Justin Bieber’s Unforgettable Coachella Return: A Rollercoaster of Surprises and Turmoil

Justin Bieber’s much-anticipated return at Coachella left fans unimpressed as he took the stage wearing a hoodie and played songs directly from his laptop.

Fans were buzzing with excitement, dubbing the event ‘Bieberchella’ in anticipation of the headliner’s performance, marking his comeback to the festival scene.

Unfortunately, instead of making a grand return, Bieber’s delayed performance—held up by weather issues—disappointed many who had been eagerly waiting for hours.

Prior to the event, fans had expressed a strong desire to hear some of Justin’s classic hits. However, they were met with only brief snippets as he sang along to tracks from YouTube.

The 32-year-old pop star has previously made surprise guest appearances at Coachella, sharing the stage with artists like Ariana Grande, Chance the Rapper, Daniel Caesar, and Tems.

But on a late-night set on Day 2 of this year’s festival, he made his debut at the top of the bill, delivering a set for which he was reportedly paid $10 million.

His set was scheduled for an already late 11:25pm start time, and rumors circulated in the run-up to his set that the high desert winds might delay him even further.

Although he arrived on time to a burst of cheers and applause, he emerged dressed down in shorts, a hoodie and shades and proceeded to launch into a string of his lesser-known recent numbers, mostly neglecting his older hits.

He did throw in a sporadic fan favorite like Stay and Sorry and later offered up a medley of blink-and-miss it snippets of his beloved songs like Baby, Favorite Girl, Beauty and a Beat, Never Say Never and Confident.

However he stuck mostly to a set that had fans reacting online with mingled disappointment and derision, posting remarks like: ‘Justin Bieber headlined Coachella just to not play any of his classics lmao,’ and: ‘There’s just no way Coachella paid Justin Bieber 8 mil to dress up like Jesse Pinkman.’

Justin Bieber left fans crestfallen by delivering a set filled with deep cuts as he headlined Coachella for the first time ever this Saturday 

His set was scheduled for an already late 11:25pm start time, and rumors circulated in the run-up to his set that the high desert winds might delay him even further

‘I cannot imagine paying thousands of dollars to watch Justin Bieber sound a mess and walk around in a hoodie and glasses. This is insulting to his fans,’ fumed one.

Others wrote: ‘I hate the outfit sucks band and the low rent hip hop,’ and: ‘Justin Bieber got paid 10 million just to walk around this damn stage??’

‘That’s what happens when you sell your catalog and you’re only left with your last album that nobody knows,’ theorized another viewer.

Another saw a ‘night and day difference’ between his low-key set and the high-energy extravaganza offered up by Sabrina Carpenter the previous night.

‘Sorry biebs but it snot giving,’ one fan said gently, while another reacted more scathingly: ‘justin rlly up there headlining coachella w/ just a mic & his macbook??’

He began the set with his song 2025 song All I Can Take, which the Canadian pop act performed amid psychedelically flickering blue and white lights. 

He then served up a rendition of his defiant 2025 number Speed Demon, which took a derisive attitude to the public speculation about his well-being.

In an insistence that his musical output should speak for itself, he crooned: ‘They try to say I’m out of my mind, but now they singing every line.’

However he stuck mostly to a set that had fans posting online with a reaction of mingled disappointment and derision

He proceeded to launch into a string of his lesser-known recent numbers, mostly neglecting his older hits. Although he did throw in a sporadic fan favorite like Stay

During an interlude, he vaunted the ‘beautiful faces in the audience tonight,’ and sweetly asked those watching the livestream: ‘How you guys doing at home?’

The eerie set was filled with smoke, with a sloping pearl grey topography that made him look as though he were walking across another planet

During an interlude, he vaunted the ‘beautiful faces in the audience tonight,’ and sweetly asked those watching the livestream: ‘How you guys doing at home?’

He then offered fans the opportunity to ‘help me with the songs tonight’ by picking their ‘favorites’ and posting them in the stream’s rolling comments. 

The eerie set was filled with smoke, with a sloping pearl grey topography that made him look as though he were walking across another planet. 

Bieber delivered renditions of his songs First Place and Go Baby, both of which are loving tributes to his wife Hailey Bieber, who has been seen dashing about Coachella with her gal pal Kendall Jenner in the run-up to his show. 

Among the other new songs he performed were Walking Away, rumored to be addressing the divorce rumors between him and Hailey, his song Petting Zoo, which some fans interpreted as being about their couple’s quarrels, and another number of his called I Do, an apparent affirmation of their commitment.

He gave a crowd-pleasing performance of Stay – his 2021 smash single with The Kid LaROI – which was apparently a viewer request from the comments. 

Bieber transitioned from there to an acoustic run of lesser-known material such as his 2020 love song Come Around Me about intimacy with Hailey

He then moved into a couple of more songs from last year, his spiritual GLORY VOICE MEMO and his soulful ballad Zuma House.

After the acoustic segment, he threw a bone of fan service to the crowd by performing a medley of his old hits.

