Singer Justin Bieber's performance at Coachella 2026 last weekend is becoming the most controversial main performance in the history of this music festival.
According to sources, Justin Bieber is said to have received nearly 10 million USD for 2 performances, making him the highest-paid artist in Coachella history.
However, the minimalist stage setup, without dancers, without investing in costumes and choreography, but only focusing on Bieber's singing voice, caused great controversy.
The highlight of the music night is the "YouTube timebox", in which he shows old MVs through his laptop, and sings karaoke with the audience along with once-famous songs such as "Baby", "Favorite girl", "Beauty and a beat", "Never say never", "Sorry", "Where are u now"... creating a completely different scene compared to a traditional performance by the main performers at the biggest music festival on the planet.
Many questions are raised about whether Justin Bieber's performance is worth the 10 million USD fee.
However, despite the controversy, the media effect that this stage brought was still very impressive. In just 24 hours, Justin Bieber's video posted on Coachella's official Instagram account recorded 100 million views, and as of the evening of April 14, it had exceeded 135 million views.
Justin Bieber's videos completely overwhelm views compared to the cast performing at Coachella this year such as BINI (26 million), KATSEYE (19 million), Swims (6 million), PinkPantheress (5.6 million), Sabrina Carpenter (2.6 million)...
In particular, Justin Bieber broke the record for the highest number of views on Instagram Coachella over the seasons, surpassing Benson Boone with a video of 64.8 million views and Jennie with a video of 56.3 million views.
In addition, one day after his performance at Coachella, Justin Bieber recorded 56.332 million streams on the Spotify platform.
A series of his old songs have returned to the global Spotify and Apple Music charts thanks to the Coachella effect. Even the hit "Baby" for the first time entered the global Spotify charts at 132nd place (with 1.446 million streams) after 16 years of release.
Not only is he the highest-paid artist in Coachella's history, Justin Bieber's concert also has the highest ticket demand ever and the ticket price is considered the most expensive in the history of this music festival.
However, international media and experts are still constantly arguing about the quality of the performance.
Music magazine Pitchfork criticized Justin Bieber for spending up to 25 minutes just sitting in front of his laptop watching old clips on YouTube.
The Pitchfork writer called this an act of "complacency", turning a large-scale music festival into a family video viewing session lacking entertainment for non-hardcore fans. Pitchfork also described Bieber's stage as faint and "no different from a sound rehearsal".
Meanwhile, Billboard assessed Justin's karaoke performance as a smart and truthful approach to the past, as an act of honoring the boy of the past, while still suitable for his current self.
Many celebrities also expressed their support for the 32-year-old singer. Katy Perry directly came to watch the performance, shouting when she saw Bieber on stage.
Female singer Lizzo shared emotionally: "Last night, I witnessed a pop star growing up before the eyes of the whole world truly sublimating at the peak of her art.
I see a person who has dedicated everything, his whole life to us... finally knowing how to nurture himself. I don't have any images or videos, because I completely live in that moment.
Justin invited us to step into his world, and anyone who chooses to accompany him will experience a beautiful journey.
