Justin Bieber played his biggest concert in years as he headlined Coachella on Saturday night, delivering an intimate concert that leaned heavy on his Swag era and had Bieber mining through old YouTube clips on his laptop to take fans back to the early days.
Bieber’s show was stripped back, particularly compared to Sabrina Carpenter’s grandiose headlining show from the day prior. The pop star was mainly on his own for most of the set as he crooned and paced around a halfpipe-looking structure that took up the bulk of the stage. There were no backup dancers, no intricate stage props, and no outfit or stage design changes. The only times anyone else took the stage was when a couple guitarists came out for a few tracks, and for a few special guests (Tems, Wizkid, Dijon and The Kid Laroi) to join. It appeared Bieber wanted to keep the focus squarely on him and his voice.
“Wow wow wow, to be up close and personal with you guys, this is special,” a hooded Bieber told the Coachella crowd Saturday. “This is a night I dreamed about for a long time, so to be here is amazing.”
Bieber’s return follows a period of immense change for one of the world’s biggest pop acts over the past several years. He’d canceled tour dates over health issues, sold his publishing catalog, became a father and parted ways with longtime manager Scooter Braun. He came back with his first album in four years last year with Swag and its deluxe Swag II, earning a Grammy nomination for album of the year.
Kicking off at about 11:30 p.m., Bieber spent much of the first chunk of his set focused around his Swag era, opening with “All I Can Take” before going into “Speed Demon,” “First Place,” and “Go Baby.” He stuck with Swag songs until he brought out his first surprise guest of the evening, with The Kid Laroi coming out to perform their 2021 smash hit “Stay.”
By the middle of his set, the show was like a karaoke party, with Bieber pulling up YouTube links of his childhood hits, taking his own trip down memory lane and testing the crowd to see how far back they can go.
“Tonight is such a special night, but I feel like we’ve gotta take you guys on a bit of a journey,” Bieber said as he was fiddling around on a laptop hooked up to the large screens behind him. He started a YouTube search that sent the crowd into a brief frenzy as they realized he was typing in “Baby.”
“You guys remember this song?” he asked.
From there, he started singing quick snippets alongside the recordings of his oldest classics, which also included “Beauty and a Beat,” “Never Say Never,” and “Confident.” Seeing a baby-faced Bieber on screen at Coachella was a stark reminder of just how long he’s been famous, and while YouTube karaoke felt low-effort compared to a more involved production, it did make for a compelling visual to see the fully grown Bieber sing these songs as his childhood played in the rear view.
Still, as it went on it became more confounding than profound, as tracks like “Sorry” may have been better performed in a more official capacity rather than through an improvised music video singalong.
“Wi-Fi, come on man,” Bieber said as the crowd chuckled when the “Sorry” video buffered as he pulled it up.
Eventually the bit turned to millennial-era memes, as Bieber pulled up the “Deez Nuts” and “Double Rainbow” YouTube videos, with Bieber saying he was “getting pulled into the deep dark web, we’ve got to keep the show going.” He then abandoned the laptop and started singing “Yukon.”
Dijon, who played the festival yesterday, joined in for “Devotion,” after, and Tems came out next to duet with Bieber on “I Think You’re Special. Wizkid joined after to perform a cover of his song “Essense.”
Bieber finished the set with “Daisies,” with guitarist Mk.gee, who co-produced the song, coming out for the finale. Fireworks went off behind Bieber as he told the crowd he loved them and then quickly ran off stage. He’s got one more headlining set next Saturday.
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