White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to enjoy Justin Bieber’s controversial headlining Coachella set — or at least the part where he showcased his Christian faith.
The Grammy-winning pop star, 32, who once described himself as a “Jesus guy” on Instagram, performed during the first Saturday of the popular Southern California music festival. Bieber covered several throwbacks, including his early hit “Baby,” as well as new songs from his 2025 albums, Swag and Swag II.
At one point in his stripped-down set, he sang an intimate version of his worship song, “GLORY VOICE MEMO.” The moment was praised by the religious Instagram account sonofgodposts, which shared a clip of his performance with the caption: “Justin Bieber takes Coachella to CHURCH.” Leavitt, 28, later shared the post on her Instagram Story.
Bieber’s Coachella show marked a major stage comeback, three and a half years after he abandoned his 2022 tour due to health concerns. While he performed an acoustic set at the Grammy Awards in February, Coachella was his first time performing solo in front of a large crowd since 2022. That year, he canceled the remaining dates on his Justice world tour after experiencing “full paralysis” on the right side of his face as a result of Ramsay Hunt Syndrome.
His highly anticipated set saw him scrolling through YouTube on a laptop, taking requests from fans in the Coachella livestream. After opening with songs from his 2025 albums, he told the crowd he wanted to take them “on a journey.” Using the laptop as a kind of digital scrapbook, Bieber pulled up old clips of himself singing covers, as well as the “standing on business” paparazzi confrontation that went viral last June.
He was also joined by musical guests during the set, including The Kid Laroi, Wizkid, Tems, and Dijon. The “Daisies” singer’s minimalistic set — for which he was reportedly paid $10 million — divided fans, prompting praise from some and mockery from others online.
Bieber is scheduled to return to the desert this Saturday for the festival’s second weekend. Last year, he admitted the idea of touring again felt “super daunting” and said he had no immediate plans to hit the road. “I’m putting on a hell of a show for you guys for Coachella, getting ready, and getting inspired,” he told fans on Twitch.
He is one of three Coachella 2026 headliners. Pop star Sabrina Carpenter and Colombian superstar Karol G are in the coveted slot for the other two days, with the latter making history as the festival’s first-ever Latina headliner.
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