Will Smith continues comeback tour with brand-new song at the BET Awards

Fresh off of Bad Boys: Ride Or Die, Will Smith will release (and perform) his first new song in seven years

By Mary Kate Carr | June 24, 2024 | 7:59pm

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Will Smith Photo: Alexander Tamargo

The world may have briefly turned its back on Will Smith, but there will always be a place for The Fresh Prince. Smith has slowly been rebuilding his reputation in the entertainment industry after the 2022 Oscars during which he slapped Chris Rock on stage. Audiences affirmed they still love Smith the actor with the solid box office showing for Bad Boys: Ride Or Die. But it was the Fresh Prince who came out of hiding first—one of his most high-profile gigs post-Slap was performing for the “Grammy Salute To 50 Years Of Hip-Hop.” Now Smith is continuing his multi-layered musical comeback with a brand-new song set to premiere at the BET Awards on June 30.

According to Variety, Smith will perform this song on stage at the show, which is being hosted by Taraji P. Henson. “From his start as a rapper to ‘The Fresh Prince’ to being a box office king as one of the Bad Boys, Will Smith is truly a global icon, and we are honored to welcome him back to grace the BET Awards stage,” Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET, said in a statement. “We look forward to Will adding to yet another defining night for the culture that is not to be missed.”

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Smith seems to have been soft-launching his return to music for some time. In addition to the hip-hop anniversary performance, he recently performed his track “Miami” at the premiere of Bad Boys: Ride Or Die and shared the stage for a surprise performance of “Men In Black” with J. Balvin at Coachella. Smith released his last solo single in 2017 and his last album (Lost And Found) in 2005. Last year, artist Joyner Lucas shared that he’d been working on an album with Smith, who was featured on Lucas’ track “Will (Remix)” in 2020. In May, Smith himself teased to Extra that he’d been working on a new project for a year and a half, that is “without question the most personal, powerful music that I’ve ever made.” Does that mean his new songs will address The Slap? His relationship (whatever that may be) with wife Jada Pinkett-Smith? Any of the other startlingly candid confessions from his memoir Will? We’ll have to wait and see.