For those of us who grew up with him and his music, Justin Bieber’s headlining shows at Coachella were a joyous celebration of how far he’s come since his tumultuous teen pop star days. However, one very notable figure from his past seemingly did not get an invite to the party.

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Along with Justin’s former manager, Scooter Braun, Usher is widely credited with playing a major role in JB’s rise to superstardom in the late 2000s and early 2010s. As the story goes, Scooter was blown away by Justin’s singing videos on YouTube, tracked down his mom’s contact details, and flew the somewhat apprehensive mom-and-son duo from Canada to Atlanta in 2008, which is where they began discussing a potential record deal.

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Around this time, Justin and Scooter had a chance encounter with Usher at a music studio, and then-13-year-old Biebs seized the opportunity to impress the R&B legend with a rendition of his hit song, “U Got It Bad.” (The now-iconic run-in was captured on camera and still lives on Justin’s YouTube channel. You can watch it here.)

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Later that year, 14-year-old Justin was signed to Usher and Scooter’s joint record label, Raymond Braun Media Group. However, Usher wasn’t the only big-name music star who’d had their eye on young JB at this time — enter, Justin Timberlake.

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Justin, who previously worked with Scooter during his NSYNC days, had also heard about JB’s promising talents and was keen to sign the teen singer, too, resulting in an all-out “bidding war” between JT and Usher.

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Usher obviously came out on top, and, as you’ll likely remember, he became a prominent figure in Justin’s inner circle as he navigated his meteoric rise to fame following the release of his first single, “One Time,” in 2009.

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This brings us to Coachella 2026, where, across two weekends, JB dedicated a segment of each of his headlining sets to his old music, singing along with his younger self on YouTube. Much to fans’ delight, he revisited hits like “Baby,” “Favorite Girl,” “One Less Lonely Girl,” “U Smile,” and “Up,” all from his first two albums, My World and My World 2.0. He also sang along to some of the old YouTube covers that made him famous, like his rendition of Ne-Yo’s “So Sick” and Chris Brown’s “With You.”

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So, with all the throwbacks, shoutouts, and guest appearances across Weekends 1 and 2, there was interestingly no mention of Usher at all. And some fans think that Justin may have gone out of his way to make sure his old mentor was not a part of the moment in any way.

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Fans also noticed that while singing “One Time” during his Weekend 2 performance, JB opted not to play the music video on the big screen, as he did for other old songs. This was possibly to avoid showing Usher’s various cameos in the vid, which centers around young Justin throwing a party at Usher’s house.

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But the possible Usher dig that many viewers may not have noticed came during Weekend 2, when Justin looked back on his old YouTube covers and paused to say a few poignant words about his child-star discovery and all that came after.

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“I was just a kid who liked to sing, you know? I was a kid, that was all it was,” he said, looking at an image of his younger self on screen. “And then one thing turned to another…and here we are. Man, it’s been a wild journey, an emotional journey. But, anyways…”

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He then played a video of himself as a child singing “Cry Me a River” by none other than Justin Timberlake. Before he clicked play, JB said a few pointed words about the man on the other side of the bidding war to sign him all those years ago: “I grew up listening to Justin Timberlake… I remember this like it was yesterday.”

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Given all the context we’ve discussed, I’m sure you can understand why this prominent JT mention — combined with the general lack of Usher acknowledgment — may have been a subtle dig from JB’s side. And if you’re reading this and wondering, “OK, but why would Justin be shading Usher?” allow me to explain.

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Over the past few years, there have been renewed conversations about how Justin was mistreated and exploited by the adults around him as a child star. Justin hasn’t explicitly discussed this in detail; however, he’s talked openly about his mental health struggles in adulthood, describing himself in 2025 as a “traumatized person.” There’s also a lot to be said for the fact that he has reportedly cut ties with everyone that managed him during his peak pop star years, including Scooter.

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As for Justin and Usher, it’s been a while since either of them has talked publicly about the other. But, given the rumored overhaul in JB’s personal and professional relationships, it’s possible there might be some complicated feelings between him and his old mentor.

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This whole thing also comes just a few weeks after reports of an alleged “intense altercation” between Justin and Usher at an Oscars afterparty in March. Neither artist nor their respective teams have commented on the reports; however, one of Usher’s friends, Da Brat, addressed the story on his behalf and suggested that it’d all been blown out of proportion.

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“I spoke to Usher, and he said this is an exaggeration of conversation,” Da Brat said on The Rickey Smiley Show. “He’s been nothing but supportive of plenty of issues that Justin Bieber has had throughout the years, and y’all can actually check the records for all that he has done. Justin is on his own journey, dealing with his own reality that he’s created. Usher wishes him nothing but the best, and they have no hostility towards each other.”

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“They are definitely cool with each other, and they have love, and they support each other,” she continued. “They had a conversation. Nobody heard the conversation but the two of them. People just take it and twist it and turn it around. But I’m letting you know that everything is OK between them and there is no hostility.”

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