Justin Bieber's first major gig in four years at Coachella has been divisive, but it makes a lot more sense when you know the context.
Armed with his MacBook and a dream, he performed tracks from his latest album SWAG as well as revisiting bangers like ‘Baby’.
But while it might have been a dream come true for Beliebers, not everyone was totally impressed with the singer’s set.
Some slammed it as ‘lazy’, with the star sitting at a laptop for roughly half an hour trawling YouTube to sing along to old videos of his early hits.
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He even found time to play the old Vine meme 'deez nuts', as well as recreating his viral 'standing on business' paparazzi confrontation from last year.
As you can imagine from this description, Bieber’s Saturday set was pretty stripped back compared to Sabrina Carpenter’s the night before.
Though Katy Perry got in on the fun of his use of YouTube, some critics found the set underwhelming, particularly as the star reportedly pocketed a $10 million paycheque for it.
However, it’s suggested that those slamming the ‘Daisies’ singer’s set are missing ‘the entire point’.
Back in 2023, Bieber sold the rights to all of the 291 songs he had released to Hipgnosis Songs Capital. It’s said the deal was reportedly worth $200 million (roughly £162 million at the time), making it one of the biggest deals ever made for an artist under the age of 70.
And former Universal Music Group (UMG) exec and Team 10 COO Nick Crompton laid out the apparent relevance of this in Bieber’s Coachella set.
He explained why anyone calling the performance lazy is ‘missing the business’ as he pointed out the Hipgnosis owns the publishing and artist royalties while UMG ‘owns the master recordings’.
“Every minute he spends performing the old catalogue is a minute he's putting in work for other people's royalty checks,” Crompton wrote on X.
“Playing the YouTube videos costs him nothing. No band, no backup singers, little production. Fans still get records like ‘Baby’, ‘Sorry’, ‘Beauty and a Beat’, and ‘Never Say Never’. All the nostalgia, none of the overhead. He saved his actual performance for Swag, which is the era he owns.”
He also commented on the nostalgia of the Coachella set as he reminded people that Bieber was first discovered by ‘uploading videos to YouTube’ when he was a kid.
“A laptop on the main stage is the most intimate, on-brand, and authentic thing he could've done,” Crompton continued.
“And he's in a completely new chapter doing it the way he wants. No Scooter, new team, new business structure. Full control for the first time in his career.
“If you didn't like it, you're just not a Belieber.”
And of course, plenty of fans did love Bieber’s set, swarming social media to say they were ‘screaming, crying, throwing up’ and calling it a ‘dream come true’.
Others even said it was ‘absolutely masterful’, with one writing: “I actually loved it more than I ever thought I would. He made sure to interact with the audience at home. He actually loves his fans.”
Coachella 2026 food and drink prices
Coachella festivalgoers who paused for a soft drink or some fried chicken inbetween watching Justin Bieber, Karol G and Sabrina Carpenter ended up paying excruciating prices for it last weekend.
“Prices looking like it’s a nice day to fast,” wrote one music lover. “I’ll just eat thoughts and prayers,” said another.
Here’s what anyone entitled enough to want to eat and drink at Coachella ended up paying, thanks to screenshots posted by Californian estate agent James Suer on Instagram.
Dave’s Hot Chicken
Chicken burger with chips - $30 (£22)
Chicken tender with chips - $26 (£19)
Coca Cola/Coke Zero/Sprite - $7 (£5)
Viale Street Food
Gyro - $20 (£15)
Carne asada chips - $20 (£15)
Greek salad - $15 (£11)
Cheesy chips - $16 (£12)
Lemonade - $10 (£7)
Big B The Chef
Fried chicken wings and chips - $25 (£19)
Chicken strips and chips - $17.50 (£13)
Cajun french fries - $10 (£7)
Sweetfin
Spicy tuna bowl - $23 (£17)
Yuzu salmon bowl - $23 (£17)
Topics: Justin Bieber, Celebrity News
Jess Battison