Sincerely, Saskia

There’s no doubt that in the music industry there is a massive double standard between male and female artists. It’s known that women have to work ten times harder to get the same recognition as their male counterparts and the same opportunities. An artist headlining Coachella is one of the biggest opportunities they could hope to get, and over the years we’ve seen it make or break artists, leaving them open to massive scrutiny for the crowds they do or don’t bring and the effort they do or don’t put into their performance.

Coachella – despite its reputation – is insanely behind the times. Beyoncé was the first Black female artist to headline in 2018 and considering how many amazing Black female artists there are and how long Coachella has been going, this seems unfathomable. Even this year, Karol G made history has the first Latina artist to headline the festival and garnered the same reaction as fans had when Beyoncé headlined: how is she the only one?

But it seems people have moved away from Karol G making history to debate whether or not a female artist could have gotten away with the ‘lazy’ performance first-time headliner Justin Bieber did – in part, sitting on the floor and duetting with himself using YouTube videos.

Now, on first appearance of that segment of his set, especially when you compare him to Sabrina Carpenter who bought out a plethora of famous faces during her headline performance, it looks like Bieber phoned it in. But, with this performance, the devil is in the details.

First of all, that section of his show was just that, a small part of his wider performance, but it’s no surprise this is the part that got the most attention. Playing his old songs on YouTube has been interpreted as an ode to where this all started and sent a clear message to fans about where he’s at – as well as acknowledging his ‘living room’ audience. Expanding on the fan aspect of his show, it would be foolish of us to discount Bieber’s journey to getting here. He’s taken breaks from music, opened up about his mental health and has struggled openly for all to see. To his fans, this performance was personal, intimate, emotional and in their eyes, it was unexpected brilliance.

Taking this into consideration, I don’t think it’s the fact that Bieber is a man that he got away with this performance, but because he is Justin Bieber. I’ve seen comparisons of male artists doing the bare minimum and dressing plainly in comparison to female artists who show up and show out as a default setting. Even though I believe those elements are born out of the obvious double standard, when men don’t live up to what’s expected, they are dragged.

The last time Frank Ocean performed at Coachella, he had a very muted performance, was late and didn’t seem like he was giving it his all. They weren’t my opinions, but they were the opinions of many watching and he was dragged online in accordance with how people felt. When you Google the worst performances of Coachella, a very lengthy Reddit thread reveals that this title goes to Cee Lo Green, Drake, Post Malone, Frank Ocean again (and quite a few more times), which goes to show that, at least with the fans, they aren’t letting male artists get away with these terrible performances simply because they’re men.

One thing I don’t think people have considered are the male artists who wouldn’t ever be able to get away with sitting on the floor and playing YouTube videos, for a whole show or for a 20-minute segment. I’m not a fan of Chris Brown but he couldn’t get away with this: I genuinely believe his fans are more likely to accept his well-documented behaviour over a bad show because then they get nothing out of their misguided allegiance. Brown is known for his dance moves, pulling people up from the crowd and high-energy performances; if he just sat on the floor chatting sh*t and playing YouTube videos, people might finally wash their hands of him.

Usher, Ne-Yo, Eminem, Ed Sheeran, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, the list goes on and on of male artists who would never be able to get away with what Bieber did. And yes, I don’t think any woman could either, but in this instance, I don’t think it is solely because of their gender. You could argue it’s race related, considering Black people also have to work ten times harder in order to get the same recognition, but that’s a conversation for another day.

Bieber is a soul his fans care a great deal about. We all know about parasocial relationships and the extent some fans go to uphold them, and if any artist has felt the full force of the intense one-sidedness of a parasocial relationship it’s Bieber. Artists who don’t have fans who are invested in their wellbeing, journey, their ups and their downs wouldn’t be afforded the same grace and understanding fans have conjured for this performance. This privilege of having something so low vibrational land with your fans comes from the relationship and connection they have with you, not because of your gender.

The only other artist I think could get away with doing this is Kanye. That’s because half his fans would love to see him respond to his crash outs, and the other half have sympathy for his behaviour. I can see his fans supporting him being so, dare I say, vulnerable. It would vindicate them holding on to him as an idol and what’s left of his legacy.

I never miss an opportunity to hold men to account but, in this instance – especially as a non-fan – I clearly see this performance was not for us but for those who have rooted for Bieber throughout his whole journey. This one was personal and the fact it’s not his fans condemning his performance but outside spectators tells us everything we need to know.