Over two weekends, April 10-12 and April 17-19, Justin Bieber headlined at Coachella in California. His performance has been all over social media, but if you have not seen it, let me tell you about it. Justin’s performance consisted of him on the stage with his computer, an occasional guitarist, and frequent guest artists, like Tems and SZA. This might sound underwhelming and basic for a music festival like Coachella, but I promise you it wasn’t. Many people online have been calling his performance boring and not good enough. The screen addicts say that if a woman did the same thing, they would be dragged through the mud. I, however, disagree with this statement wholeheartedly.
To understand why this performance was far from underwhelming, we must examine his past. Justin Bieber came into the spotlight in late 2008 after being discovered on YouTube at only 14 years old. After this discovery by his manager, he quickly released his first album, My World. Justin quickly became a global sensation before he could even drive. His whole life has been publicized by the media, and the whole world has watched him grow up. At just 16 years old, Justin went on the My World tour, which consisted of over 120 concerts. Though Justin had always wanted to sing, the paparazzi and media made this job horrendous. This led him to become addicted to drugs and substances at a very young age.
Looking back at videos of Justin growing up, it is apparent that he loses interest in his artistry as he gets older. Doing mass amounts of concerts, having paparazzi follow him 24/7, and having grown adults inappropriately grope him throughout his life very clearly took a toll on him. He became very disconnected from his music and wanted to give it up.
I have been a huge fan of Justin Bieber since I was a little girl. Though I was born right when he was coming into fame, he was my whole childhood. I was obsessed with every song he made and every phase that he went through. I even had to defend him when the video of him peeing in a bucket came out on the internet. Looking back, I can see that we are very lucky that he is still here today. This is exactly why his performance is so important to those who have seen him grow up. This performance was not about having a traditional concert: it was about peace and healing.
There were many moments during his performance where I was immensely happy, not because he was performing again, but because he looked like he was enjoying performing again. It felt like watching someone come back to himself. Justin Bieber is a great example of how media culture can tear someone down, and he managed to come back from that. He reminded the world that you do need over-the-top performances to connect to an audience; all you need is emotion. I personally am very happy with the performance. I understand that some people might not be on board with this, but understanding that this was about a person healing is what is important. Which is also why I believe that if a woman went through what Justin went through, the world would act the same way towards her. I do not believe that this is about gender, but about being able to heal and come back to the thing that you love, even if it was the thing that ruined you.
