Will Smith performed his new single, “You Can Make It,” with Chandler Moore, Kirk Franklin and the Sunday Service Choir for the first time during the 2024 BET Awards on Sunday night (June 30).
“You're in the smoke and the fire/ Rope tight on the wire/ I see you broken and tired/ And all your hope is gone/ You're just done with the change and the games and the shame/ And the world is crazy, all the pain from flames,” Smith said while standing in a ring of fire.
But the soothing harmonies of the Sunday Service Choir and Moore's sweet hook subvert the track's initial downtrodden mood. “Don't leave me, I need you to hold/ Know you're deep in the storm/ But I know you can deal with it (Deal with it), eh/ It can get dark on the road and you're feeling alone/ Don't lose sight of where you go/ 'Cause I know you can make it, oh wow,” Moore sang before a storm smothered the fire and rained down on Smith.
“Hey, Will, if I can testify for a minute?” asked Kirk Franklin before taking the stage to deliver a sermon about persevering through difficult times with the grace of God, while Smith and the Sunday Service Choir formed in the middle of the red tent.
“Nobody gets an easy ride/ We all have a cross to bear/ But there's wisdom in that fire/ And every moment in your life is an opportunity/ We're not punished, we're forged/ Dance through your dark moments” Smith solemnly said at the end of of his performance, while the line “Dance In Your Darkest Moments” flashes across the screen.
“It's a blessing, he's a Philly legend. I grew up watching him my whole life. I recorded that hook in 2020 and sent it to Ayo and then I think Ayo started working with Will this year and he just played him that hook. And he just jumped into the lyrics. So that's a blessing,” Fridayy said Advertising signAssociate R&B/hip-hop manager Carl Lamarre on the red carpet earlier this afternoon. “I've talked to him a few times on DM, but this is the first time I've met him.
Taraji P. Henson hosted the show for the third time. The 2024 BET Awards were held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Watch Will Smith's first performance of “You Can Make It” below:
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