Justin Bieber's return to the Coachella stage has been met with widespread criticism, with fans branding his performance as 'lazy'. The 32-year-old singer reportedly earned around $10 million (£7.4 million) for his headline slot at the iconic festival.
Rather than a high-energy show, Bieber performed a stripped-down set while sitting on a stool, scrolling through YouTube videos of his songs on a laptop. He played a 12-song medley from his 2025 album 'SWAG II', leaving many in the crowd unimpressed.
Social media was flooded with complaints. One user on X wrote: 'Not Justin Bieber scammed Coachella out of $10 million to play songs off of YouTube.' Another called it 'the laziest performance of all time', while a third compared him unfavourably to Sabrina Carpenter, suggesting her career would be over if she did the same.
Bieber's set was delayed due to high winds, and he attempted to engage the audience by asking them to 'help me with the songs tonight' via comments on his livestream. Some fans defended the performance, calling him a 'mastermind' whose approach would not be understood by everyone.
This is not the first controversial moment at Coachella. In 2015, Madonna kissed Drake during his headline set, leaving him visibly shocked and prompting him to exclaim: 'What the f*** just happened?'
