Justin Bieber’s Coachella set slammed as ‘lazy’ after he streams hits from YouTube

Justin Bieber’s highly anticipated Coachella set has brutally been labelled a ‘snoozefest’ by some.

The 32-year-old Canadian singer is one of three acts headlining this year’s festival alongside Sabrina Carpenter and Karol G – with the event also marking his major live performance comeback.

After previously being forced to cancel a tour in 2022, Justin released his seventh album Swag in July last year. It was nominated for four Grammys, while he also performed his song Yukon at the awards ceremony in February.

This weekend he stepped onto the stage for his first major festival set in years – however many fans were left wanting more.

The set began with the singer performing a string of his new songs, which had some commenting online they were concerned whether he’d actually play any old favourites.

Although he eventually performed hits including Baby, Sorry and Where Are U Now, Justin also started streaming clips of his iconic songs from YouTube during his set – later also going on to play and watch memes.

‘The way Justin Bieber is just doing karaoke to his own songs at Coachella…I’m so disappointed!! I wasn’t expecting anything too big or long, but to do sing a longs & cut the songs off and not do a proper medley with transitions…kinda lame,’ user Tristan posted on X.

‘Justin Bieber supposedly got paid TEN million dollars to sing at Coachella only for him to show clips on a laptop? This is below bare minimum,’ Kay declared.

‘No artist has been less interested in playing their Coachella set less than Justin Bieber is,’ Evan shared.

‘Justin Bieber currently has a laptop set up on the Coachella main stage, pulling up his own YouTube videos and basically karaokeing whatever comes to mind from his searches. No setlist — just whatever he finds on YouTube. A few videos have even had to buffer. Honestly…kind of incredible to watch,’ FestiveOwl wrote.

‘Can’t believe that this is a headliner this is just a mess no good production, horrible visuals, no outfit changes, no backup dancers and performing khia songs. Who made him headline,’ Cyberstar added.

Others called it a ‘snoozefest’, ‘lazy’, and even ‘garbage’.

Ahead of the set, there were also reports Justin was being paid $10million (£7million), which also left many questioning his efforts and comparing it to Sabrina’s showstopping set the night before.

‘I really love Justin Bieber, but this show was not even close to what Sabrina Carpenter did yesterday at Coachella,’ Karen posted on X.

‘If Sabrina Carpenter did what Justin Bieber is doing right now, her career would be over,’ TheMaleCentral wrote.

‘If Sabrina Carpenter, Addison Rae, Pinkpantheress, Katseye or any female artist at Coachella dare to do what Justin Bieer did, y’all would be saying that their careers are over,’ Sebastian added.

Although many watching the set from home were less than impressed, when wrapping up his set, Justin expressed his gratitude for fans, sharing: ‘Tonight’s been beautiful guys. It’s been a dream of mine to perform here.’

Justin’s return to the stage came three years after he ended his Justice tour early, initially postponing dates before canning shows completely due to exhaustion, citing he also wanted to make his health a ‘priority’.

A few months earlier he also shared a statement to Instagram explaining he was set to take a break from touring to focus on himself.

‘After getting off stage, the exhaustion overtook me and I realized that I need to make my health the priority right now,’ he wrote.

‘So, I’m going to take a break from touring for the time being. I’m going to be ok, but I need time to rest and get better.’

That same year Justin was also diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which left his face partially paralysed.

In 2023 Justin also parted ways with longtime manager Scooter Braun, before selling the rights to his catalogue of music for a reported $200million (£148million).

His reported Coachella payday also sees the singer become the highest-paid performer in the event’s history – more than the likes of Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Kanye West.

‘It’s a groundbreaking move for a headliner, and it’s something he built entirely on his own,’ a source previously told Rolling Stone.

‘Between headlining Coachella and the success of Swag, it’s clear this is the start of an exciting new era for Justin — one where he’s fully in the driver’s seat.’

Coachella has never previously revealed how much they pay their headline acts, but The New Yorker reported that in 2017, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar and Radiohead each earned $3-4m for their performances. Meanwhile it’s been reported that Bad Bunny was paid $5million in 2023.

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