Justin Bieber fans ‘figure out’ reason he played YouTube during Coachella performance

He was standing on business.

However, many have dubbed it 'Bieberchella', with Justin Bieber’s Saturday (April 11th) performance ranking among the most highly anticipated of the weekend.

The Coachella main stage was packed with Beliebers eager to hear Justin perform a mix of his old and new hits.

The 32-year-old Canadian star kicked off his gig by performing a SWAG and SWAG II-focused setlist, including hits such as 'SPEED DEMON' and 'ALL I CAN TAKE'.

However, what many people have been talking about online isn’t Justin’s singing, but the moment he was seen “doomscrolling” in front of his laptop, singing along to YouTube videos of his older hits like Baby and revisiting internet nostalgia with some of his viral memes, including the “it’s not clocking to you” moment.

The singer opted for minimal production and no outfit changes during his highly paid set, prompting a mixed response from fans online.

One user wrote on X: "Justin really up there headlining Coachella w/ just a mic & his MacBook??"

While another commented on the setlist: "Justin, I know SWAG means a lot to you, but journals and believe mean a lot to ME, SING IT NOW."

A third jokingly chimed in with: "100,000 people paid to watch a man browse his own channel."

Someone else wrote: "Justin Bieber at Coachella playing songs directly from YouTube and complaining about the WiFi."

However, some fans think they've cracked the code as to why Justin decided not to perform some of his older songs in full.

One person theorised: "In case you were wondering, Justin Bieber probably didn’t perform all his old songs in full and just his new songs because he sold his catalogue btw, and wanted to perform music he owns."

While a second agreed: "Justin Bieber not owning his music catalogue anymore is a huge reason why his Coachella performance is mainly showcasing his new music. I’m not mad at it, cuz he’s basically investing that $10 million into promoting music that he owns."

Another fan wrote: "His rebranding after selling his catalogue. Why push the audience to old music he makes nothing off? His team is smart with what they did tonight. Was a solid F U to the old team. And a shoutout to the new team."

In December 2022, Bieber sold the rights to his nearly 300-song collection to Hipgnosis Songs Capital for a reported $200 million (approximately £162 million at the time).

This includes all of his music released before 31 December 2021, meaning the company will get paid every time a track it owns is streamed or used on the radio, TV or film, per The BBC.

Therefore, Justin now owns master rights to his 2025 releases, SWAG and SWAG II.

During his Coachella performance, Bieber was joined onstage by The Kid Laroi, Wizkid, Tems and Dijon.