When Dillon Francis opened his Monday-night set in New York City, he took a quick break from his usual antics to dedicate his performance to Trayvon Martin. “Let’s have fun for him tonight,” Francis encouraged the crowd. A few seconds later, he returned to his usual playful self and the party began.
Coming off a worldwide tour with a summer of parties ahead of him, Francis has lots to smile about. The 25-year-old DJ was the headlining act of last night’s MTV Clubland’s Artists to Watch show, and he’ll do it again for MTV at Comic-Con later this week.
Francis’ set was everything fans could have asked for from the electronic pioneer. Staying true to his beloved genre of moombahton, he weaved in and out of Major Lazer samples and premiered a new collaboration with Diplo that will appear on his debut studio album.
More unexpectedly, at one point Francis grabbed the mic mid-spin and declared to the crowd, “If Miley is still in New York, she better get over here right now!”
MTV News caught up with Dillon before the show, and he explained that he wants to feature Miley Cyrus on his upcoming album, simply because he has a song that is perfect for her. “It’s right up her alley because she’s addicted to twerking right now, and it’s a twerk song.”
Miley never made an appearance, but English producer Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs showed up to help with some vocals on another new track. The two closed the show with a quick “I love you, New York.
Thank you, MTV.” By that time, confetti and floating cutouts of Dillon’s face had traveled across the crowd, and the show was over.
Opening for Francis was New York-based producer/DJ duo the Chainsmokers, who took the opportunity to premiere a very well-received Icona Pop song.
If you missed Monday night’s performance, you can catch Dillon Francis in San Diego on Thursday for MTV2’s Party in the Park, and this time he’ll even be in costume. When we talked to him he was still deciding, but Finn and Lumpy Space Princess from “Adventure Time” were both high on the list. Either way, you can count on him opening the show with the “X-Men” theme song.
What do you think of Dillon and Miley working together? Tell us in the comments!
Stay tuned to Comic-Con.MTV.com for more guest announcements and scheduling details. MTV News’ coverage of Comic-Con begins July 18 at 2 p.m. ET and runs all weekend.
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