Justin Bieber (and his laptop) headline Coachella Night 2

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So this is how we find out Justin Bieber is a YouTube Premium subscriber.

Justin Bieber, now 32, performed as the headliner at Coachella on Saturday night. For about thirty minutes during his set, he did something unexpected: he played his old music videos and sang along, often in a lower key than the original recordings. He found the songs on YouTube and streamed them through the festival’s sound system.

YouTube Premium, that is, given that he (and we) faced no ads during the performance.

VIDEO | 02:29

Our Gen X and Gen Z reporters react to Justin Bieber’s set

There was a lot of anticipation for this concert—Justin Bieber’s first major performance in several years, following a period where he focused on his health and well-being.

Recent, small performances in Los Angeles, open only to invited guests, sparked rumors that he might perform only songs from his “Swag” and “Swag II” albums at Coachella.

He started the show by performing songs like “All I Can Take,” “Speed Demon,” and “Butterflies” – singing them very accurately along with pre-recorded music. After about thirty minutes, he invited Carter Lang and Dylan Wiggins, frequent collaborators on his “Swag” project, to join him on stage for a more intimate performance of that material, as he explained.

He said this was a night he’d long imagined, and he was dressed for comfort – a red hoodie, shorts, and surprisingly stylish rain boots.

Music

Okay, Day 2 of the festival was packed! I was especially curious about Justin Bieber’s headlining performance – I wanted to see what songs he was really feeling up there. Beyond that, I caught highlights from Nine Inch Nails, the Strokes, Jack White, the incredibly talented Fujii Kaze, and even Addison Rae. I’ve got all the photos and a rundown of the best moments if you want to relive it or see what you missed!

The three of them beautifully performed Christian songs like “Things You Do,” “Glory,” and “Everything Hallelujah.” During “Everything Hallelujah,” Justin Bieber pointed to his wife, Hailey Baldwin, who was in the audience and happily posed for the Coachella cameras.

“Looks like we’re about to take you on a little trip down memory lane,” Bieber said. “Does anyone recognize this song?”

That’s when he launched into a nostalgic YouTube session, playing hits like “Baby,” “Never Say Never,” and “Beauty and a Beat.” It really made you think about the difficult experiences he might still be processing from being a child star. He actually did this two nights in a row – last night it was Sabrina Carpenter’s music that triggered it.

Music

The former Van Halen frontman on his experience at Coachella and the meaning of ‘Jump.’

“How far back do you go?” he asked the crowd at one point. “Are you really with the s—?”

I was laughing so hard when Justin showed those videos of himself – you know, the ones of him struggling with the revolving door and that tumble off the stage! It did lead him to talk about the paparazzi, and honestly, it was a bit of a rant about how aggressive they can be, which kind of shifted the mood, but still… those videos were hilarious.

He warned me they’d keep bothering me, then showed me that classic video of the guy losing it over the double rainbow.

The show concluded with Bieber performing “Yukon,” followed by a collaboration with Dijon on “Devotion” – his vocals were a highlight! – and then a performance of “Essence” alongside Tems and Wizkid.

Justin Bieber said it was a beautiful night before ending his set with Mk.gee performing “Daisies,” and he wasn’t wrong. His performance completely changed what people expect from a Coachella headliner, and it was fantastic.

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2026-04-12 21:01