Check out Martin Garrix & Dua Lipa Perform ‘Scared To Be Lonely’ on the Tonight Show
In March 2017, Martin Garrix and Dua Lipa took the stage on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show to perform their collaboration “Scared to Be Lonely” — a moment that underscored how far electronic dance music had traveled from the festival circuit into the living rooms of mainstream America.
The Performance
By the time of the Tonight Show appearance, “Scared to Be Lonely” had already accumulated over 250 million streams since its January release. The future bass-infused pop record had become a fixture on radio stations worldwide and represented a deliberate evolution in Martin Garrix’s sound — a shift from the high-energy big room anthems that had launched his career toward more vocally driven, emotionally nuanced productions.
The performance itself was a step forward for Garrix in the live television format. His previous Tonight Show appearance in August 2016, performing “In the Name of Love” alongside Bebe Rexha, had drawn mixed reviews due to sound issues and the inherent challenge of translating electronic music to a late-night TV stage. The “Scared to Be Lonely” performance with Dua Lipa was a notable improvement, with Lipa’s powerful vocal delivery anchoring the song while Garrix handled the production elements live.
The Song’s Significance
Scared to Be Lonely” was the second major vocal collaboration that signaled Garrix’s transition into a new creative phase. Following “In the Name of Love” — which went Platinum in the United States — the Dua Lipa collaboration cemented Garrix’s ability to work with top-tier vocalists and produce records that competed on pop radio, not just electronic playlists.
For Dua Lipa, the collaboration came at a pivotal moment in her own career. Her self-titled debut album was months away from release, and the visibility of working with one of the world’s biggest DJs — combined with the Tonight Show performance — helped establish her presence in the American market ahead of the album’s June 2017 launch. Lipa would go on to become one of the defining pop artists of the late 2010s, with “New Rules” and later “Don’t Start Now” making her a global superstar.
EDM on Late Night Television
The Tonight Show performance was part of a broader trend in 2016 and 2017 that saw electronic artists increasingly booking late-night television appearances. The Chainsmokers, Zedd, Kygo, and Marshmello all made appearances on major network shows during this period, reflecting the genre’s crossover into mainstream pop culture.
For DJs and producers, these performances presented a unique challenge. The standard festival setup — a DJ behind a laptop and CDJs — didn’t translate well to the intimate, performance-oriented format of late-night TV. Artists had to adapt, often performing alongside live vocalists and incorporating elements that gave the audience something more dynamic to watch. Garrix’s pairing with Dua Lipa solved this problem effectively: her stage presence and vocal ability provided the visual and sonic focal point, while his production gave the song its identity.
The performance marked one of several milestones in a year that would see Garrix headline Ultra Music Festival, release multiple collaborations, and continue his residency at Ushuaïa Ibiza — solidifying his position as one of the most commercially successful electronic artists of his generation.
