Arabic version: جاستن بيبر يقدم عرضًا مليئًا بالحنين في كواتشيلا
Justin Bieber made a nostalgia-fuelled return to the major stage as Coachella’s much-anticipated headline act. The 32-year-old spent much of Saturday night’s gig sitting in front of a laptop and singing to YouTube music videos of his older hits, such as “Baby” and “Never Say Never,” delighting the crowd in an apparent tribute to the platform on which he was discovered. According to BBC News, he also played some of the home videos that had brought him to the industry’s attention aged 12, pulling them up on the big screen and interacting with the live comments on the YouTube stream of his set.
This performance marked Bieber’s biggest live show in four years, having cancelled his Justice world tour following health issues. He spent much of the gig alone on an otherwise empty stage, performing tracks from his 2025 album “Swag” before telling the crowd he wanted to take them “on a journey” and reaching back into his archive. He repeatedly asked the audience, “How far back do you go?”
Bieber also played the clip for which he most recently went viral, in which he confronted a photographer, stating, “It’s not clocking to you, I’m standing on business.” Dressed in a hoodie and shorts on a stripped-back stage, he was joined by musical guests including The Kid Laroi, Wizkid, Tems, and Dijon. His wife, Hailey Bieber, was spotted in the crowd alongside celebrity couple Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner.
Some fans waited in the desert heat dressed in purple, the color once adopted by the star’s fans known as ‘Beliebers.’ Bieber had previously cancelled his world tour after revealing he was suffering from facial paralysis due to Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a complication from shingles, in 2022. He released his surprise album “Swag” in July 2025 and performed live at the Grammy Awards in February.
His Coachella set marked a starker departure from the previous night’s headline act, Sabrina Carpenter, whose Hollywood-themed gig included costume changes, choreography, and elaborate stage design. Colombian pop star Karol G will be Sunday’s headliner at the festival, which draws more than 100,000 people daily and has been running at Indio’s Empire Polo Club since 2002.
