Coachella 2024: Will Smith makes surprise appearance at festival
During his Coachella set, Reggaeton star J Balvin surprised the Californian crowd by bringing out special guest Will Smith for a rendition of ‘Men In Black’.
Smith starred in the iconic sci-fi movie series alongside Tommy Lee Jones from 1997 to 2012, culminating in the iconic Men In Black 3. Since then, the franchise received a spin-off in 2019 titled Men in Black: International, with Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson taking on the iconic black suits.
One of the most notable elements of the series was the titular song, which also marked Smith’s debut solo single, ‘Men in Black’. Expectedly, the crowd went wild when Smith emerged to perform it alongside Balvin.
Balvin took to the stage on Coachella’s final day, ahead of a headline performance by Doja Cat. His staging design included a huge alien head and UFO, green lasers, and dancers dressed as extra-terrestrials, making it the perfect setting for a surprise cameo from Smith.
As an otherworldly siren reverberated around the crowd, Balvin announced Smith. Donning a black suit and sunglasses in the image of his character from the classic 1997 sci-fi, he declared, “We got the MIB,” before launching into the hit track.
By the end of the performance, Balvin is being dragged off-stage by the men in black. Balvin rounded out his performance with a cover of Major Lazer’s ‘Qué Calor’ and his collaboration with Skrillex, ‘In da Getto’, before departing from the stage.
Smith wasn’t the only special guest to appear on-stage at the desert festival this weekend. This year’s festival has been full of surprise appearances. Following the release of their fifth record, Only God Was Above Us, indie outfit Vampire Weekend took to the stage on Saturday with a special guest of their own.
After playing a set of Vampire Weekend staples like ‘Diane Young’ and ‘A-Punk’, their performance devolved into a mash-up called ‘Cocaine Cowboys’, with accompaniment from socialite Paris Hilton. The medley included covers of ‘Sin City’ and ‘Cumberland Blues’, as well as their own track ‘Married in a Gold Rush’.
Gwen Stefani’s No Doubt also made an appearance at the festival this year, performing classics like ‘Don’t Speak’ and ‘Just a Girl’. They brought pop star Olivia Rodrigo out on stage to sing ‘Bathwater’.
Watch footage of Will Smith performing ‘Men In Black’ with J Balvin at Coachella 2024 below.
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