Featured Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Coachella
Topics: Justin Bieber, Music, Entertainment, Netflix
Jen Thomas
Topics: Justin Bieber, Music, Entertainment, Netflix
The backlash about Justin Bieber's first Coachella performance continues, following a new announcement.
Many fans had been excited about the singer's first major performance in years, with many dubbing it 'Bieberchella'.
However, unlike Sabrina Carpenter's high-octane set, packed full of props, costume changes and scenery, Bieber has been accused of doing 'karaoke to YouTube' for his stripped back show.
The popstar is rumoured to be receiving a whopping $10 million pay packet for performing two weekends at the festival, despite his act leaving a lot to be desired.
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His wife, Hailey Bieber, spoke out to support him as the fan backlash piled on, writing: "Such a special weekend. Nobody will ever know even an ounce of what it’s taken to get here. So grateful for this beautiful life. SO proud. let’s do it all again!!!!"
Now, a new announcement may mean fans will get to see what it took to create the set, as Bieber is rumoured to have struck a deal with Netflix for a behind-the-scenes documentary about the performances.
The news has caused a flurry of criticism from viewers.
"Behind the scenes: him making a playlist on YouTube," jibed one.
"The documentary about taking the laptop and getting the Wi-Fi password," added another.
One X user joked: "The behind-the-scenes is him downloading youtube premium and signing up for a 5G plan", as another laughed: "What kind of performance, my God? How much work to put on a performance using a laptop and accessing YouTube."
Another quipped: "It should be a short film, then."
With some people splashing out hundreds of thousands of dollars to attend the event, which is hugely popular with influencers and celebrities, many people expected more from the 'DAISIES' singer.
"Justin Bieber is being paid 10 MILLION DOLLARS to search up his own music on YouTube and walk around the stage," fumed one.
Another complained about the perceived double standard: "Justin Bieber playing songs from his laptop on stage while Sabrina Carpenter delivered multiple outfit changes, visuals, choreography, and vocals."
Bieber has so far ignored all of the criticism, and shared a carousel of highlight pictures from the performance on his Instagram, where fans rushed to offer their support to drown out the hate.
"These 8 minutes of Justin Bieber singing his old songs, I’m going to treasure them in my heart for the rest of my life," wrote one, as another gushed: "Justin Bieber singing ‘Baby’ at Coachella… the maturity in his voice is insane."
Fans will have to wait and see whether he repeats the same set again this weekend.
According to former Universal Music Group (UMG) exec Nick Crompton, there was actually a very smart reason why Bieber decided to sing along to old music videos instead of performing his back catalogue with a live band.
He says it's linked to when Bieber sold the rights to his music to Hipgnosis Songs Capital for a reported $200 million back in 2023.
“Every minute he spends performing the old catalogue is a minute he's putting in work for other people's royalty checks,” Crompton wrote on X.
“Playing the YouTube videos costs him nothing. No band, no backup singers, little production. Fans still get records like ‘Baby’, ‘Sorry’, ‘Beauty and a Beat’, and ‘Never Say Never’.
"All the nostalgia, none of the overhead. He saved his actual performance for Swag, which is the era he owns.”
But while it sounds like Bieber is playing 4D chess, a source familiar with the terms of Bieber's back catalogue deal told Billboard this interpretation is 'nonsense'.
They added: "There are no restrictions on what he can or can’t do in live performance."
Concert venues themselves often buy licenses that cover the performance of almost all popular songs. It's why when you see an artist live, they can throw in a couple of covers without worrying about hefty royalty checks.