the value of most car companies it sells vehicles from — has quietly started purchasing new vehicle franchises without disclosing its future plans.
“There’s a lot of money that wants to come to the industry,” Brian Gordon, president of dealer advisor and broker Dave Cantin Group, told CNBC. “And, generally, the industry is sort of aligned on how to value these things. That makes for a good climate for [mergers and acquisitions].”
Industry consolidation
Multibillion-dollar dealerships have been on the rise amid a decadeslong consolidation that has led to a grow-or-die mentality for many U.S. automotive retailers.
NADA, a trade association representing franchised dealers, reports the average dealership owner has between two and three stores, but the largest growth area over the past decade has been in medium-sized dealerships that own between six and 25 stores.
NADA reports 90.5% of its nearly 17,000 dealers own between one and five stores, down from 94.4% in 2016. Meanwhile, 0.2% of dealers own 50 stores or more, up from 0.1% during that time frame.
“It’s clear that it’s a consolidating industry, and it’s an industry that is going to continue to consolidate,” Gordon said. But, he added, that is happening at every level, especially the expansion of mom-and-pop shops to larger players.
Dave Cantin Group — the advisor for Matthews Auto Group, the dealer group that acquired Sylvester Chevrolet — conducts dozens of such deals a year and said it expects the pace of consolidation and mergers and acquisitions to continue to increase this year.
Matthews Auto Group is one of many regional dealership companies that has decided to expand. The family-owned company started in Vestal — in central New York, south of Syracuse — in 1973 with a single Chrysler-Plymouth store that has grown into a roughly $800 million business with 18 locations and 800 employees.
Rob Matthews, a second-generation owner and CEO of Matthews Auto Group, said the company’s decision to grow is ongoing and that it aims to be more profitable and better compete in its current markets of New York and Pennsylvania.
Matthews Auto Group CFO John Totolis (from left to right), Dave Cantin Group managing director Talon Fee, Sylvester Chevrolet President Derek Sylvester, partner Sylvester Chevrolet Neil Sylvester, Matthews Auto Group CEO Rob Matthews and Matthews Auto Group President Mark Gaeta outside Sylvester Chevrolet in Peckville, Pennsylvania
Courtesy image
“I think that’s certainly a competitive advantage. I think staying still is probably not the best play. You’re seeing continued scale,” Matthews said. “The trend is you’re just going to continue to see consolidation to allow you to stay competitive.”
That’s also why Sylvester said he wanted to sell his business, with stipulations about retaining the store’s dozens of employees — something that’s part of Matthews’ strategy when acquiring a store.
“There’s a lot of things that, because of our scale, we see we can really unlock a store like his,” Matthews said. “I think, honestly, it’s exciting in the sense that we’re just looking to give them more tools and hopefully let everyone work going forward.”
Growth of mega-dealers
Wall Street has taken notice of how lucrative and protected franchised dealerships are in the U.S. The franchised dealer system, which exists to sell new vehicles to consumers rather than automakers selling their vehicles themselves, is unique and heavily regulated.
“I think there’s endless upside. The opportunity for growth in our company is just endless,” Sonic Automotive President Jeff Dyke told CNBC during a recent interview. “I think having mom-and-pop dealers is really good for the business. The thing is, the mom-and-pop dealer is going to have to advance their thinking.”
Sonic Automotive, a publicly traded company with a market cap of more than $2 billion, has grown from 96 franchised dealership stores in 2015 to 134 to end last year. It’s also gone through a massive expansion of its EchoPark used vehicle stores and Sonic Powersports. The company’s revenue during that time jumped 58% to $15.2 billion last year.
Dealership stocks
Others, such as Lithia Motors, have been even more aggressive in growth. The Medford, Oregon-based company surpassed longstanding dealership group AutoNation to become the top U.S. new vehicle franchised dealer in 2022.
Lithia, with a $6.3 billion market cap, has executed an audacious growth plan, from $8.7 billion in revenue in 2016 to $37.6 billion last year. The company nearly tripled its new and used stores from 154 locations to 455 stores during that time frame.
John Murphy, a longtime automotive analyst who is a managing director of strategic advisory at buy-sell advisory firm Haig Partners, said he believes that dealerships remain an extremely lucrative market for investors, despite things settling down somewhat after companies saw inflated profits during the Covid pandemic.
“Structurally, there’s some real potential upside, and there is an increasing level of attention by existing capital in the dealership community as it stands right now from outside players, private equity family offices, other pools of capital on this limited number of dealers and finite number of dealers,” he said. “The earnings upside is increasing and there’s increasing attention, or demand, on the buy side of the equation.”
Mom-and-pops remain
All of that combines to make many mom-and-pop dealerships ripe for acquisition or expansion.
“There’s just so many factors that make competition for a small mom-and-pop dealership more difficult,” said Talon Fee, a managing director at Dave Cantin Group who led the sale of Sylvester Chevrolet to Matthews Auto Group. “It’s not to say that small mom-and-pop dealerships can’t continue to exist and thrive and survive, but they do need to have a plan.”
Fee and others said the top reasons for owners to sell are a lack of succession planning, a growing competitive and changing industry, and a lack of commitment to reinvest in the businesses.
“There’s a lot of outside capital that’s figured out how to come in, given the fact that you have to be an operator in order to get approved by a manufacturer,” said Gordon, of Dave Cantin Group.
But the industry is changing in other ways, as new automakers such as Tesla, Rivian and Lucid try to bypass the franchised dealer model and sell vehicles directly to consumers.
Such companies have continuously fought state laws to allow such sales, with Rivian recently winning a battle with car dealers in Washington state by threatening to take its case to voters with a ballot measure to permit direct sales.
