Surprise at festival
Will Smith returns for Coachella as Man in Black
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Many celebrities like to be seen at Coachella. The music and arts festival is also known for its surprise guests. This year, Oscar winner Will Smith makes an iconic appearance.
Film, music and Will Smith – they simply belong together. That's why the actor wasn't above paying a visit to the Coachella Festival in California and putting on a little surprising stage performance. The 55-year-old brought one of his most iconic roles back to life. Smith was suddenly one of the “Men in Black” again.
On Sunday night, he took the stage during Colombian reggaeton singer J Balvin's performance and sang his hit “Men in Black” from the 1997 hit movie of the same name. Smith appeared wearing sunglasses and a black suit, the standard uniform worn by Smith and Tommy Lee Jones appeared as investigators of a secret organization that monitors and controls aliens.
Smith and Balvin rapped the song together, while backup dancers dressed as aliens and a giant alien head in the background added to the effect. At the end of the performance, Balvin was dragged away by two people in black suits. Smith was then seen holding up the device (“lightning thingy”) that is used in the film to erase the memories of people who witness extraterrestrial activity.
The film grossed $250 million in the United States and spawned three sequels: 2002's “Men in Black II,” 2012's “Men in Black 3” and 2019's “Men in Black: International.” The latter, however, was produced as a standalone film that takes place in the same universe but does not star Smith or Jones.
Coachella performances were full of surprise guests this weekend, including Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Shakira, Paris Hilton and Kesha, who changed the lyrics to her hit “Tik Tok” to “fuck P. Diddy” during her performance.
