While Spotify set the stage for expanding its resources for artists and fans during its first Stream On event on Monday (February 22), the streaming service had a surprise at the end: an exclusive performance by Justin Bieber.
Bieber, whose more than 63 million monthly Spotify listeners make him the second most broadcast artist in the world, brought the bravado that earned him that kind of career milestone on a dynamic stage. He found something “sacred” about an underground candlelit lounge for his first song with his band, before rays of white light and embers illuminated a “lonely” Bieber on what appeared to be a straight road in the middle of the desert.
Still, the second half of his performance distorted Benny Blanco’s soft melody conducted by the piano in an electronic groove with trap overtones and self-tuning vocals. While the cooling waves marked the end of his red-hot performance, the pop star reappeared on a platform overlooking a sea of clouds that swarmed the mountains to conclude his set with “Anyone” before turning into a flock of birds that fly away.