Doomscrolling at Coachella: Justin Bieber’s Set is Under Fire Online
Justin Bieber’s made a comeback at Coachella, and while his fans have eaten his act up, the internet raised eyebrows over his lackluster set. There’s nothing wrong with Bieber’s voice—but he’s definitely not getting an A for effort.
Several videos of Bieber’s Coachella performance went viral online. Most famously, one of the videos features Bieber pulling up YouTube and doing a singalong of his old songs. He even took some time to watch old memes in between the performance.
Katy Perry was also in attendance as an audience member, and her quip at the set also made rounds on social media. “Thank god he has premium. I don’t wanna see no ads,” Perry joked. Perhaps it’s the only consolation in the scenario—no weird ad break happened during Bieber’s singalong.
A performance not even fans can defend
Another viral video shows Bieber in a hoodie, singing off-key to his hit, ‘Baby.’ There was no dancing, just Bieber pacing around the stage. Fans of Bieber found the whole act nostalgic. To that extent, it’s obvious that Bieber wanted to do a ‘chill’ performance. In this case, perhaps it was ‘too’ chill. What’s the point in paying thousands for a Coachella ticket if Bieber would make it look as though he were just getting ready for a livestream?
Even some Bieber fans couldn’t defend the pop star. This fan wrote on social media, “If he’s over the ‘Pop Prince’ title, he should commit to a full rebrand rather than showing up unprepared and charging historical fees for a performance that feels like a rehearsal in his living room.”
There are other ways to be ‘chill’ in a performance or to evoke nostalgia without having to look too laid-back. Wearing an old costume, bringing up old inside jokes about the fandom—there were so many other ways to go about it.
For other listeners and social media users who witnessed Bieber’s time on stage? Many thought that the performance was a bust, and he was called out for his lazy act. A concert isn’t just about singing—the focus is on the presentation and spectacle. Bieber was allegedly paid ten million dollars. For that much money, costume changes, a dynamic set, and some dancing would have been expected.
A woman wouldn’t have gotten away with this performance
One social media user wrote, “Justin Bieber playing songs from his laptop on stage while Sabrina Carpenter delivered multiple outfit changes, visuals, choreography and vocals. These pictures speak louder than words.” They compared Sabrina Carpenter’s Coachella performance, her costume changes, and her set. Placing it side by side with Bieber’s, there’s no competition.
Female musicians aren’t given grace to be lax. What others excuse Bieber’s set for as ‘nostalgic’ would have been easily torn to shreds if done by a woman. Taylor Swift has previously spoken about the pressure of needing to evolve in her Miss Americana documentary. Had she come up on stage wearing a hoodie, without makeup—opting to pull her old guitar onto the stage? The internet would never let her live it down.
Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime performance is forever ingrained in internet memory with how she sang from a platform several storeys high. Even then, the president of the United States had something snide to say about her terrifying act. What more would have been said if she decided to pull up YouTube and sang while sitting down instead?
Arguably, Carpenter is a younger star with more to prove to cement her name in pop culture history. But Bieber was the legacy act at Coachella—he was supposed to deliver a memorable performance. At least social media wasn’t willing to let Bieber off and sing his set high praises. Instead, people are calling his act out for what it is: lazy and uninspired.
(featured image: Screengrab)
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