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Drake plays surprise headline set at Wireless, after DJ Khaled pulls out

By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 9 July 2018

Drake performed a surprise headline set at the Wireless Festival in London last night. He filled a slot intended for DJ Khaled, who pulled out just hours earlier due to “travel issues”. No one was quite sure what those “travel issues” were, although the previous day he’d posted a photo of himself in a swimming pool in Mexico.

According to the BBC, the surprise set from Drake had been planned for several months. It just became a more fortuitous booking once it became clear DJ Khaled wasn’t playing and therefore a fill-in act was required. Still, not everyone was happy. Some complained that Drake only performed for half an hour, playing just five tracks in full with snippets of others. Presumably this was all he ever intended to do, but the sample set would have worked better as a surprise bonus, rather than a last minute headline show.

Many were also quite keen on seeing DJ Khaled too. The producer was criticised for the last minute cancellation, all the more so because of the swimming pool photo, alongside which he’d noted how he was “still on vacation”. A later post included a photo of him on a private jet, so he was definitely able to do some travelling, despite the “travel issues” mentioned in the official Wireless confirmation that the headline slot had been cancelled.

Of course, going swimming and not being able to travel to the UK are not mutually exclusive. I missed a plane once and then went to an aquarium. No one complained about that. Drake didn’t even fill in for me. Still, perhaps a more downbeat “I’m stuck on the wrong side of the Atlantic” post would have been better received.

Although it turns out that Khaled might not have thought to post a sadface social media update because he was never actually expecting to perform at Wireless. At around midnight last night, Wireless offered a new statement, explaining the situation further.

“Due to a scheduling conflict related to filming of [TV talent show] ‘The Four’, DJ Khaled was not able to commit to perform at Wireless Festival”, festival organisers said. “Although we have known for a few months and tried to make it work, it wasn’t possible. We take responsibility for not telling fans sooner and want all Khaled’s fans in UK to know he truly looks forward to coming to UK to perform soon”.

So there, it wasn’t Khaled’s fault. He had to a TV thing to do. Although last time I saw him he was just sitting around reading a book.