In a seemingly unlikely pairing, Mk.gee (aka Michael Gordon) has been recruited by Justin Bieber to write and record new music.
The rising indie rocker opened up about hitting the studio with Bieber in a new interview with The New York Times. “He’s searching,” Mk.gee said. “Anything that comes out of his mouth: That’s pop music. You can really do pretty wild stuff behind that, just because it represents something.”
Mk.gee continued by explaining that he’s not necessarily chasing a pop sound, but rather “the promise of pop music” while carving out his own path. “Experimentalism has no meaning unless it’s done on the grandest scale,” he said. “I just don’t want to join somebody else’s citadel. I want to build my own thing, my own castle with my friends, because that’s what needed. And if people want to come, they can come.”
The news of Mk.gee and Bieber working together doesn’t come completely out of left field. Reddit speculated about a potential collaboration a few months back, and there’s a TikTok clip of Bieber listening to Dijon’s “Many Times,” which Mk.gee co-wrote.
In addition, Mk.gee has collaborated with pop-leaning artists like Omar Apollo and The Kid Laroi in the past. Read the full New York Times profile here.
Mk.gee is currently on a fall North American tour in support of his debut album, Two Star & the Dream Police, which will be followed by dates in the UK, Europe, and Australia. See the full schedule below, and get tickets here.
Meanwhile, Bieber’s last album, Justice, was released in 2021. He was forced to cancel a world tour the following year after dealing with partial paralysis caused by Ramsay-Hunt Syndrome.
Mk.gee 2024 Tour Dates:
09/06 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
09/07 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
09/08 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
09/09 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
09/11 – Denver, CO @ Summit
09/13 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
09/14 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s Austin
09/15 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Dallas
09/18 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
09/19 – Louisville, KY @ Mercury Ballroom
09/20 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
09/21 – Newport, KY @ MegaCorp Pavilion
09/23 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore
09/24 – New Haven, CT @ Toad’s Place
09/25 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
09/26 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues Boston
09/28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
09/29 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount
10/01 – Toronto, ON @ History
10/02 – Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew’s Hall
10/03 – Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre
10/05 – Minneapolis, MN @ Uptown Theater
10/29 – London, UK @ Electric Brixton
10/30 – London, UK @ Electric Brixton
10/31 – London, UK @ Electric Brixton
11/02 – Paris, FR @ Élysée-Montmartre
11/04 – Berlin, DE @ Betonhalle
11/05 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
12/03 – Brisbane, AU @ The Triffid
12/05 – Sydney, AU @ Enmore Theatre
12/06 – Meredith, AU @ Meredith Music Festival
12/07 – Melbourne, AU @ Max Watt’s
12/08 – Melbourne, AU @ Forum Theatre