Here’s why Justin Bieber bizarrely performed at the Grammys in just his underwear.

It wasn’t a breakdown. It was branding. Justin Bieber’s bare-legged, tattoo-framed performance of “YUKON” looked like a risky artistic statement, but the lavender boxers were straight from his own label, Skylrk. The logo flashed just enough on live TV to send fans scrambling online, triggering a spike in sales of the exact same underwear he wore under the Grammy lights.

Some viewers felt duped, calling it crass product placement disguised as vulnerability. Others simply celebrated seeing him back onstage after years of health struggles and tour cancellations, reading the stripped-back look as a metaphor for survival. As he heads toward Coachella and a new chapter after his seventh studio album, Bieber’s stunt lands in a messy middle ground: part heartfelt return, part ruthless marketing — and proof he still knows exactly how to keep everyone watching.