Basses

Justin Bieber used a specially made left-handed Taylor Gold Label acoustic during the World Cup Final halftime show

July 20, 2026

38 days. 104 games. Hours upon hours of football. It’s been quite the month and a bit…
In the end, Spain won the 2026 FIFA World Cup, overcoming Argentina in a 1-0 extra time win at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on 19 July.
This year’s edition of the tournament saw a number of changes to the format, including an expansion to 48 teams (up from 32, though FIFA is reportedly planning to expand it again to 64 teams in 2030).
It also saw the first-ever World Cup Final halftime show, with performances from Madonna, Shakira, Burna Boy and Justin Bieber.
For his segment, after a brief introduction by actor Jason Sudeikis, Justin Bieber took to the field to perform an angelic rendition of his 2025 track, Everything Hallelujah. Naturally, as a bunch of guitar nerds, our eyes went straight to the gorgeous Taylor Gold Label 517e he had in his hands.
Eagle-eyed viewers will have noticed that Justin Bieber is a leftie, and the Gold Label 517e is normally only available in a right-handed configuration.
As it turns out, the guitar he played during halftime is one of a small selection of left-handed Gold Labels made by Taylor for a handful of prominent left-handed artists, including Justin Bieber and Elliott Easton of the Cars.
Bieber’s World Cup 517e, in particular, features a Taylor’s in-house-designed Claria pickup system, in place of the LR Baggs Element electronics.
Obviously, an artist of Justin Bieber’s stature could have his pick in terms of the instruments he chooses to take to the stage, but ultimately, for the World Cup Final halftime show, he narrowed it down to two Gold Label options, a custom 717e and a 517e, rehearsing with both.
Credit: Marvin Ibo Guengoer – GES Sportfoto/Getty Images
“A lot of coordination went into this,” Jay Parkin, Director of Artist Relations & Partnerships at Taylor, tells Guitar.com.
“When Justin was booked for the World Cup Final, his guitar tech reached out through [backline company] Studio Instrument Rentals. It’s a great example of the relationships we’ve built with backline partners like SIR, CenterStaging and John Henry’s.”
Parkin explains how he keeps a “small inventory” of Justin Bieber’s guitars at CenterStaging, a large rehearsal and backline facility in Burbank, California.
“His tech requested two left-handed Gold Labels, and I coordinated the logistics, shipping a Gold Label 517 with our Claria pickup system and a custom 717 to SIR for rehearsals. After trying both guitars, Justin and his tech chose the standard Gold Label 517 for the halftime show.”
The World Cup Final halftime show also saw performances from Madonna – who was accompanied by Brazilian football legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, and Shakira and Burna Boy, who performed their 2026 smash hit, Dai Dai.
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