Saturday night at the iHeartRadio Music Festival was all about high-profile collaborations: Lady Gaga sang with Sting, Rascal Flatts brought out Natasha Bedingfield, and Steven Tyler brought out Jeff Beck, Randy Jackson and Nicole Scherzinger. Not to be outdone, David Guetta delivered a special performance of his new single, “Without You,” in which Usher took the stage and provided some pristine pop crooning for the French DJ.
On the red carpet at the MGM Grand before the performance, Guetta gushed to Billboard about working with Usher on his new album, “Nothing But the Beat,” which also features guest spots from Nicki Minaj, Taio Cruz and Chris Brown, among many others. “He’s just an amazing artist,” says Guetta of Usher, “and not many people can sing like him. What he brings to a song… it’s incredible. I was shocked, actually, when I was in the studio [with him], and I was shocked again today when we made the rehearsal.”
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iHeartRadio Fest Saturday: Lady Gaga, Kenny Chesney Own Sin City
Guetta’s iHeartRadio performance continued a rise to the American pop mainstream that began with his 2009 album, “One Love,” which featured singles like “Sexy Bitch” and “Gettin’ Over You.” For Guetta, the past two years haven’t just been about his own breakout success; the producer claims that artists like Afrojack, Avicii and Nicky Romero have represented a shift in the marketability of the genre.
PHOTOS: iHeartRadio Music Festival
“Since ‘One Love,’ a lot of things have changed,” he says. “Dance music became the new standard of American pop music, when it was not even being played two years ago, so I think that’s really amazing and I’m very happy about it.”
Click here to watch a clip of every iHeartRadio fest performance from Saturday, and check out the full story behind Guetta’s new album below.
David Guetta: Inside His Latest Hit Parade, ‘Nothing But the Beat’