Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak are two of the best live performers around these days, so when Silk Sonic hit the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Thursday (May 27) to deliver their Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “Leave the Door Open,” you knew there was a 0/100 chance they would phone it in. Wearing dark azure crushed velvet blazers and tinted sunglasses (with Paak in a stylish flat cap), the duo worked the crowd exactly like the ’70s soul singers that Silk Sonic pays homage to would have.
Starting out with Mars at a piano and Paak and two backup singers leaning on the ivories, Silk Sonic delivered the buttery tune as the crowd readily sang it back to them. The music came to a sudden stop when Paak ripped off his glasses and let out a “wooo” to which Mars responded, “Let’s go! Let’s go!”
Delving back into the song, the crowd went wild – well, as wild as you can expect to a sultry, seductive bedroom slow jam (which was pretty wild, tbh). Mars was clearly ready to be back in front of an IRL crowd – not only did he croon straight to a woman in the front row, but he took her hand and placed in on his bare chest. Yep, live concerts in 2021 are about to be wild, y’all.