Standing at his laptop, he threw on some videos of his beloved songs and sang along to them, with selections including Baby, Favorite Girl, Beauty and a Beat, Never Say Never, Confident, All That Matters.

He then went back the old YouTube singing videos he had recorded as a child before he was famous, leading to his discovery by Usher and Scooter Braun. 

One went back ’19 years,’ he noted, and showed Bieber as a child covering the 2006 song Ne-Yo – as the adult Bieber stood onstage at Coachella singing along. 

Bieber then offered the crowd another of his classics, the 2015 song Sorry, and then his successful collaboration with Skrillex, Where Are U Now.

He made a show of falling down a rabbit hole of his old embarrassing YouTube videos, such as old footage of him walking into a glass door, falling through a stage and yelling at a paparazzo he accused of trying to ‘provoke’ him. 

Then he was back to his newer, comparatively obscure material, crooning Yukon – a tip of the hat to the GMC Yukon, the car Hailey drove when they were dating.

He then sang another paean to his wife called Devotion, a collaboration with Dijon, whom he brought onstage for a duet that ended in a heartwarming embrace.

Shortly before Bieber’s show, Jennifer Lopez made her surprise Coachella debut a after a glittering music career spanning almost three decades.

The 56-year-old sent an ecstatic shockwave through the audience when she materialized onstage as the guest artist during David Guetta’s set.

Lopez was on hand to deliver a her first live rendition of her and Guetta’s new song Save Me Tonight, which they released just last month.

The crowd exploded as Guetta announced he had ‘invited a friend,’ prompting Lopez to hit the stage in a skintight The Blonds bodysuit that showcased her killer physique and featured a tantalizingly plunging neckline.

Her sparkling silver number was accented with an aquamarine Julien McDonald feather jacket and a pair of Dolce X Ray Ban sunglasses, in the latest flourish of her unerring instinct for high-octane showbiz chic.

Right at the beginning of the performance, she aimed a mischievous grin at the crowd and threw her shades down to be caught by a lucky fan.

She then sent the audience spiraling into squeals of delight as she tore her jacket off and swung it back and forth before casting it aside.

‘Make some noise for JLo!’ Guetta roared as Lopez traipsed over to the DJ booth and enfolded him in a fond embrace, the pair of them beaming. 

Shortly before Bieber’s show, Jennifer Lopez made her surprise Coachella debut a after a glittering music career spanning almost three decades 

The 56-year-old sent an ecstatic shockwave through the audience when she materialized onstage as the guest artist during David Guetta’s set 

Lopez was on hand to deliver a her first live rendition of her and Guetta’s new song Save Me Tonight, which they released just last month 

The crowd exploded as Guetta announced he had ‘invited a friend,’ prompting Lopez to hit the stage in a skintight The Blonds bodysuit that showcased her killer physique

Her sparkling silver number was accented with an aquamarine Julien McDonald feather jacket and a pair of Dolce X Ray Ban sunglasses 

Right at the beginning of the performance, she aimed a mischievous grin at the crowd and threw her shades down to be caught by a lucky fan

She then sent the audience spiraling into squeals of delight as she tore her jacket off and swung it back and forth before casting it aside

‘Make some noise for JLo!’ Guetta roared as Lopez traipsed over to the DJ booth and enfolded him in a fond embrace, the pair of them beaming

Kehlani also made a surprise appearance during Day 2, thrilling the massive audience on the fairground by striding on during Giveon’s show

She treated the audience to a rendition of her new song Folded, which was a solo number on the record but which she and Giveon rearranged into a duet

Giveon, 31, then teased a potential new record collaboration with Kehlani, saying: ‘You guys may be hearing something from her and I very soon’

Sombr was also among the cavalcade of boldfaced names to hit the stage at Day 2 of Coachella, performing a medley of his hits

Among the 20-year-old rocker’s setlist were Back to Friends, We Never Dated, Come Closer and I Wish I Knew How to Quit You, plus his live debut of his song Potential

The New York native, whose real name is Shane Boose, then paid a tip of the hat to his genre’s legacy by bringing on Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan

Together, in a touching passing of the torch, Corgan and Sombr performed the Smashing Pumpkins song 1979, originally released in 1995

Kehlani also made a surprise appearance during Day 2, thrilling the massive audience on the fairground by striding on during Giveon’s show.

She treated the audience to a rendition of her new song Folded, which was a solo number on the record but which she and Giveon rearranged into a duet.

Giveon, 31, then teased a potential new record collaboration with Kehlani, saying: ‘You guys may be hearing something from her and I very soon.’

Sombr was also among the cavalcade of boldfaced names to hit the stage at Day 2 of Coachella, performing a medley of his hits.

Among the 20-year-old rocker’s setlist were Back to Friends, We Never Dated, Come Closer and I Wish I Knew How to Quit You, plus his live debut of his song Potential.

The New York native, whose real name is Shane Boose, then paid a tip of the hat to his genre’s legacy by bringing on Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan.

Together, in a touching passing of the torch, Corgan and Sombr performed the Smashing Pumpkins song 1979, originally released in 1995.