Entertainment

Major Lazer Recruits Justin Bieber + MØ On Surprise Single “Cold Water”

Screw you, heat wave

by daniel barna

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That seems to be the thinking behind Major Lazer's surprise single "Cold Water," which sees the DJ act teaming up again with Danish singer MØ, who also lent her vocals to the group's biggest hit to date, "Lean On." Major Lazer's mastermind Diplo also recruited Justin Bieber for the dancehall-influenced track. Perhaps Bieber owed him one after the producer helped resurrect his career by producing Bieber's omnipresent earworm "Where Are Ü Now."

That collaboration initially turned heads, and it seems like once again Diplo was met with skepticism when he wanted to bring JB on board. "It was spontaneous, no one thought it would work," he told Rolling StoneStill, Bieber sounds right at home, singing "Take a deep breath and let it go/ You shouldn't be drowning on your own," over a tropical beat. 

"On the radio, we went through a bland period for a while, but now there is just some awesome music," added Diplo about pop music's sudden embracing of different sounds and cultures. "You can tell if something's authentic or not."

Diplo also had some thoughts on MØ, who he called "ambiguous," adding that “her word choice and her metaphors are just so foreign from American songwriters who tend to overuse the same phrases." 

Listen to "Cold Water" above.