Will Smith couldn’t hold back the tears during his emotional concert in Las Vegas on Thursday night.
The 56-year-old Oscar winner—who remains banned from all Academy-related events for a decade following his infamous slap of Chris Rock—delivered a high-energy performance at the House of Blues, running through hits like Wild Wild West, Men in Black, and Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It, per TMZ.
But in between the upbeat moments, he took time for some deeply personal reflections that left him visibly emotional.
Smith teared up as he opened up about two major turning points in his life—the traumatic birth of his firstborn and the heartbreaking loss of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star James Avery, according to witnesses.
Performing his 1997 track Just the Two of Us, he shared that the song was inspired by the ‘terrifying’ birth of his son Trey, now 31, whom he shares with his first wife, Sheree Zampino.
Later, he struggled to hold back tears as he honored Avery, who played the beloved yet formidable Uncle Phil and passed away in 2013.
Will Smith couldn’t hold back the tears during his emotional An Evening with Will Smith concert in Las Vegas on Thursday night
The 56-year-old Oscar winner—who remains banned from all Academy-related events for a decade following his infamous slap of Chris Rock —delivered a high-energy performance at the House of Blues, running through hits like Wild Wild West, Men in Black, and Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It, per TMZ
But in between the upbeat moments, he took time for some deeply personal reflections that left him visibly emotional
The concert comes just days after Smith announced his long-awaited return to music with Based on a True Story—his first album in 20 years.
Set for release on March 28, the project reunites him with longtime collaborator DJ Jazzy Jeff and features contributions from Teyana Taylor and his son Jaden Smith.
Alongside the album, Smith also announced an accompanying tour—one that had fans in stitches after he revealed the unexpected and unconventional locations for his first-ever UK and European shows.
While many international artists traditionally stick to performing in the UK’s largest venues – such as London’s Wembley Stadium and Manchester’s Co-op Live arena – Smith is taking his tour to more unique locations.
The tour, which will also see him perform hits such as Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It and Miami, lands in England with a date at the seaside resort Scarborough, with Smith performing on on August 24 at Open Air Theatre.
This will be followed with a gig at Cardiff’s Bute Park on August 25 and a concert at Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse on August 27.
Smith will perform at London’s Brixton Academy the day after and a final gig at University of Wolverhampton at the Halls on August 30.
Taking to X/Twitter after the tour was announced, fans tweeted: ‘Love to be in the room when Will Smith’s management team are explaining to him how the hell Wolverhampton* ended up on the list of places on his tour.’
Smith teared up as he opened up about two major turning points in his life—the traumatic birth of his firstborn and the heartbreaking loss of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star James Avery
Later, he struggled to hold back tears as he honored Avery, who played the beloved yet formidable Uncle Phil and passed away in 2013
The concert comes just days after Smith announced his long-awaited return to music with Based on a True Story—his first album in 20 years
Set for release on March 28, the project reunites him with longtime collaborator DJ Jazzy Jeff and features contributions from Teyana Taylor and his son Jaden Smith
‘Sorry… Will Smith – THE Will Smith is touring… playing London, Manchester SCARBOROUGH and …… WOLVERHAMPTON CIVIC HALL. How random’;
‘Bit artists playing obscure areas will never not be funny because why is Will Smith playing in WOLVERHAMPTON?!?!’;
‘Just heard Will Smith is playing Scarborough’s open air theatre in August. To put it in football terms it’s like when Socrates played for Garforth Town.’;
‘Will smith coming to Wolverhampton was not on my 2025 bingo card’.
Smith is also taking his tour to several European festivals, such as the Moroccan festival Mawazine in Rabat.
The Oscar-winning actor announced the news in an Instagram post on Tuesday, writing: ‘I’M GOING ON TOUR THIS SUMMER!!
‘We’re hitting up UK & Europe to bring U all the hits, some new joints, and a few surprises. All these years, I’ve NEVER done a headline tour and I can’t wait to see you guys!!’
Smith gained recognition in American hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince who released Grammy-winning single Parents Just Don’t Understand.
In the Nineties, he starred in the hit sitcom The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air about a fictionalised version of himself, born and raised in West Philadelphia, who is sent to live with his wealthy uncle in Los Angeles.
His debut solo album, Big Willie Smith, was released in 1997 and included the hit song Men In Black, which accompanied the film of the same name and peaked at number one in the UK singles chart.
Smith left fans in hysterics after revealing the unusual locations for his first ever tour in the UK and Europe – announcing dates in Scarborough and Wolverhampton
Smith gained recognition in American hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince who released Grammy-winning single Parents Just Don’t Understand (pictured in 1989)
Across his career, Smith has starred in dozens of films including The Pursuit Of Happyness (2006), I Am Legend (2007), and Suicide Squad (2016).
In January, he released track Beautiful Scars, featuring rapper Big Sean, as well as a music video where they re-enacted a scene from 1999 science fiction film The Matrix.
He has released a handful of other singles that will all feature on his new album, including Tantrum with Joyner Lucas, You Can Make It featuring Fridayy and Sunday Service Choir, and Work Of Art, which was a collaboration with rapper Russ, featuring his son Jaden.
Tickets for his Based On A True Story summer tour go on sale Friday, March 21 at 10am. His album will be released on March 28.
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