Justin Bieber’s Coachella Headlining Set: A Hoodie, A Laptop, and No Filter
When Justin Bieber hit the Grammys stage in February, he went for the full spectacle—shirtless, silk boxers, and an electric guitar. It was raw. He was teasing his seventh studio album, Swag, and fans expected that same energy for his big Coachella return last night in Indio. But things shifted. Instead of the glittery boxers, he padded onto a futuristic stage wearing a slouchy red hoodie and black “Speed Racer” shades from his own label, Skylrk. He looked almost hidden in his own set.
He mostly stuck to songs from Swag and its follow-up, Swag II. Midway through, though, he just… stopped. He shed the hoodie, sat at a laptop, and started scrolling through YouTube. It was bizarre. He typed into the search bar—you could see it on the massive screens—and pulled up his old videos, some of his classic stage fails, and even random meme clips like “deez nuts!” He seemed to snap out of it eventually, muttering, “Alright I’m getting pulled into the deep, dark web,” before diving back into the music.
Honestly, the vibe was weird. He felt more like he was in one of his late-night Twitch streams than headlining the most famous festival in the world.
Some fans were annoyed—they wanted that Super Bowl-level razzle-dazzle. Where was the massive choreography? Why was he just hanging out? Others argued it was a genius, meta-commentary on his career, a nod to the 2008 YouTube days that started it all. Maybe it was a bit of both, or maybe he just felt like being comfortable, but the contrast to Sabrina Carpenter’s high-energy Friday set was stark. The air at the festival was hot, heavy with the smell of desert dust and overpriced energy drinks, a reminder that Coachella is really just a marketing machine now.
While he was performing, the Skylrk footprint was impossible to miss. They built this massive 10,000-square-foot “Oasis” nearby. It had misting stations and a pop-up shop selling everything from “Biebervelli” shirts to those joint-holding phone cases that Hailey seemingly signed off on. She even made a “Future Mrs. Bieber” baby tee that sold out fast, and her own brand, Rhode, had a massive presence too. The whole thing felt like a carefully calculated economic wave.
Was it a concert, or a merch activation with a guy singing on the side? I’m not entirely sure. But the sales numbers say the fans didn’t mind. Skylrk claims they’re on track to break every merch record in Coachella history. Justin will be back next Saturday for round two, hoodie likely included, whether we’re ready for the deep web content or not.