Biggest music moments from April 2018

From Coachella to the ACM Awards and new releases, April 2018 was a huge month for music and Wonderwall.com is recapping it all! We're starting off with some of the biggest news of the month: Beyonce's history-making, show-stopping Coachella performance on April 14. Queen Bey returned to the stage for the first time since the 2017 arrival of her twins, Sir and Rumi Carter, and absolutely killed it. The superstar singer had a live band, perfect choreography and flawless vocals as she paid homage to black culture and shared the stage with sister Solange, husband JAY-Z and former Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. The performance — which she followed up with a second that also featured custom Balmain looks during during the festival's second weekend — truly solidified Beyonce's status as a musical icon, according to critics, and made history: Bey was the first black woman to headline Coachella and her set was, according to YouTube, the most viewed Coachella performance and the most viewed live music festival on the platform ever. Keep reading for more newsworthy musical moments this month…

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Carrie Underwood finally returned to the stage in April 2018 after nearly five months of keeping a very low profile. The country singer delivered an emotional performance of her new single, "Cry Pretty," at the 53rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas on April 15. It marked the first time Carrie has appeared publicly since a November 2017 fall at her home left her with a broken wrist and a face injury that required more than 40 stitches — and fans were eager to see the 35-year-old singer, who in January warned that post-stitches, she might "look a bit different" (she didn't). After her ACM Awards set, Carrie was overcome with emotion and accepted an award with tears in her eyes.

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Hip-hop newcomer Cardi B had quite the month in April 2018! The lovable rapper's first album, "Invasion of Privacy," was released on April 6 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Just one day after her album came out — after months of speculation — Cardi confirmed her pregnancy with rapper fiance Offset during a "Saturday Night Live" performance when she appeared on-stage wearing a form-fitting white dress that revealed her baby bump. As if a new baby and a super-hot album weren't enough, Cardi also dominated her nearly hour-long performance at Coachella on April 15 while pregnant! After her set, she made history: All 13 tracks from her new album appeared on the Billboard Hot 100, breaking Beyonce's record for most simultaneous Billboard U.S. Hot 100 entries by a female.

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Gwen Stefani is the latest star to head to Sin City for an extended stay. The No Doubt frontwoman announced her very own Las Vegas residency on April 10. The "Gwen Stefani – I'm Just a Girl" show will have a 25-date run that kicks off on June 27. The show — which pauses in the fall before picking up again from December to March 2019 — will be held at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, which is also home to fellow pop superstars Jennifer Lopez and the Backstreet Boys' residencies.

Like many artists before him, The Weeknd seems to process his emotions through his music. The R&B singer got visibly emotional during his performance at Coachella on April 13 — at one point he even broke down in tears. Fans suspect that his raw delivery of two songs from his new album, "Call Out My Name" and "Privilege," might have to do with the singer's lingering feelings for ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez. Some lyrics in the two tunes — such as "I said I didn't feel nothing baby, but I lied / I almost cut a piece of myself for your life" — reportedly allude to his relationship with the pop star, who got a kidney transplant during their 2017 romance. Let the speculation begin!

Kendrick Lamar is a Pulitzer Prize winner! The Grammy-winning rapper from Compton, California, won the Pulitzer Prize for music for his album "Damn." on April 17, 2018. The win makes him the first non-classical or jazz artist to collect the award. Congrats, Kendrick!

Bon Jovi are officially Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honorees! The 1980s-launched group — one of the most successful rock bands of all time with 100 million records sold — was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 14, 2018. A well-deserved honor!

Drake has done it again! The Canadian rapper dethroned himself on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 16. His hit single "Nice For What" debuted at No.1, stopping the dominance of his own "God's Plan" track after 11 weeks on top. Drake also managed to get a host of beautiful A-list celebs in his "Nice For What" music video including Olivia Wilde, Misty Copeland, Issa Rae, Rashida Jones, Jourdan Dunn, Tracee Ellis Ross, Tiffany Haddish, Yara Shahidi, Zoe Saldana, Letitia Wright, Emma Roberts, Michelle Rodriguez and more. Impressive!

