Justin Bieber had people all over the world tuning into his headlining Coachella 2026 performance, but it wasn’t exactly what people were expecting.
The pop star has had people waiting in anticipation for months ever since it was announced he’d be headlining the massive music festival, as his live performances are considered rare these days. However, his performance for the first weekend had some fans taken aback, as instead of performing an average set, he had a laptop on stage and used YouTube videos as a way to perform some of his older songs. That portion of his set ended up triggering a lot of backlash as audience members and viewers labeled it as “lazy.” Read more about the situation below.
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Justin Bieber Uses A Laptop & YouTube During First Headlining Performance At Coachella
The famous music festival in California has people looking forward to it every year, but this year was special, due to the "Baby" singer's slated headlining performances.
Due to his various health and personal issues, as well as his journey into fatherhood, it's extremely rare for Justin to put on live performances anymore. Therefore, millions of fans fought to get tickets to see him in Indio, California, for the massive festival set. The festival grounds were packed this past Saturday night with fans and other celebrities as he took the stage with a red hoodie and opened with some songs off his latest albums, Swag and Swag II.
When it came time for the moment many of his fans were waiting for, the time when he'd play some of his older songs from his breakthrough albums like My World, My World 2.0, Believe, and more, he executed them in a way people weren't quite expecting. The 32-year-old had a laptop on stage that not only allowed him to interact with livestreamers, but he also used it to go to YouTube, search for his older songs/music videos, and play them so he could sing along to them. There was no band, and he often didn't complete the songs.
At one point, he sang along to some of his old YouTube covers he recorded before signing his record deal, and even played 2-3 'meme-worthy' videos, including his latest paparazzi crashout.
The Internet Reacts To Justin's Coachella Set As Some Fans Slam It As 'Lazy'
Though people weren't quite sure what to expect when the dad-of-one took the stage Saturday night, there was a lot of excitement online, especially because some fans in the area listened to his soundcheck and heard the tracks for his earlier songs, spreading the word on social media.
However, when audience members and livestreamers saw him take out his laptop, many of them were stunned to see that the songs weren't being played in full as part of his setlist, but instead part of this planned YouTube bit. There were a large number of fans who found it endearing, enjoying seeing Justin sing along with his younger self, and were thrilled to hear the songs at all.
Still, there were also a large number of social media users who went online to slam the performance, labeling it as "lazy" and disappointing.
"This was unprofessional," posted a user on X.
"Dude, I fell asleep at Bieberchella," responded a user. "Bye! That was a scam."
Other users were very upset once it was reported that Justin had become the highest-paid performer in Coachella history, allegedly earning around $10M for his set, of which approximately 20-30 minutes was spent on the laptop.
"Justin Bieber's Coachella set proved that the bar for male artists is non-existent," commented a user, comparing his set to that of other headliner Sabrina Carpenter's.
One user called it "one of the laziest performances of all time," as a Reddit user joked, "This concert could have been an email."
