The Weeknd Demands Kanye West's $8.5M Paycheck As Coachella Replacement: Report

The Weeknd was curiously left out of the 63rd annual Grammy nomination slate, after being tipped as a possible frontrunner AFP / SUZANNE CORDEIRO

The Weeknd is replacing Kanye West in a headlining spot at the upcoming Coachella festival, but a report has claimed that there was some drama involved in his booking.

The organizers of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival announced early Wednesday that the "Blinding Lights" singer and house music supergroup Swedish House Mafia will take over the "Donda" artist's Sunday slots on April 17 and April 24 after West canceled his attendance less than two weeks away from the annual music festival.

However, Coachella organizers have not yet finalized their deal with The Weeknd as they allegedly tried to offer him a lower paycheck than what West was promised for festival performance, Page Six reported, citing an anonymous music source.

The singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, allegedly threatened to pull out if he wasn't paid the same amount as West, who was set to receive $8 million and a production fee of $500,000, the insider claimed. International Business Times could not independently verify these claims.

"The Weeknd came in at short notice to take Kanye's top spot. But Phil Anschutz [who owns the Coachella Festival through AEG Live] wanted to hold on to Kanye's money and pay The Weeknd far less, just a few million. The festival would pocket the rest," the source claimed.

The Weeknd's management and Anschutz's company Goldenvoice, which produces the festival, reportedly engaged in "fraught negotiations" this week, according to the insider.

The source further claimed that when organizers announced The Weeknd as West's replacement Wednesday, "a deal wasn't in place" yet for the "Starboy" hitmaker, who allegedly "threatened to pull out at an hour's notice if he didn't get the same deal as Kanye."

"Finally, on Wednesday — faced with the prospect of a second headline act pulling out of Coachella at the last minute — Anschutz's company caved and agreed to pay The Weeknd the same money," the insider claimed.

Reps for Anschutz declined to comment on The Weeknd's Coachella deal.

However, a second anonymous source claimed to the outlet that the billionaire AEG mogul didn't handle the negotiations personally, and it was an employee who did.

Reps for The Weeknd and West also did not respond to requests for comment.

News broke Monday that West pulled out of his scheduled appearance at the Coachella festival. An unnamed source "close to the artist" told CNN that the rapper did not want to take the stage amid his ongoing divorce from Kim Kardashian and in the wake of his one-sided feud with "Daily Show" host Trevor Noah.

West had been set to headline Coachella alongside Billie Eilish and Harry Styles. This year, the annual event runs April 15-17 and April 22-24 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. West was scheduled to play for two Sundays, including the closing night of the festival.

Meanwhile, Kendall Jenner subtly responded to the news that The Weeknd is replacing her ex-brother-in-law as Coachella headliner by dropping a praying-hands emoji on the Canadian singer-songwriter's Instagram post Wednesday featuring the music festival's updated lineup.

The 26-year-old model's move could be seen as a dig at West, who made numerous public attacks on her sister, their family and Kardashian's boyfriend Pete Davidson in recent months, Page Six noted.