Justin Bieber's highly anticipated Coachella set has been met with a mixed response, with some fans branding it "low-effort" and a "snoozefest" while others argue it was a deeply self-aware piece of art. The 32-year-old Canadian singer is one of three headliners at this year's festival, alongside Sabrina Carpenter and Karol G, with the performance marking his major live comeback.
During the show, Bieber surprised the crowd by setting up a laptop on stage and playing his own music videos from YouTube, complete with buffering. Instead of performing hits like Baby, Sorry and Never Say Never in the traditional sense, he sang along to the old clips, at times harmonising with his younger self. He even played the covers that first brought him to fame, including Chris Brown's With You and Ne-Yo's So Sick, as well as miming a viral paparazzi video word for word.
The unconventional approach drew sharp criticism online. One user, Tristan, wrote: "The way Justin Bieber is just doing karaoke to his own songs at Coachella…I'm so disappointed!!" Another, Kay, claimed he was paid ten million dollars yet showed clips on a laptop, calling it "below bare minimum". Evan said: "No artist has been less interested in playing their Coachella set less than Justin Bieber is." Others labelled the performance "lazy" and "garbage".
However, supporters argue the critics have missed the point. The set, they say, was a deliberate commentary on Bieber's own career and its inseparable link to the early internet era. By presenting his back catalogue through the very technology that made him famous, Bieber highlighted how his staying power has always been about timing as much as the songs themselves. For many in the crowd, the experience was a nostalgic trip back to a simpler time, when the internet felt like a playground and songs like Baby defined a generation.
In a music landscape as fractured as today's political climate, nostalgia has become a powerful draw. Bieber's performance, far from being lazy, may have been the most moving and self-aware statement of the festival, acknowledging that fans are not really fans of Justin Bieber anymore but of the era he represents.
