Image from Pixabay
By Tilly McAuley
Reeling from the success of this year’s Coachella music festival, an online discourse has sparked thousands offering their opinion on two of the headliners, Justin Bieber and Sabrina Carpenter. Which one was better, and why?
There’s no argument that both of the music artists for that weekend were incredible, and the crowds that gathered for their set proved that. But both of them put on completely different shows, which has led to the argument of which show was more iconic, memorable – worthy of being a Coachella headliner.
Sabrina Carpenter is notorious for putting on elaborate performances, including outfit changes, sets which only enhance the excitement of her shows, telling stories through the songs that she performs. Her most recent tour for her album, Short n’ Sweet, came in the style of a ‘day in the life’ party. It was theatrical, playful, and frankly a tour that will be remembered.
Carpenter carried on this theme for her Coachella set. With the retro, 70’s inspired ‘Sabrinawood’, Carpenter continues to tell a story with her high-production set. With her multiple outfit changes, the well-designed backdrops and the dancers that accompanied her on the stage, no one can deny that Sabrina Carpenter’s Coachella set will go down in history.
As for Justin Bieber, it was a lot less glamorous.
The second night of the festival left fans jittering with excitement, many being a life-long fan of the pop star, succumbing to ‘Bieber-fever’. Yet when he came out on stage, a Macbook in one hand and a microphone in the other, everybody knew that it would be a completely different set from the night prior.
Bieber relied on nostalgia. Performing some of his hit songs such as ‘Baby’ and ‘Beauty and a beat’, this excited the crowd in a different way compared to how Sabrina Carpenter did. Typing in his songs in the search bar of Youtube, Bieber entertained the crowds simply with his humorous way of performing and relying on the excitement that never died down for him.
Which then leads to the online argument of Bieber Vs Carpenter.
While some say that Carpenter’s show was worth the hundreds of dollars that people paid to attend Coachella, others argue that she shouldn’t have to put on such a detailed show to be entertaining. Bieber’s set has been labelled as iconic, while some argued that Carpenter was ‘trying too hard.’
Is it a case of simple ‘fan wars’, or is there more of an underlying argument of misogyny against Carpenter? She not only performed at Coachella, but she put on an extravagant show that made it worth seeing. And many also claim that a female artist would never be able to get away with a ‘low-effort’ show, like Bieber did.
“I think they were both good shows,” stated second-year student, Mariem. “I would’ve preferred to have seen Justin Bieber as I grew up listening to him, but Sabrina Carpenter put on a really good show too. I think people just preferred to hear songs they grew up with.”
All in all, Coachella festival was a successful weekend, with millions of people tuning in online to watch the live sets. But it also argues something that seems to be never-ending – will women ever be free from the scrutiny of others?
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