It’s that time of year again. Each year, Coachella invites the world's biggest artists to the desert valley, often resulting in some of the most iconic sets in music history. Initially a Tumblr phenomenon, Coachella has outgrown its boho style and evolved into the Influencer Olympics. Corporate brands fly out prominent social media influencers to host sponsored Coachella events and document them for their huge online followings. I won’t lie, the corporate-ification of Coachella makes for some excellent online content. This year’s Coachella coverage feels especially dystopian. As the U.S.’s ongoing war with Iran escalates and the average American struggles to pay for gas, watching my TikTok For You page shift from Coachella sets, to war coverage, to Jake Shane’s Poppi-sponsored mansion tour, to Trump posting himself as an AI-generated Jesus is particularly concerning — yet, in the weirdest way, truly symbolic of our time. But I digress — among the chaos, uncertainties, conflicts and injustices, there’s some damn good art.
Coachella 2026 had some big expectations to fulfill after last year’s headliners: Lady Gaga, Green Day and Post Malone delivered excellent performances. However, it was Gaga’s that set a high standard for this year's performers. Last year, I was totally enthralled by Gaga’s performance and thought it to be the best Coachella set of all time — tied with Beychella, duh. However, after Weekend One of Coachella 2026 culminated on Sunday, this year's performances might surpass my previous rankings. Headliners Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G performed their headlining sets to widespread acclaim and criticism on social media.
Sabrina Carpenter headlined first on Friday, with a 20-song set, the longest ever for her. As a big fan of her most recent album Man’s Best Friend, I was excited to see what a new Sabrina Carpenter set would look like, given her iconic Short ‘n Sweet Tour had been going on for over a year and she was yet to fully ring in her new era with a dedicated performance. I’ll start off by saying her performance was definitely my favorite out of the three headliners. She delivered non-stop storytelling, a set that seemed to infinitely shapeshift, impeccable costume design not only for her but for her dancers as well, consistently beautiful vocals, choreographed sequences, special guests, a heartwarming monologue … must I go on?
Carpenter brought a Broadway-esque showgirl flair to her performance, with costume and set references to the musicals A Chorus Line and Chicago. The set transformed from a mountain with the Hollywood sign to a recording studio, to a dance studio, to an elaborate, elevated stage, to a treadmill runway and finally into a parking lot with vintage cars. Additionally, she debuted live performances of “We Almost Broke Up Again,” “When Did You Get Hot?” “Such a Funny Way” and “Sugar Talking.” She closed off her set with an electrifying performance of her hit single “Tears,” where she splashed the crowd with hoses and sat atop a fountain before driving away.
On Sunday, Karol G dominated the Coachella stage, making history as the first Latina woman to headline Coachella. She performed a 25-song set with six costume changes, and had guest appearances by Becky G, Greg Gonzalez of Cigarettes After Sex, Wisin and Mariah Angeliq. Similar to Carpenter’s, Karol G’s set design revolved around storytelling, opening with a prologue that discussed what it took for her to rise to stardom. Her stage had three tiers, all covered in a rock-like material, emulating a cave. Dancers hung and danced through the gaps in the ‘caves’ and walked up and down the runway as Karol G danced in coordination with them for most of the songs. Karol G’s set was an absolute party; on the livestream, you could hear the crowd screaming along to her singing. She debuted an unreleased song in collaboration with Cigarettes After Sex, delivering a soft, sad interlude to the party-girl anthems and showcasing her lyrical and vocal talent. Unfortunately, she had to cut her set a bit shorter than planned because of a delayed start due to set-building setbacks; regardless, she closed off the night with an amazing remix of her song “PROVENZA,” which she had first played live at Coachella a few years prior, celebrating the full circle moment and career highlight.
Karol G literally made history, and Sabrina Carpenter delivered the best set of her career — but yes, let’s talk about Justin Bieber watching YouTube on stage. The performances in contrast with each other have fueled many debates online surrounding sexist responses to the performances, some praising Bieber’s laid-back performance, claiming he’s a legend and doesn’t need all the fluff. But it’s Coachella, the whole point is fluff. And it’s about time audiences recognized the glaring double standards between male and female performers. It’s an honor to be a Coachella headliner — it puts you on a stage parallel to that of the Super Bowl Halftime show, giving you an opportunity to deliver a career-defining performance that cements your place in music history. Beyonce’s Coachella set, and I’d also argue Harry Styles’ set, established them as performers, not just musicians. Your job is to perform! That doesn’t mean you need elaborate set design and costume changes to do so — you could make the case for many rock bands that have no choreography or big sets, yet deliver on the quality of their music and live instrumentals. Justin Bieber put on a hoodie and walked around the stage alone (occasionally lying down) and scrolled through old YouTube videos, cutting the songs short and having the audience sing along to most of them. Don’t get me wrong, I love a Bieber throwback, but saying he’s a musical legend that ‘doesn’t need to perform’ is just not true.
This year's Coachella is legendary for its feats in set design, production management, lighting, costuming and the stamina of our headlining women — it should be recognized for that, not for what a man failed to do, yet again.
Paulina Delgado-Umpierre is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a staff writer for the Arts & Culture department and can be reached at pdelgadoumpierre@cornellsun.com.
