The Main Stage lineup on Saturday was impressive with both Fatboy Slim and Justice warming up the crowd for headliner Avicii.
But at 11:07 p.m., the Swedish DJ was nowhere to be found. And so the restless crowd started chanting his name, "Avicii! Avicii! Avicii!"
Maybe the tactic worked. Because just seconds later, the Material Girl herself, Madonna, bounced out from backstage for a superspecial Ultra Music Festival guest appearance, crashing Avicii's set and giving him the awkwardest of introductions.
"How many people in this crowd have seen Molly?" she asked. She then proceeded to query, "Are you ready for the next DJ, motherfuckers?" It was apparently her attempt at, uh, relating to us.
And then with that bit of business finally done, Madonna strutted into the DJ booth and danced with Avicii during the first song of his set, a remix of her new single "Girl Gone Wild." The crowd seemed to love every second of it.
Once Madonna left the stage, though, Avicii really got down to business. He amped the crowd with "Fade Into Darkness" and then chilled them out with a remix of Florence and the Machine's "You've Got the Love." His hour-long set also included original mixes like "My Feelings For You" and "ID" before closing it all out with his megahit "Levels."
I won't lie. I have a soft spot for Avicii. And I think his set was the best of the weekend. The crowd's energy was undeniable and Madonna was the slightly dirty cherry on top of a nearly perfect performance.
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