Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@haileybieber
Topics: Hailey Bieber, Justin Bieber, Coachella, Instagram, Music, Entertainment, Social Media
Madison Burgess
Topics: Hailey Bieber, Justin Bieber, Coachella, Instagram, Music, Entertainment, Social Media
Hailey Bieber has reflected on her husband Justin's headline performance at Coachella in a sweet Instagram post.
For those who missed it, the 32-year-old 'DAISIES' singer performed the first of his two sets at the star-studded California music festival on Saturday night (11 April).
He divided opinion with the stripped-back 90-minute set, which saw Bieber perform a slew of hits from SWAG and SWAG II, before getting his laptop out and singing along to music videos of his older bangers like 'Baby' and 'Beauty and a Beat'.
Pulling up old clips of himself singing covers, as well as the infamous 'standing on business' moment, he took fans on a trip down memory lane - but for some music lovers, with no backup dancers, special effects, or costume changes, it prompted disappointment, especially given the fact he's allegedly being paid $10 million for both weekends.
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But many fans did love the unconventional approach to a Coachella set, and of course, one of his biggest supporters is always going to be his wife, Hailey.
The 29-year-old Rhode founder took to Instagram on Monday (13 April) to reflect on the 'special' weekend.
Alongside a slew of images, she wrote: "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!!!!"
She included a snap of herself and Justin with their son Jack Blues Bieber, who is a year old and was born in August 2024.
Hailey also shared a picture of herself wearing a lacy pink and yellow dress, a video of her dancing to her husband's set as he rehearsed, and pictures in a Rhode-branded dressing room, among other snaps.
The makeup mogul also posted a heartwarming video of herself and baby Jack dancing along while Justin rehearsed again, and even a temporary 'Bieberchella' tattoo on the baby's hand.
Fans have flooded the comments with support for the pair, writing: "Literal best weekend" and "You both are amazing, individually and together".
Others penned: "Coachella’s royal family" and "Could not love this more".
However, as mentioned, the performance didn't go down well with everyone, and following the performance, critics made their thoughts clear.
One X user wrote: "Justin Bieber is being paid 10 MILLION DOLLARS to search up his own music on YouTube and walk around the stage."
While a second agreed: "Justin Bieber playing songs from his laptop on stage while Sabrina Carpenter delivered multiple outfit changes, visuals, choreography, and vocals."
Meanwhile, those who loved it penned: "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" and "Justin Bieber singing ‘Baby’ at Coachella… the maturity in his voice is insane."
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.