By Illianna Valenzuela
I usually don’t write opinions, the only other one I had done was in high school maybe. But this was something I felt needed to be talked about, so let’s unpack Justin Bieber’s set at Coachella 2026.
After watching videos from Instagram, reading comments on YouTube and even articles from Forbes and Vogue, there’s three main things to be discussed:
- When you should remove yourself from a situation.
- What qualifies as a “Coachella worthy” performance.
- How the burnout a person experiences can damage their mental health.
First, it should be noted that Justin’s last major performance was September 6, 2022. He was in the middle of his Justice World Tour when he cancelled the remaining shows to focus on his mental health, deal with burnout, and all after being diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, which made it difficult for him to perform. So, him being so comfortable on stage this year really had an emotional toll on fans who have supported him since he was young, because it meant he is growing towards happiness.
I must admit that although I grew up listening to Justin, there was a gap of around late 2012 to mid 2023, that I wasn’t actively listening to or following what he was putting out. I’ve never owned a single “Belieber” shirt, never had any posters, no merch, nothing to prove that his music was present in my life, yet I’m here right now writing an opinion on the man because most of what he is dealing with is something I relate to.
Yes, we love him, I love him and enjoy his music, but his whole life has been on display for us. So, him being on stage felt different, because it was just him. Yeah, he had some people join him now and then, but other than that it was just him, his computer, and us.
Bringing up my first point above, Mr. Bieber was discovered in 2007 when he was only 13 years old but really became famous in 2010 with his song “Baby.” So right away we see he’s thrust into fame from a young age, and from then on, we also see that he is surrounded by other famous singers, actors, producers, etc., which is NOT all cupcakes and rainbows.
This puts a child in a vulnerable position as it’s easier to manipulate them financially and exploit and abuse them. They have zero to no privacy, and they are forced to work under high pressure environments; all things a child should not have to deal with.
Seeing how this is what Justin’s whole life consists of and is something he was/is constantly surrounded by, it made it difficult for him to get away from. It’s almost all he knows and everywhere he turns there are cameras ready to capture his every move.
Freeze frame of Bieber being followed via YouTube video.
One of the reasons that I’m doing this story is because I relate to Justin Bieber dealing with burnout. For basically all my life I’ve been in multiple mariachis around Tucson, and although I’m only 21 years old, it was draining. It turned from something I wanted to do willingly, to something I HAD to do.
Me (on the right) with a friend during elementary school at the Tucson International Mariachi Conference.
As I got older, I always had people telling me that it was my choice, that I shouldn’t have to perform with people three to four years younger than me. Which was not the problem, but really it was my parents keeping me involved because they didn’t want me to “waste my talent.”
Don’t take me saying that as “oh, I despise them for it,”because I got to meet a lot of good people through those experiences. And even though I still have love for mariachi and it made me happy seeing the crowds’ reactions from different stages, I didn’t like the fact that I was being pressured into performing.
It made me feel like a clown in a circus playing for thousands of people and getting no genuine joy in return, except on a few occasions. In other words, it became work with no pay instead of a fun hobby, which wasn’t what I was looking for anymore.
I know I am not the only person in Tucson, let alone the world, dealing with burnout either in school, work, or just life in general, but again this was something that hit me right in the chest because I know all too well how it feels to lose connection to something that used to bring me genuine happiness. And I haven’t even been alive long enough, dammit. Imagine the real adults.
Like Justin, I even felt guilty for losing that love of music that I carried with me. It was my whole personality and something I did literally every day for years and years, but people change.
Now for my second point, what the hell does “Coachella Worthy” even mean? I mean, I get the big performances, the lights, the speakers, the lasers, just the whole shebang. I get it. But before Coachella became an influencer-focused event, it was inspired by European festivals and designed to showcase alternative rock, hip-hop and electronic acts. Basically, it was created to be a music-focused alternative to mainstream festivals.
To quickly summarize Coachella in five main key points, I put together a timeline that shows the major changes of the event:
- Oct. 9-10, 1999, the first ever Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Cali. The headliners were Beck, Rage Against the Machine, Tool, Morrissey and The Chemical Brothers. It was a flop. The debut ended in extreme financial loss.
- 2004 experienced the first sellout due to Radiohead, The Cure and a Pixies reunion.
- Then in 2006, it started to gain credibility because Daft Punk headlined, attracting a lot of electronic music fans.
- Around 2010-2012 was when it really started to become mainstream with the festival going from indie-dominated to cultural bandwagon.
- Finally, from 2013 to present time is where we see that Coachella is officially about social media influencers and mainstream celebrity appearances.
There were so many videos on Instagram going viral from people who attended Justin’s set, saying it was “zero effort, just pure laziness” and calling it “lackluster.” There’s a divide right now on social media with one side showing love for the set, and the other side showing disapproval.
One X user said, “I can’t believe that this is a headliner this is just a mess no good production, horrible visuals, no outfit changes, no backup dancers and performing khia songs who made him headline.”However, @poxelse counter responded to this post replying, “He literally hasn’t performed in years due to illness and extreme mental distress. The fact he is out, performing and giving us incredible vocals is all we wanted and all that’s needed. It’s incredible. If you want theatrics go to the circus.”
Justin Bieber at Coachella via Coachella Livestream.
Being 100% honest, I agree with the commenter who posted the second comment. If I was famous to that extent, had all my personal relationships/situations blasted all over the internet, topped with cameras from all angels trying to catch my every move, I wouldn’t want an extravagant comeback to my fans. I’d like something more paced and one-on-one, so to speak, that would allow me to get real and upfront in a way that feels genuine with my supporters. This is exactly how Justin Bieber guided his performance. Just looking at the picture above you can see how happy he is to be there giving a show that doesn’t push his limits.
To tie this all together, I just didn’t understand why people hated the performance, but Justin being as high profile as he is it just comes with the job and there is no other way around it.