While Spotify set the stage for how it will expand its features for artists and fans alike during its first-ever Stream On event Monday (Feb. 22), the streaming service had one surprise at the end: an exclusive performance by Justin Bieber.
Bieber, whose more than 63 million monthly Spotify listeners make him the second-most streamed artist in the world, brought the bravado that earned him that kind of career milestone onto a dynamic stage. He found something "Holy" about a candlelit underground lounge for his first song with his band, before streaks of white light and embers illuminated a "Lonely" Bieber on what looked like a road straight through the middle of the desert.
Yet the second half of his performance warped Benny Blanco's tender piano-driven melody into an electronic groove with trap overtones and Auto-Tuned vocals. As cooling waves marked the end of his red-hot performance, the pop superstar reappeared on a platform overlooking a sea of clouds swarming mountains to conclude his set with "Anyone" before shape-shifting into a flock of birds that fly away.