Justin Bieber made his return to the stage at Coachella on Saturday, headlining the festival for the first time since abandoning his 2022 tour due to health issues. The 32-year-old singer performed a stripped-back set, using a laptop to scroll through YouTube and take requests from the livestream audience.
Opening with tracks from his 2025 albums Swag and Swag II, including 'Speed Demon' and 'Go Baby', Bieber told the crowd he wanted to take them 'on a journey'. He used the laptop as a digital scrapbook, pulling up old clips of himself singing covers and the viral 'standing on business' paparazzi confrontation from June 2024.
Bieber delighted fans by performing 'With You'—his 2008 Chris Brown cover—alongside the original YouTube video. He also sang along to music videos of older hits such as 'Baby', 'Never Say Never' and 'Beauty and the Beat'. At points, he leaned into internet absurdity, flashing the 'deez nuts' Vine meme on the big screen.
Musical guests included The Kid Laroi, Wizkid, Tems and Dijon. The minimalistic set divided fans online, with some mocking his reported $10 million booking fee. 'Justin Bieber is being paid 10 MILLION DOLLARS to search up his own music on YouTube and walk around the stage,' wrote one user on X. Others compared his performance unfavourably to Sabrina Carpenter's elaborate set.
However, many fans were overwhelmingly positive. 'Justin Bieber and Laroi performing “STAY” together THE VOCALS THE ENERGY THE CROWD EVERYTHING IS INSANE,' wrote one supporter. Another said: 'Justin Bieber singing “Baby” at Coachella… the maturity in his voice is insane.'
Bieber performed a similarly acoustic set at the Grammy Awards in February, but Coachella marked his first solo performance before a large crowd since 2022, when he cancelled his Justice world tour after experiencing partial facial paralysis due to Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. Last year, he said touring felt 'super daunting' but promised a 'hell of a show' for Coachella.
