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Wiz Khalifa's poignant tribute at the Billboard Music Awards 2015
RnB/Hip Hop | Wednesday 27th May 2015 |
Wiz Khalifa paid tribute to Paul Walker at the Billboard Music Awards with his perfomance of 'See You Again', taken from the Fast & Furious 7 soundtrack.
Ludacris, co-host of the evening, introduced the performance alongside Tyrese Gibson, saying "I could not do otherwise than to stand here before you with my brother, Tyrese Gibson. We are ready to present the song 'See You Again' from Fast and Furious 7, which has become a perfect tribute and moving our friend and partner, the late Paul Walker."
'See You Again' has become a worldwide smash, spending several weeks at the top of the charts across the globe and becoming the best-selling single of the last twelve months. The song was written by Charlie Puth in July 2014, who said that "it just seemed to occur from out of nowhere. And basically 10 minutes later we sent it off, and I thought we'd never hear about it again." After receiving an overwhelmingly positive reception from Universal Pictures and Atlantic Records, Wiz Khalifa was asked to include verses about family around Puth's vocals and piano.
In writing the song, Puth said he was thinking of a friend who also died abruptly. Although reluctant to reveal too many details, he said that the tragedy also involved a car accident and that he felt his late friend's presence in the studio that day as he held the belief they could one day communicate again.
'See You Again' appears at the end of Furious 7 when characters Brian O'Conner and Dominic Toretto drive their cars on a mountain road and eventually part ways when they reach a fork, giving Brian a poignant retirement send-off. Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival, Michelle Rodriguez said that the "success of Fast & Furious 7 is a posthumous gift for Paul, and that's priceless."
