Will Smith Surprises Coachella 2024 With ‘Men In Black’ Performance

The “Mi Gente” singer surprised fans at Coachella 2024 by welcoming Will Smith on stage for an out-of-this-world performance that saw the actor recreate his rap and dance moves from his 1997 “Men in Black” music video from the soundtrack to his hit movie of the same name.

The Iconic Men in Black Performance at Coachella 2024

“Will Smith and J Balvin performed at the Coachella Stage on April 14, 2024, at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, as part of the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

During his Coachella set on Sunday night, Colombian singer J Balvin surprised the audience by introducing four-time Grammy winner Will Smith on stage. Smith, dressed in his iconic Agent J costume from the 1997 hit film Men in Black, performed his rendition of the title track. He joined Balvin on stage amidst the latter’s extraterrestrial-themed performance, complete with UFOs and alien heads.

Although the alien films were a huge success, Smith recently admitted that he nearly turned down the part. “That was the next year after “Independence Day,” he told Variety in August. “I didn’t want to do two extraterrestrial films back to back. Steven Spielberg, the film’s executive producer, persuaded Smith by sending a helicopter to get him from New York.

“It landed at his house,” he explained. “And, like, he got me at hello. And that was the first time I’d tried lemonade with carbonated water. You cannot say no to that.”

but the 55-year-old actor on stage, evoking waves of nostalgia for the audience. “Coachella,” Smith yelled as he began his rap performance, aided by background dancers in alien gear.

As his performance ended, Balvin was dragged off the stage by the dancers, and Smith pulled out the Neuralyzer from his hit film MIB, pretending to wipe out the memory of the audience. Balvin returned to the stage soon after, continuing his set with a performance of his hit song “In Da Ghetto,” with his dancers, as per Variety.

In the “Men in Black” franchise, Smith starred as Agent J, a former NYPD detective recruited to serve in a secret organisation dealing with extraterrestrial matters. He starred alongside Tommy Lee Jones.

The song from the film was from Smith’s debut solo album “Big Willie Style,” which won him a Grammy Award in 1998.

Smith’s performance at Coachella leads up to his return as detective Mike Lowrey in the upcoming film Bad Boys 4, where he reunites with Martin Lawrence for the sequel, slated for release on June 7, 2024. The story will follow the adventures of detective duo Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, picking up from the last instalment, Bad Boys for Life, released in 2020.”