Jeff Miller
View all posts by Jeff Miller April 12, 2026
Justin Bieber performs during 2026 Coachella on April 11, 2026. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Coachella Justin Bieber’s headline turn at this year’s Coachella on Saturday was almost a prophecy fulfilled: The somewhat reclusive superstar has been a frequent guest and audience member at the desert fest, and ever since the event’s turn into the pop world, he’s been a top-of-wishlist performer for the mostly-millenial crowd that typically fills the field. Actually, those last three words have never been more true: Thanks to a scarcity of product (Bieber last toured the U.S. in 2022), an excitement of purpose, and a lack of counter-programming, there’s an argument that Bieber’s audience was the biggest-ever on the Coachella field, stretching back almost to the ferris wheel.
Bieber negotiated his own deal to headline, and speculation ran rampant pre-fest with what Bieber was planning, especially after two tiny L.A. underplays focused exclusively on songs from his most recent albums, Swag and Swag II. Eagle-eared listeners who were near the field reported that he was playing older songs during soundcheck this week, so it was truly anyone’s guess what would actually transpire when he took the stage.
The answer was a show that felt too basic in its perseveration to warrant so much hype, yet far from the trainwreck of Frank Ocean’s well documented free fall on the same stage back in 2023. Bieber’s set mostly consisted of the singer alone on a huge stage sans any true production, singing mid-tempo pop songs like “First Place” and ballads like “All the Way.” It was a trial of patience for many fans, especially when — after a sit-in from the Kid Laroi on “Stay” — Bieber brought in a couple of guitarists to share the stage with, playing deep-cut acoustic tracks that led to a mid-set exodus.
