Every April, the California desert transforms into a loud and vibrant festival as thousands of fans gather for Coachella. This year, Coachella had over 180 artists across two weekends, with Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, and Karol G as headliners. Other well-known artists performing include BIGBANG, KATSEYE, Laufey, PinkPantheress, Sombr, and Young Thug.
Coachella saw contrasting performances as Justin Bieber and Sabrina Carpenter took the role of headliner very differently. As I watched these performances, the artists did not disappoint, performing as their authentic selves. Each artist brought their own unique energy and talent to their set.
Out of all the performances I watched, BIGBANG immediately stood out from the beginning with their high energy, red strobe lights, and iconic intro to their famous song “Bang Bang Bang.” Even though only three out of the five original members performed at Coachella, G-Dragon, Taeyang, and Daesang went all in with their setlist. It was as if I could feel the stage shake through the screen.
Many people say this year’s Coachella had a 2016 theme, which I think is incredibly on-brand, since this year’s pop music scene feels like we’re back in 2016. Especially with Justin Bieber’s older songs being played, Coachella felt like a hot summer night right from my room. Takunda Basvi ’28 shared her thoughts about her overall impression of Coachella.
“I got a really good impression of Coachella, especially the lineup, [which] was huge, and the one sentiment that I’ve seen publicly is people saying that it’s giving 2016, and it’s taking us back to 2016,” said Basvi.
For sure, the most hyped up performance at Coachella was Justin Bieber’s, but it came with a couple of controversies. Bieber showed up with a plain set, no backup dancers, and a hoodie. I didn’t mind the simplicity of his performance. In fact, I thought it helped bring out his authentic self.
Many people thought the second half of Justin Bieber’s performance, which included him scrolling through his old music videos and memes on YouTube, to be an underwhelming disappointment. After all, he was headlining Coachella, and the cheapest tickets were over 500 dollars. Ioanna Gianoukos ’29 and I agreed that the simplicity of Justin Bieber’s set choices were ultimately not detrimental to his performance.
“I thought his set was hilarious, and it really emphasized that even though it’s Coachella and it’s such a big event, you don’t need to go all out and do all these crazy sets. You just have to make sure the crowd is engaged and just have fun with it,” said Gianoukos.
As someone who has listened to Justin Bieber since childhood, I thought his scroll-back portion of his concert ignited something in my younger self. Especially during “Beauty and a Beat” when Justin Bieber switched to his widely recognized youth voice mid-lyric. Basvi also commented on the controversy and added her own thoughts to highlight Justin Bieber’s past, as he was diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome and was on a hiatus before performing at Coachella.
“I thought his performance was really good, but then there’s also been a controversy about him putting the ‘Baby’ video at the back. But honestly, especially with everything that Justin Bieber’s gone through, I think it’s an honor to get up on this stage and perform after such a long while… Personally, I love Justin Bieber’s music, so it wasn’t as destructive to my own perception. But a bunch of people, regarding the fact that he got paid 10 million plus to go perform, and just to put a video, think that’s kind of disrespectful,” said Basvi.
Besides Justin Bieber’s performance, Sabrina Carpenter’s set was full of creative concepts and guest artists, including Madonna as her “Juno pose” for the second weekend. Her set design was significantly more complex than Justin’s, featuring multi-level platforms, scenes, and backup dancers. She created both intimate atmospheres and lively performances.
My favorite part of her performance was her intro to “House Tour.” I thought the moment she walked up the hall-of-fame-like catwalk created a built-up suspense before she settled into the song. All of Sabrina Carpenter’s costumes and set design exceeded expectations and paired well with all of her songs. From a car seat fountain to a sign that read “Sabrinawood,” every song turned into its own music video.
The only part I did not like about Sabrina Carpenter was “Espresso.” Sabrina’s performance itself was very creative, and she had many interactions with her backup dancers, but she blended in with the chaotic set, and it was hard to distinguish her from everyone else unless you were following her with your eyes. Overall, there was a little too much going on, which took away from Sabrina’s spotlight and made it seem more like a high school musical production than a Coachella performance.
