“Bieber Fever” has come back from the mid 2010s to once again grip the nation, as the pop sensation returned for his first full performance in five years at Coachella last Saturday. Both weekends sold out in a record-breaking 45 minutes, the Sun reported, as fans flocked to the desert for the iconic annual festival.
Expectations were subverted, however, as Bieber’s performance became increasingly meta around the 50-minute mark.
“Tonight is such a special night,” the singer said while typing “Baby” into a YouTube search bar displayed on the stage, “but I feel like we gotta take you guys on a bit of a journey.”
Bieber was established as a global superstar after his hit song, “baby,” gained over three billion views on YouTube.
Bieber intermittently sang against the tracks of his early official music videos, omitting some lyrics, cutting the tracks short, as he led the audience on a brief tour of his catalog.
Many across social media said they were left confused and disappointed after expecting a show with higher production value. On a post that has since gained almost 9,000 reposts, one listener took to X to share her thoughts on the performance.
“I’m crying this might actually be the worst performance i’ve ever seen. He’s literally just playing music videos from youtube … zero effort, just pure laziness. #coachella,” the post said.
A Reddit post calling the performance “weird” has also gained over 4,300 upvotes.
The frenzy for Coachella tickets has sparked a wave of extreme price gouging and last-minute accommodation cancellations, according to reports by KESQ. This year marks the festival’s 25th-anniversary.
As the second weekend approaches, attendees are taking to social media to expose hosts who allegedly canceled long-standing reservations, only to relist the same properties at double or triple the original price.The unprecedented demand has also driven certain entrepreneurial residents to list their laundry rooms for as much as $1,380 for a three-day stay, according to the Sun.
With such high costs for hotels and AirBnBs, many Coachella goers are forced to stay miles away from the festival grounds in order to save thousands of dollars.
“We’re staying in Beaumont. We’re gonna have to drive 40 minutes, find somewhere to park near the shuttle grounds, and take the shuttle,” shared high school senior Guerrero in an interview with Annenberg Media last week. “So it sucks that we are going to be so far the entire time, the commute is going to be the worst part.”
Beyond just the lodging, the cost of the Coachella experience is exponentially rising. With artist guest passes getting more expensive and a new shift towards cash bars from previously open-bar parties, festival attendees will be spending a lot more than they did in previous years.
“For the tickets, I bought the general admission and shuttle passes during presale and even that was like $700 plus fees, and we bought two, so the total was over $1400.” said Guerrero.
Industry insiders reportedly told the Sun that this year has attracted more interest than even Beyonce’s legendary 2018 headlining set, indicating just how excited people are about Bieber’s performance.
Bieber is set to perform during festival’s second weekend, alongside the Strokes, Addison Rae and Giveon.