Justin Bieber surprised fans at his Monday night (March 7) gig at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com arena by bringing out an unannounced guest for a mini-set. The fourth gig on Bieber’s Justice World Tour took an unexpected turn when Texas singer/songwriter Leon Bridges popped up on the stage’s bus stop set to perform a moving rendition of “River” from the guitarist’s 2015 Coming Home debut.
“Special guest @leonbridges… You never know who you will see with @justinbieber,” read a tweet from the Crypto.com Arena feed, along with three guitar emoji. In the 36-second clip, Bieber leans against the set and looks on with rapt attention as Bridges sings the ballad’s sad-eyed chorus while strumming a red electric guitar.
Bieber is slated to play the second night of his two-show stand at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday (March 8). After a pandemic-related delay, Bieber launched the tour on Feb. 18 in San Diego and was forced to postpone a Feb. 20 Las Vegas date until June 28 after testing positive for COVID-19.
The 90-date global trek will take the singer across North America through late June. The Justice World Tour was originally scheduled to launch last summer. The jaunt is in support of Bieber’s 2021 album Justice, his eighth album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Prior to the tour’s launch, Bieber announced that the outing would help raise awareness about criminal justice reform, climate action and voter registration by pairing with a number of social justice organizations while encouraging Beliebers to do their part. On each night there will be local action opportunities curated by Live Free in support of criminal justice reform at the local level, with fans getting the chance to win free concert tickets by participating in live trainings in select cities.
Check out Bridges’ performance below.
Special guest @leonbridges 🎸🎸🎸 You never know who you will see with @justinbieber #JusticeWorldTour pic.twitter.com/2zb2VQsjod
— Crypto.com Arena (@cryptocomarena) March 8, 2022
