Bieber’s Coachella headline debut

Justin Bieber took Coachella’s main stage on Saturday, April 11, for his first time as a festival headliner in Indio, California. (timeout.com) His set was scheduled for 11:25 p.m. Pacific time on the Coachella Stage, the top billing slot on Day 2 of the festival’s first weekend. Coachella’s 2026 edition runs April 10 to 12 and April 17 to 19 at the Empire Polo Club. (timeout.com) (coachellavalley.com) Coachella announced Bieber as one of three 2026 headliners alongside Sabrina Carpenter and Karol G when it unveiled the lineup in September 2025. The festival’s official site said YouTube returned as the exclusive livestream partner for both weekends. (coachellavalley.com) Time Out Los Angeles described Bieber’s booking as his first major live set in years, and Saturday coverage across entertainment outlets centered on whether the performance would land as a full-scale comeback moment. The Orange County Register said fans on the grounds were already calling the day “Bieberchella” before he took the stage. (timeout.com) (ocregister.com) That attention arrived in a year when Coachella leaned heavily on mainstream pop names at the top of the poster. Glamour’s day-of festival guide listed Bieber, Carpenter and Karol G as the headliners driving the 2026 lineup. (glamour.com) Reviews from the rest of Saturday’s bill were more mixed. The Desert Sun said Day 2 “surpassed” Day 1 overall, while also singling out weak Addison Rae vocals and stronger rock performances elsewhere on the grounds. (desertsun.com) Bieber’s booking also gave Coachella a headliner making a first appearance at the very top of the bill, not a legacy act returning to reprise an earlier festival era. The official lineup announcement placed him with acts including Anyma, The xx, The Strokes, Young Thug and BigBang, underscoring how much wider the 2026 poster stretched beyond pop. (coachellavalley.com) Weekend 2 now becomes the immediate test of whether Saturday’s splash turns into the defining image of Coachella 2026. Bieber is scheduled to headline again on April 18 in the same late-night slot. (usatoday.com)