Zayn Malik released new music this year and one of the songs is about his very recent ex-girlfriend. The former One Direction star revealed on April 16 that his latest single, "Let Me," is about former love Gigi Hadid. "[I wrote 'Let Me'] about seven or eight months ago," he said on "On Air With Ryan Seacrest." "I was in love and I think that's pretty evident and I was aspiring to be in love with someone for the rest of my life and the rest of theirs, as we all do. Things change and we move forward in life and times change, but that's what I was thinking when I wrote it." Sadly, the couple split in March 2018. So bittersweet!

Nicki Minaj returned to the music game with a vengeance this month! The veteran rapper, who'd stayed off social media and kept a very low profile since December 2017, reemerged on April 12 with not one but two new singles. Nicki released "Barbie Tingz" and "Chun-Li," and in an an interview with Zane Lowe on his "Beats 1" Apple Music show, she went over some of her issues concerning hip-hop's newest "It" girl, Cardi B. "The only thing with Cardi that really, really, really hurt my feelings was the first interview she did after 'Motorsport' came out," Nicki said, referencing her collab with Migos and Cardi. "I remember when I first came in the game, if a female of that stature had done a feature with me on it, I would only be singing their praises and saying thank you. The first interview she did after 'Motorsport' came out it just really hurt me, because she looked so aggravated and angry and the only thing she kept saying was, 'Oh, I didn't hear that. I didn't hear that verse. She changed her verse.'"

J. Cole pulled a Beyonce this month and surprised fans with a whole new album. The rapper announced his new album, "KOD," on April 16. He also played his project at a surprise free show in New York City the same day. The album, which was released on April 20, was reportedly recorded in two weeks and features 12 songs. "KOD" also broke Apple Music's first-day streaming record in the US with 64.5 million streams in 24 hours!

Justin Bieber wasn't on the lineup at Coachella but that didn't stop him from performing a few songs on April 15. The superstar singer performed an unannounced Christian-inspired set at a festival-related event, reportedly delivering Christian hits such as "Reckless Love" and "Tremble." Justin also led attendees in worship at the side event, nicknamed Churchella, which was hosted by Churchome. The performance marked the first time he's performed live since canceling his final 14 "Purpose" tour dates last summer.

Taylor Swift had some people scratching their heads when she released a cover of Earth, Wind and Fire's classic song "September" on April 13. The superstar delivered a lightly countrified version of the R&B-funk song and made a key lyric change that fans are speculating is an Easter egg. In the opening line, Taylor sings, "Do you remember the 28th night of September," instead of "the 21st night of September." Fans think the Sept. 28 date might be the anniversary of the start of Taylor's relationship with her boyfriend, British actor Joe Alwyn. Hmmmm…

Kanye West is back… on social media, that is. The troubled yet iconic rapper returned to Twitter on April 16, nearly a year after shuttering all his social media profiles in May 2017. Kanye deleted all of his past tweets and posted dozens of times — about fashion, philosophy and music — after first retweeting a welcome-back message from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. He also announced that he'll be releasing two albums in June: one with seven tracks, the other a collaboration with Kid Cudi. Then the real drama began: As he posted more and more wild tweets, news broke that Kanye had split with his management team and other business contacts. Reports revealed that some people close to him had concerns over his seemingly erratic behavior. Kanye also sparked controversy when he shared his love — repeatedly — for President Donald Trump, prompting pals and wife Kim Kardashian West to react on social media.

Country music star Chris Stapleton enjoyed a very big April 15. It was not only his 40th birthday but the day he won the album of the year prize at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas. Despite the huge honor, Chris wasn't there to receive it in person — because his wife Morgane, ACM Awards host Reba McEntire announced, had just given birth to twin boys back in Nashville. "Those little rascals came a little bit early," Reba told the delighted audience.