Labrinth went out with a bang during weekends one and two of Coachella last month, performing Ends & Begins single “Never Felt So Alone” with Billie Eilish and Euphoria soundtrack tracks “I’m Tired” and “All of Us” with Zendaya respectively. Labrinth tells Billboard News that while Eilish’s performance was carefully planned, Zendaya’s came together in a short amount of time.
“I actually wrote the record in a year and there was so many things behind the scenes that prevented it from seeing the light of day. I think it was good that it happened,” he explained of his LP, which arrived on April 28. “At the time I was losing my s–t and then once we got up to Coachella, it felt like the best time for me to release this record cause it was a celebration and that was the gift that came at the end of it.”
While coming up with the direction for Eilish’s portion of his set, Labrinth wanted to keep her appearance a surprise for the audience. “When I was putting that moment together, I told my lighting guy to keep the lights down and nobody would see that it’s Billie for a long minute, and they’ll see me and think ‘Okay he’s just going to performing it on his own,’” he recalled of his weekend one twist. “And then we just had Billie appear from nowhere and the place erupted into chaos.”
Planning for weekend two was more difficult, Labrinth shared, revealing that he wanted Zendaya to step in but her schedule did not have space for a performance. “I didn’t think she could make it, and then last minute I think something made her have to pass through. When we actually performed, it was more than I thought it would be. We couldn’t hear ourselves, that’s how loud it was,” he reflected on the special moment with his Euphoria collaborator.
Following its release, Ends & Begins peaked at No. 144 on the Billboard 200 chart. “Never Felt So Alone” peaked at No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Watch Labrinth’s full interview with Billboard in the video above.
This story originally appeared on Billboard
