Coachella 2026 has exceeded my expectations, and it may go down as one of the best Coachellas in history.
Weekend 1 has come to a close, and with weekend 2 coming up, I have a lot of thoughts.
Each year, as it grows closer to Coachella weekend, I get a fear of missing out that I’m not going. But then I see videos online and realize that it seemed fun, but I honestly didn’t miss much. This year couldn’t have been more different.
Those like me who were celebrating “couchella” and watching from home missed out on some pretty incredible performances. My favorite performances that I stop to rewatch every time a video pops up on my For You page are Justin Bieber’s and Swae Lee’s.
The lineup
The headliners for this year are Sabrina Carpenter, Karol G and Justin Bieber. Some of my other favorite performances from weekend 1 are Central Cee, Young Thug and David Guetta.
Carpenter’s set was good, but I was not feeling too disappointed that I missed that one. I am, however, devastated to miss Swae Lee, who also performed April 10.
Swae Lee brought back the 2016 vibe everyone has been talking about all year. He performed some of his top hits like “Swang” and “Come Get Her,” and he even opened with “No Type.” One of my favorite parts of his set was when he performed “Sunflower” and brought out his son dressed in a Spider-Man costume.
People online are raving about his set, saying that this was a Coachella to go broke for, and that this is the first Coachella they actually wish they went to. I agree with them 100% because this set was enough to make me sad I wasn’t there.
The FOMO only got worse after the April 16 lineup.
Justin Bieber
I was 4 years old when Justin Bieber first blew up on YouTube. I grew up listening to his music and making dances to his songs with my sister and cousins.
A lot of people have been hating on Bieber’s performance, saying he spent too much time surfing YouTube, but for me, his set couldn’t have been more perfect.
For a chunk of his time on the Coachella stage, he was screen-sharing his laptop to the big screen. He would look up songs on YouTube and sing along with his younger self. This part was so fun to watch and was so symbolic of his career and his beginning.
Bieber’s career began at age 12 when a video of him singing “So Sick” by Ne-Yo blew up on YouTube, and he was picked up by talent manager Scooter Braun.
Playing his songs on YouTube and singing along shows him connecting with his younger self and healing his inner child. Bieber definitely was able to come full circle when he played his “So Sick” video and sang along. This has to be one of the top Coachella moments ever, and I am “so sick” that I was not there to see it in person.
He also played a bunch of his newer songs and some classics like “Baby,” “Favorite Girl” and “Never Say Never.” He also played one of his top hits, “Stay,” and brought out The Kid Laroi to perform it with him. What an iconic performance.
Outfits, influencer vs. celebrity
The outfits at Coachella this year fit with the unspoken 2016 theme. A lot of influencers were dressed in fun outfits that are a throwback to 2016.
One of my favorite outfits of the weekend comes from influencer Gabriela Moura. She wore fun zebra pants and a “I love haters” hat, mirroring an old picture from Selena Gomez.
This year really separated the influencers from the celebrities. Influencers were dressed in fun, unique outfits just like usual. However, this year, a lot of the big celebrities, such as Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber, were in chic but classic outfits that resembled everyday fashion.
According to Vogue, each year more celebrities move away from the bold, festival-centric fashion trends popular in the mid-2010s, instead embracing more minimalist styles or centering their outfits around a single standout vintage statement piece.
This was proven true this weekend when Kendall Jenner wore white jean shorts and a tank top.
Personally, I prefer the influencer outfits this year. They are a lot more eccentric and fun, which is what Coachella is all about. I would rather see fun fashion in comparison to outfits I would see on a daily basis.
2016 culture
The target demographic for Coachella ranges from ages 18 to 34 years old.
Swae Lee was big from about 2014 to 2018, which would put most attendees in this target age group in middle school or high school during Swae’s prime. His set took people back to their teenage days and really brought the energy up to kick off the Coachella weekend.
Bieber has been popular ever since about 2009, but was in his prime throughout the ‘10s. Most people in that target demographic grew up with Bieber, and like me, his music was a big part of their childhood.
This year’s Coachella lineup gave viewers a chance to remember the good old days and reminisce on their kid and teen years.
With the increase in trends and styles from 2016 coming back, Coachella did a pretty good job of bringing those vibes to the stage this year. It would have been fun to see some other 2016 legends like Drake, Flo Rida or even Bruno Mars, but I am pretty satisfied with the lineup they put together.
