While the performance was hardly a tour de force, Drake has never been known to burn up a stage. In concert, he presents his never-ending stream of hit singles, many of which are so embedded in pop culture at large that they are more meme than song (the number of homemade shirts in the crowd referencing the 'Know Yourself" lyric, 'Running through the 6 with my woes," was substantial). This is what Drake does best.

Over the course of both Coachella shows, Drake's set generated massive singalongs. Tens-of-thousands proved they've spent a considerable amount of time with his catalog, but it was the fact that he did it without breaking much of a sweat that seems to have his critics the most riled. Acts treat Coachella as a proving ground, not a place to flex cultural muscle and move on.

Of course, there was the Madonna moment. For whatever effect it had on his first show, it did ensure that Drake would be the most-talked about artist beyond Coachella's opening weekend this year, setting him up to redeem himself on the second weekend and justify his headlining status in front of an even larger audience.