During a sweeter moment in his set, the singer pulled up his own music videos and harmonized with his younger self.

Justin Bieber delivers sleepy Coachella performance, doomscrolls and watches YouTube videos mid-show

During a sweeter moment in his set, the singer pulled up his own music videos and harmonized with his younger self.

By Kathleen Perricone

April 12, 2026 10:24 a.m. ET

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Justin Bieber performs on the main stage at Coachella 2026. Credit:

Coachella/YouTube

Maybe it was the 11:30 p.m. showtime, but Justin Bieber was lacking some swag on the Coachella main stage Saturday night.

Dressed in a red hoodie and shorts with rain boots (in the desert, no less), the "Daisies" singer delivered a 34-song set spanning his two-decade career, but heavily favoring tracks off his 2025 albums, *Swag* and *Swag II*. In fact, it wasn't until the 18th song — 50 minutes into the show — that Bieber finally gave OG fans what they came for: his 2010 debut single, "Baby."

The late-night event got off to a sleepy start, as Bieber opened with *Swag*’s "All I Can Take" while staring down at a camera so that all we could see was a shadowy figure and the stage's ceiling — for the entire duration of the song. Still, his voice was unmistakeable, as the Biebs' smooth stylings carried the audience through a no-frills musical journey powered by his laptop, and the energy of a few special guests.

Instead of interacting with the 125,000 people gathered in the Coachella Valley desert, Bieber stayed glued to his screen between songs, tailoring his setlist to the real-time feedback he claimed he was getting from an online chat somewhere.

Justin Bieber performs on the main stage at Coachella 2026.

Coachella/YouTube

The first guest appearance was from the Kid Laroi, who popped up on stage opposite Bieber for a shortened rendition of "Stay," their collab for the Australian rapper's 2021 mixtape, *Fck Love 3: Over You.*

But just as the pace started to pick up, Bieber announced he was going to "slow it down a bit" with an acoustic set of five more *Swag* songs, culminating with "Everything Hallelujah," during which the camera cut to Mrs. Bieber in the audience as her husband sang the lyric, "Hailey, babe, hallelujah / Baby Jack, hallelujah." Alas, it must have been past the couple's 19-month-old's bedtime because Jack Bieber did not seem to be at Coachella.

Justin Bieber and the Kid Laroi at Coachella 2026.

Coachella/YouTube

"Baby" kicked off the nostalgia act of the show, for which Bieber pulled up his old music videos on YouTube and played them on a massive screen on stage while singing along like it was a Justin Bieber–themed karaoke night.

There were some sweet moments. Watching the 32-year-old harmonize with his younger self to 2010's "That Should Be Me," 2012's "Beauty and a Beat," 2010's "Never Say Never," 2012's "All Over the World," and, finally, the 2007 clip that helped him get discovered — his cover of Ne-Yo’s "So Sick," which he sang at a local talent show — was undeniably touching.

Bieber then shifted to snippets of two *Purpose*-era Skrillex bangers, "Sorry" and "Where Are Ü Now" (with Diplo), before segueing to a blooper reel of himself falling off stage during a concert. From there, we went completely down a rabbit hole.

Justin Bieber performs on the main stage at Coachella 2026.

Coachella/YouTube

For an uncomfortably long period of time, the pop star just sat at a desk and doomscrolled on YouTube, pulling up viral videos like "Deez Nutz," "Double Rainbow," and even his own 2025 paparazzi encounter in which he released the instant classic, "It's not clocking to you that I'm standing on business," which he awkwardly reenacted.

Bieber brought it back to the *Swag* albums for his final act, playing "Yukon," "Devotion" with Dijon, and "I Think You're Special" with Tems, who stuck around for a second song, Wizkid’s "Essence," the 2021 remix of which featured her and Bieber.

The singer's liveliest performance was, frustratingly, his closing number, "Daisies," which was punctuated by a fireworks display.

"You guys have my heart," he told the crowd. Then, only half-convincingly, "I loved spending time with you guys."

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Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Coachella”