The 90-second-long video was recorded by the Thirty Seconds To Mars frontman, and saw him recall his favourite things about the historic city. It also served as the introduction video to the recent event, which took place in Nevada between November 16 and November 18.
Talking directly to the camera, the clip sees Leto eerily recite the lyrics to Elvis Presley’s iconic 1968 song ‘Viva Las Vegas’ with no emotion. It also features clips of the Las Vegas strip and inside the casinos, as well as images of famous Formula One drivers.
“How I wish there were more than the 24 hours in the day. Even if there were 40 more, I wouldn’t sleep a minute away,” he says. “Oh, there’s Blackjack and Poker and the roulette wheel. A fortune won and lost on every deal. All you need is a strong heart and a nerve of steel.” Check out the clip in full below.
Following the clip, both fans of Formula One and fans of Thirty Seconds To Mars took to social media to share their responses to the unconventional introduction to the event – with some praising it as artistic while others are significantly less impressed.
“Had SportsCenter on mute and looked up from my computer to see a super zoomed-in Jared Leto making eye contact with me through the TV. Absolute shit-your-pants moment,” wrote one user on X/Twitter, while another said they “can’t tell if it’s cool or just weird af”.
Elsewhere, one user claimed that they had “never heard a more poetic version of ‘Viva Las Vegas’,” before. However, others blasted it as being “beyond cringe” and “Mildly Unsettling & Uncomfortable”.
Find more reactions to the spoken word rendition below.
This Jared Leto opener for #FormulaOne Vegas is beyond cringe. Who signed off on this?
— Bad Feels Productions (@FeelsLlc) November 19, 2023
Never heard a more poetic version of “Viva Las Vegas” by @JaredLeto for the @F1 #Formula1 #FormulaOne #LasVegasGrandPrix
— Laura Dougan (@LauraDougan210) November 19, 2023
The who fuck thought that Jared Leto introducing the #LasVegasGP with a spoken word "Viva Las Vegas" wasn't a cringe inducing moment?
This whole weekend has been shockingly awful.
— Envy ⁽ˢʰᵉ ¯ ʰᵉʳ⁾ (@missenvyadams) November 19, 2023
Jared Leto’s opening monologue to f1 vegas was sooo off-putting .
he gives me the creeps.
— Chris Likes (Drama) Movies (@cjmart1_) November 19, 2023
Me to ESPN on that weird Jared Leto spoken word Viva Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/om7xsMQHWg
— Diana Gonzales aka dianagonzales77.bsky.social (@trojanchick99) November 19, 2023
why is jared leto doing a poetry rendition of viva las vegas am i still asleep and in some weird dream
— caitlin (@formula_caitlin) November 19, 2023
Jared Leto reciting the words of “Viva Las Vegas”. #Formula1 pic.twitter.com/XGBSI5ZqVw
— Christian Vidauri (@Escapechris24) November 19, 2023
I've watched the Jared Leto Viva Las Vegas video like 10 times now and I still don't know what they were going for
— Rory Blank (@BoneJail) November 20, 2023
how Jared Leto thought we would react to him reciting Viva Las Vegas pic.twitter.com/VcD8MilQ8Z
— wyn (@BelovedBale) November 19, 2023
I Survived the Mildly Unsettling & Uncomfortable Spoken Word Viva Las Vegas by Jared Leto at the Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023
— celeste (@CeleryNewsies) November 19, 2023
who thought having Jared Leto doing slam poetry was a good idea? This coverage for the Vegas F1 race is cringe as hell
— Blake in Cozy Mode (@PNW_Dude_18) November 19, 2023
In other Jared Leto news, the singer and actor recently climbed up the Empire State Building to celebrate the announcement of the band’s ‘Seasons’ 2024 world tour.
The ‘Seasons’ tour will see the band travel across the globe performing in Latin America, Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. It also marks the band’s first headline tour in over five years.
“The building is a testament of all the things that can be done in the world if we put our minds to it, which is largely the inspiration behind our most recent album, ‘It’s The End Of The World But It’s A Beautiful Day’,” he said of the stunt.
This isn’t the first time that Leto has surprised fans with his climbing skills, back in June the singer and actor surprised passers by in Germany after he was spotted scaling the wall of a hotel without a harness.
The post Fans react to Jared Leto’s F1 intro: “I can’t tell if it’s cool or just weird AF” appeared first on NME.
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