Coachella 2015: The return of Kanye West

Reporting from Indio â€”  Late into a set that stretched into Sunday morning, the Weeknd told the crowd he had a new outlook on his Coachella experience.

“When I said last Saturday that it was the greatest night in my life. Well, I take that back,� the alt-R&B singer announced. “Tonight is the greatest night in my life.�

The reason for his change of heart? Kanye West.

In what was both this year’s closely guarded secret and best surprise – sorry, Madonna – West appeared toward the tail end of the Weeknd’s late night set, which closed out Saturday’s offerings of mainstage acts.

FULL COVERAGE: Coachella 2015

After the Weeknd moved through a nimble cover of West’s “Heartless,� West walked out to the tune of his smoldering anthem, “Can’t Tell Me Nothing.�

A white glow took over the crowd as thousands of smartphones immediately went soaring into the sky to capture a glimpse of West.

The Weeknd fully ceded the stage to West, and like the thousands of us in the crowd, became his hype man – jumping about, cheering him on and occasionally providing backing vocals.

And West didn’t just move through a medley of hits, he owned the entire weekend in less than 20 minutes.

He lept off the stage and charged through the crowd during the visceral “Black Skinhead,� led a bounce during his guest verse on the remix to Chief Keef’s brash “I Don’t Like� and turned everyone into moshers by running through his new, swaggering single “All Day.�

West’s mini-set provided a chance to relive the nirvana that came with his stunning headlining set in 2011, and gave those who braved the wee hours on the field a reward worth pinching themselves over.

Now as for that pesky yearly question of which weekend is better – looks like West had the answer.

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