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Leon Thomas on Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak & Ty Dolla Sign
The day after Leon Thomas performed for the first time ever at Lollapalooza (which happened to be on his 33rd birthday), he reflected on what he learned while opening up for Bruno Mars on his The Romantic Tour earlier in 2026 and how it inspired his performance on the T-Mobile main stage.
“Shout out to Bruno and Anderson .Paak for being really amazing friends. I didn’t know these brothers that well going into the tour, but after that run, we became a lot closer,” he told reporters at the T-Mobile Hospitality Suite at Lollapalooza. “I studied their shows. I would do my 30-minute set, shower up a little bit, and run out and sit by the engineer to watch and take notes.”
As for what he learned specifically, Thomas pointed to Mars’ “meticulous” way of performing, and the “broad movements” he would make for large crowds. “Bruno is so meticulous. I watched him in soundchecks go over one song 20 times to make sure that tiny detail was right, and I think that attention to detail turns into performances that are so memorable,” he said. “I learned a lot performing for crowds that big too. You have to have a lot of broad movements, and I picked up a lot of what he was doing.”
He also noted Prince as a shared inspiration for both him and Mars. “I’m learning from his ability to be relatable up there as well. I sat down with him. It felt like I was taking a meeting with the president when I had dinner with Bruno. But we talked a lot about music and our love for Prince. It all starts with Prince, and Prince is definitely the bar for how to really rock his stage and play some instruments and take a crowd there with you.”
As for other mentors in the music industry, Thomas, who won his first three Grammys earlier in 2026, also shouted out Ty Dolla $ign. Thomas is signed to Ty’s EZMNY Records. “Ty Dolla $ign has been such an amazing brother to me in this industry,” he said. “He’s my big bro, who’s always keeping it real with me in such a beautiful way. He allows me to be creative. Sometimes when you’re signed to an artist, they can get a little hands-on and try to make you into what they think you should be. But I really respect him for allowing me to be different.”
He continued, “I really respect him for setting the stage and being a great example of how to keep a career going and still stay grounded. He’s a family man and always has his family around.”
Thomas made his Lollapalooza debut on the T-Mobile Stage on the third day of the festival on Saturday, August 1, where he brought out 18-year-old rapper BabyChiefDoit for a surprise performance and ended his set with his viral single, “Mutt.” T-Mobile members could watch the performance from the T-Mobile Club Magenta, an exclusive lounge for phone plan subscribers with elevated and covered premium views of the main stage. The lounge, which is also hosted at other music festivals such as Stagecoach, included borrowable chargers, a private bar with specialty cocktails, free swag, and photo ops.
Thomas surprised fans at the lounge an hour after his performance, where he partied with fans, gave out free vinyls of his album Mutt, and celebrated his 33rd birthday. He also jammed out to the Victorious theme song, “Make It Shine.” He starred on the Nickelodeon series as Andre Harris from 2010 to 2013. “One of the most beautiful moments was really getting to connect with the fans. We got to hand out some vinyls. We played some throwback songs from our Nickelodeon days,” he said.