Justin Bieber’s Coachella return after three years as a headliner marked one of his biggest live appearances since stepping back from touring.
Clips from Bieber’s set quickly spread online, making it a major talking point on social media.
During the April 11 show, Bieber was seen sitting on a stool with a laptop, playing snippets of his songs, pulling up YouTube videos, and even letting some of them buffer mid-performance.
At one point, he even asked fans to suggest songs in real time, turning the set into something closer to a livestream than a traditional concert.
“Not Justin Bieber scammed Coachella out of $10 million to play songs off of YouTube…” one user wrote, while another added, “This might be the laziest performance of all time.”
The reaction further intensified when reports surfaced that Bieber had been paid $10 million for the gig, making it one of the highest paydays in Coachella history.
Many viewers also compared his stripped-down approach to Sabrina Carpenter’s polished, high-energy performance the night before. “If Sabrina did this, her career would be over,” one comment read.
At the same time, some fans argued there was more to the approach than it seemed. One user emphasized that Bieber no longer owns his music catalogue, suggesting the set may have been a way to promote newer material he actually controls.
“He’s basically investing that $10 million into promoting music that he owns,” the post read.
Others even defended the chaos. “Using YouTube is kind of iconic… that’s literally how he got famous,” one fan wrote, calling him a “mastermind,” even if “some won’t understand.”
At last, his performance left the internet divided but fully entertained as jokes began rolling in quickly. Here is Bored Panda’s collected memes list from Bieber’s performance.
#1
22points
#2
21points
#3
19points
#4
19points
#5
18points
#6
18points
#7
16points
#8
16points
#9
15points
#10
14points
#11
14points
#12
12points
#13
12points
#14
12points
#15
12points
#16
11points
#17
11points
#18
11points
#19
11points
#20
10points