Grande insists Bieber’s lip syncing is justified.

Coachella may very well be the largest, most popular, and most profitable music festival the United States has ever seen. Every year, the crowds grow by the thousands and 2019 was no different. The festival boasted at least 100,000 people in attendance over the last two weekends.

Ariana Grande became a headliner this year after Kanye West dropped out of his Sunday performance (though he still put on a three hour Sunday Service for Easter that morning). Grande surprised the crowd when she brought out pop legend Justin Bieber. But many fans were less than impressed when they realized Bieber was lip syncing to a back track recording of his song “Sorry”.

Grande defended Bieber’s choice to use a back track, saying he made the decision to come on stage 10 minutes before her set began. Because of this last-minute decision, they had no time to rehearse or go through with a soundcheck.

Bieber dropped out of the last leg of his Purpose world tour in 2017 after feeling burnt out, citing that he wanted to be more in tune with his heart, mind and soul. The pop icon had not been on stage in two years and says he just wanted to feel the energy of the crowd again.