Justin Bieber joins WizKid and Tems on ‘Essence’ remix, His Personal ‘Song of the Summer’

WizKid announced Thursday (Aug. 12) that Justin Bieber will be featured on a remix of his Afrobeats hit “Essence,” which also features singer Tems.

The Nigerian superstar teased “something special” was coming on his socials before announcing an official remix featuring the Canadian pop star, which is set to drop at midnight ET.

“Thank u for letting me jump on the song of the summer,” Bieber wrote on Instagram while sharing a graphic featuring all three artists’ names on top of the song’s title.

“Essence” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in July at No. 82 after the Tems-assisted song was released in October 2020 from Wiz’s album Made in Lagos.

The sultry Afrobeats/R&B club jam has been steadily climbing the tally over the last five weeks, rising to its current position of No. 54 in the week ending Aug. 14.
Wiz has famously worked with another Canada-born sensation — Drake — on the No. 1 smash “One Dance” in 2016, which also features British singer Kyla.

The remix comes in the same week as Tunji Balogun, who was executive vp of A&R RCA Records for six years and signed WizKid in 2016, being announced as the new CEO/chairman of Def Jam Records, the home of Bieber.

“This is the first time where it feels like a song is competing on the level of a similarly promoted song from Western artists in the pop genre,” Wizkid told Billboard about the legacy of “Essence” in a new interview. “And I hope that’s the lasting influence of the record — that it opens doors for more people with different styles and different textures.”

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SOURCE: BILLBOARD.COM