It adds to the evolving U.S. automotive retail landscape that owners such as Sylvester and his wife, who also worked at the dealership, haven’t had to deal with in the past. It’s also something Sylvester and many other smaller mom-and-pop stores won’t have to compete with once they sell their businesses.
“I lived a great life, don’t get me wrong. But, hey, good things come to an end,” said Sylvester, who plans to spend retirement caring for a 92-acre farm in Pennsylvania. “We made a good living. You know, we helped the community out.”
Total advances increased by 16% year-on-year to Rs 15.53 lakh crore at the end of March 2026 led by a 24% growth in business banking and a 26% growth in the rural loan portfolio. Retail loans which constitute 50% of the loan book grew by 10% while corporate loans grew by 9% year on year.
NIM was little changed at 4.32% for the year ended March 2026. Net interest income (NII) or the difference between interest earned on loans and that paid for deposits, increased by 8% to Rs 22,979 crore in March 2026 from Rs 21,193 crore a year ago.
Executive director Sandeep Batra said the bank is monitoring the situation particularly due to the geopolitical uncertainties and will continue to focus on getting a higher wallet share of high quality customers.
A sharp drop in provisions contributed to the bank’s profit growth during the quarter. Provisions fell 90% to Rs 96 crore from Rs 891 crore a year ago. Batra said the large year on year fall in provisions reflected strong asset quality and healthy recoveries from the corporate book.
“Our credit costs normalised for agriculture book is under 50 basis points which is very healthy in the current environment. There were also some corporate recoveries from written off accounts during the quarter which helped,” Batra said.
Asset quality remianed stable with net NPA ratio at 0.33% on March 31, 2026 down from 0.39% a year ago. Recoveries and upgrades of NPAs, excluding write-offs and sale, were Rs 3,068 crore compared to Rs 3,817 crore a year ago. The provisioning coverage ratio on non-performing loans was 76% at the end of March 2026.As of March 2026, the bank holds contingency provision of Rs 13,100 crore and additional standard asset provision of Rs 1,283 crore made in the third quarter on Reserve Bank directions in respect of the agricultural priority sector portfolio.
Fee income increased 8% to Rs 6,779 crore in March 2026 from Rs 6,306 crore a year ago with fees from retail, rural and business banking customers constituting about 78% of total fees during the quarter.
The bank suffered a treasury loss of Rs 106 crore during the quarter reflecting the RBI restrictions of non deliverable forwards and also the sharp rise in bond yields during the month of March. The bank had reported a treasury gain of Rs 239 crore a year ago. The bank’s board has recommended a dividend of Rs 12 per share for FY2026.
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The company reported a net loss of 29.09 crore in the January-March quarter a year ago, according to a regulatory filing by Network18 Media, a subsidiary of billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd.
Its consolidated revenue from operations rose by 9.7 per cent to Rs 615.78 crore in the March quarter compared to Rs 561.32 crore in the corresponding quarter in the last fiscal.
Consolidated operating revenue for the quarter increased by 9.7 per cent “despite the multiple headwinds in the macro environment. On a QoQ basis, the revenue grew 14.2 per cent,” said Network18 Media & Investments in its earnings statement.
Advertising inventory demand for the TV news industry declined by 10 per cent YoY, but Network18’s inventory grew 4.5 per cent, helping the company perform better than the industry.
“Company’s diversified portfolio, strong market positions across markets, and revenue from new businesses helped soften the impact of a weak advertising environment,” it said.
EBITDA for the quarter was Rs 30 crore with a margin of 4.9 per cent, it added.Its total expenses were at Rs 670.89 crore, up 6.47 per cent in the March quarter.
Network18 Media’s total consolidated income, which includes other income, was at Rs 616.21 crore, up 9.14 per cent in Q4 of FY26.
On a standalone basis, Network18’s loss widened to Rs 72.51 crore in the March quarter compared to a loss of Rs 69.48 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal. Revenue from operations rose by 4.85 per cent year-on-year to Rs 547.07 crore in the March quarter.
For the entire FY26, Network18 Media & Investments’ profit was at Rs 155.20 crore. Consolidated income was at Rs 2,148.46 crore for the financial year ended on March 31, 2026.
“Excluding the first quarter, which had a decline in revenue due to a high base of election-linked advertising in the previous fiscal, revenue was up 7 per cent. Operating costs grew in line with revenue, resulting in flat EBITDA,” it said.
According to the company, its “figures for the corresponding previous year are not comparable” as Indiacast Media Distribution and Studio 18 Media(Formerly Viacom 18) ceased to be a subsidiary of the Company on 14th November, 2024 and 30th December, 2024, respectively.
Network18 continues to be India’s leading TV news network, with a portfolio of 20 channels (including 14 regional channels), and the largest in terms of reach and viewership.
“The network reached over 2,305 million people a month, 35 per cent higher than the nearest competitor, and had an all-India viewership share of 13.8 per cent,” it said.
It also leads in the digital segment with its platforms – Moneycontrol, News18, Firstpost and CNBCTV18. It has over 360 million monthly users, representing 65 per cent reach in the segment, Network18 said.
Commenting on the results, Chairman Adil Zainulbhai said: “We ended the year on a positive note despite the geopolitical crisis that the world finds itself immersed in currently. In a year marked by high news flow volumes, our network has taken the lead in delivering news over noise, consistently. We are happy with the progress made on the operating front during the year and the impressive scale-up of new businesses in a short time, which is helping us diversify our revenue base.”
The company is focused on strengthening its core news business even as it expands presence in adjacent categories, he added.
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