Singer Travis Barker & Machine Gun Kelly Team Up for World Premiere Performance of 'Papercuts' at VMAs
The 2021 MTV Video Music Awards are set to feature various artists performing on stage. Travis Barker will be teaming up with Machine Gun Kelly to sing the rock star’s latest single.
Fans can expect a performance of “Papercuts” at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards (VMA). The news that Travis Barker and Machine Gun Kelly (MGK) will be belting out the song was announced by MTV on Wednesday.
Besides singing, Barker was also set to present at the annual music event. Other stars like Avril Lavigne, Billy Porter, 50 Cent, Ashanti, Billie Eilish, Conor McGregor, Cyndi Lauper, and Simone Biles will also present awards.
Travis Barker at his "Give The Drummer Some" press day on February 24, 2011, in Santa Monica, California, and Machine Gun Kelly at O2 Forum Kentish Town on August 31, 2019, in London, England | Photos: Noel Vasquez and Venla Shalin/Redferns/Getty Images
The star who will be hosting the VMAs is Doja Cat, who happens to have five nominations, including for "Video of the Year" and "Artist of the Year." Earlier in August 2021, Kelly announced his upcoming album.
He revealed that the album would be titled “Born with Horns.” The rock star made the announcement by getting a tattoo of the album’s title, along with his frequent collaborator, Barker.
Travis Barker at the premiere of "America's Got Talent: The Champions" season 2 finale at Sheraton Pasadena Hotel on October 21, 2019, in Pasadena, California | Photo: JC Olivera/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Taking to his personal Instagram account, Barker shared photos of him and Kelly showing off the new artwork tattooed in black ink on their forearms. MGK posted a video of the process.
Besides featuring on the album, Barker also helped produce the record for Kelly. Diehard fans should be aware that the former also did work on MGK’s 2020 album, “Tickets to My Downfall.”
In October 2020, “Tickets to My Downfall” was No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Kelly is set to launch the album’s tour on September 19, 2021, at The Armory in Minneapolis, and US tickets were sold out within minutes.
His tour will have 28 stops and include cities like Los Angeles, New York, and Denver. It will conclude at the rock singer’s hometown of Cleveland, where a concert will be held at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Kelly released the video for his new “Papercuts” single in the second week of August. The clip, which features the Blink-182 drummer, was directed by Cole Bennett, and “Born with Horns” will be Kelly’s sixth studio album.
Lately, Barker has been making waves for his romance with “Keeping up with the Kardashians (KUWTK)” reality star with Kourtney Kardashian. He opened up about their relationship during a “Nylon” interview.
Barker confessed how Kardashian made him feel "invincible" and credited her for giving him the strength to overcome past traumas. The personality was able to get him to fly after his 2008 airplane crash.
His August 14, 2021, flight to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico with the reality star was the first flight he’d taken in years. Besides dating, Barker has also bonded with his girlfriend’s daughter, Penelope, 9.