Justin Timberlake Makes Case for Vegas Residency After Surprise Concert at Fontainebleau Las Vegas Opening
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Justin Timberlake dusted off his dancing shoes and microphone for one of his first live performances in almost four years on Wednesday night, taking the stage at the grand opening of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
Dressed in a crisp white tux and G.H. Bass loafers, Timberlake performed a 70-minute set of his greatest hits to help christen the Fontainebleau’s new 3,800-seat BleauLive Theater, opening with 2006’s “SexyBack,” before launching into a medley of fan favorites like “LoveStoned,” “Señorita,” “Cry Me a River” and “Summer Love.”
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In front of a star-studded crowd that included wife Jessica Biel, Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Lenny Kravitz and Cher, Timberlake also performed a mashup of “Can’t Stop the Feeling” and Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day,” then took to the piano for an acoustic rendition of “Until the End of Time” that he dedicated “to all the lovers out there.” Toward the end of the night, Timberlake stood center stage to deliver a poignant cover of Nat King Cole’s “Smile,” a fitting tribute since the late crooner’s Las Vegas debut was at the Thunderbird — the present-day location of the Fontainebleau.
Timberlake was joined onstage for his performance by The Tennessee Kids, the Memphis native’s longtime band, along with a cadre of dancers and backing vocalists, who all matched the singer in his suit and tie (also a fitting nod to the bow-tie logo of the Fontainebleau Vegas). Though it was a one-off concert to help officially welcome the newest hotel to the Las Vegas strip, the production value and venue lent itself to a full-scale residency, perhaps planting the seed for Timberlake to return to Vegas very soon (for reference, Post Malone is the next artist set to hit the stage at BleauLive Theater, with two dates on Dec. 30 and 31).
The Fontainebleau had promised a surprise “A-list headliner” in invitations that went out to VIP guests earlier this month, and the audience erupted in cheers when Timberlake took to the stage. The opening act for the evening, meantime, was crooner Paul Anka, who spoke of his love for the original Fontainebleau hotel in Miami, regaling the crowd with stories of his time spent there with Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack. Anka also performed a cover of Sinatra’s “My Way,” a song that he wrote and later pitched to Sinatra at the Fontainbleau.
Inspired by that original Fontainebleau location in Miami, the Fontainebleau Las Vegas is a 67-story luxury resort that sits adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center on South Las Vegas Boulevard. In addition to more than 3,000 rooms and 150,000 square feet of gaming space, the hotel partnered with hospitality entrepreneur David Grutman of Groot Hospitality to bring his nightclub LIV and Miami restaurants Komodo and Papi Steak to the property. Other restaurants include an outpost of chef Evan Funke’s Mother Wolf and Chyna Club, an elevated Cantonese eatery from the founder of Hakkasan.
Conceived in the early 2000s, the Fontainebleau has been undergoing construction for the better part of the past decade. The property was reacquired by Jeffrey Soffer’s Fontainebleau Development, in partnership with Koch Real Estate Investments, in 2021 and finally completed this year. Fontainebleau Las Vegas now stands as the tallest occupiable building in the state of Nevada.
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