Justin Bieber ditches laptop and brings out Billie Eilish, SZA, Dijon and more at star-studded Coachella set
After a divisive weekend one performance that saw him karaoke over his own music videos on a laptop, Justin Bieber used his second Coachella headline slot to bring out a quite ridiculous coterie of special guests.
Last weekend's set, which centred on a laptop playing old visuals while Bieber sang along, was either written off as lazy and indulgent, or as well a meta-work of genius in line with the singer’s right to perform on his own terms. For weekend two, which took place yesterday (19 April), he abandoned the solitary approach entirely and called on Billie Eilish, SZA, Sexyy Red, Big Sean and Dijon.
Bieber introduced Sexyy Red for the live debut of their collaboration “Sweet Spot”, taken from their joint Swag project.
During his first performance of “One Less Lonely Girl” since 2020 – a 2009 track which originally became known for ritual where Bieber would bring a female fan onstage – his wife Hailey Bieber pushed a visibly unsuspecting Billie Eilish into the spotlight, after which Eilish promptly burst into tears.
Later, Big Sean joined for back‑to‑back throwbacks: “As Long As You Love Me” (2012) and “No Pressure” (2015), neither of which Bieber had performed since 2017. Before leaving the stage, Sean addressed Bieber directly. “I’ve seen a lot of the things you’ve gone through,” he said. “I’ve seen you at times when it wasn’t always beautiful, but you fought through it, and in a world where everyone’s trying to take over the world, you give over the world, bro.”
The laptop did make a slight return for an old YouTube acoustic cover of Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me A River” before Dijon came out for another Swagcut, “Devotion”. SZA closed the guest run with “Snooze” from her record SOS.
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