Justin Bieber returns for the second weekend of Coachella

Justin Bieber’s return to Coachella (or as many fans have dubbed it  “Bieberchella”) for weekend two was just as hyped-up as last weekend’s performance. Concertgoers, online viewers, critics and others who watched his weekend one show spoke extremely highly of Bieber’s performance which showcased his new albums, Swag and Swag II, as well as mixing in old hits from throughout his career. 

Needless to say, his second Coachella performance not only lived up to expectations from the previous weekend’s hype, but to many it exceeded his first show. Audience members noticed that Bieber felt more confident during the latest performance and he had more energy throughout; even going down to the barricade to interact with fans during the show. 

Bieber changed roughly a third of his set from the previous performance, but he started it off almost identically to last weekend’s, adding “LYIN’” into the weekend two rotation in between “BUTTERFLIES” and “WALKING AWAY.” This weekend, Sexyy Red came out to perform “SWEET SPOT” from Swag II. Bieber then moved into the acoustic part of his set, adding in “MOTHER IN YOU” to an identical acoustic list as last weekend including “THINGS YOU DO,” “GLORY VOICE MEMO,” “ZUMA HOUSE” and “EVERYTHING HALLELUJAH.” 

Aside from the setlist, one of the biggest viral moments from Bieber’s headline performance the first weekend was the use of a MacBook computer to look up old songs. Some viewers pushed back, calling the performance “lazy” and “uncreative.”

While nothing has been confirmed, some have suggested the reason for this setup was because Bieber sold his entire music catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Capital in 2023 when he dropped his management. This would mean that any royalties from playing the music wouldn’t go to Bieber. Regardless of the speculation, his throwback songs this weekend were a huge hit with fans and concertgoers. 

Audience members were so excited about him playing throwback songs because he hadn’t performed some of them live in over 10 years. The songs included “One Time,” “U Smile,” “Up,” “Baby,” “One Less Lonely Girl,” “As Long as You Love Me” and “No Pressure.” 

Another viral moment from the weekend came when Bieber brought up long-time fan Billie Eilish and serenaded her with “One Less Lonely Girl.” Big Sean was another guest appearance during the show, coming out for “As Long as You Love Me” and “No Pressure,” which are two fan favorites. 

Before going back to his newer songs, Bieber pulled one more song off of YouTube, which was an old video of him from his pre-fame days when he covered Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River.” Bieber duetted his younger self, serving as a heartfelt moment for fans. 

With only four songs left in the set, two more guests made appearances on stage. Bieber performed  “YUKON” before bringing out fellow Coachella artist Dijon for “DEVOTION.” The last big surprise of the show happened when SZA joined Bieber to sing “Snooze.” The set wrapped up with a performance of “DAISIES” as fireworks went off during the song’s conclusion, thus wrapping up another successful weekend of Bieberchella. 

Overall, Bieber’s performance during the second weekend of Coachella was not only an amazing display of his raw vocal talent, but an overall statement that he is back and better than ever.