JAY-Z reunited with Alicia Keys for a surprise performance of their hit “Empire State of Mind” at the 2024 Tony Awards.
Taking place on Sunday (June 16), Keys began by performing with the cast of musical Hell’s Kitchen, which is a semi-autobiographical show about the singer’s life growing up in Manhattan in the 1990s.
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The “No One” singer was performing her solo version of “Empire State of Mind” when she took off into the audience, with the camera surprisingly cutting to the rap legend as he performed a verse from the track.
“Empire State of Mind” recently hit one billion streams, with the 2009 single being one of Jay’s best-known songs.
Alicia Keys and Jay-Z perform with the #HellsKitchen cast at the 2024 #TonyAwardspic.twitter.com/UgrqjdMw0M
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 17, 2024
Alicia Keys recently celebrated the landmark by teasing more music with JAY-Z in the future.
She posted a photo of the two of them on Instagram along with the caption: “1 Dream. 1 Song. 1 Billion streams [three prayer hand emojis]. Thank you! We love you. What’s next….[eyes emoji, shushing emoji].”
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She later took to X (formerly Twitter), where she shared a photo of two performance microphones — one with the initial “J,” the other labeled “AK.”
While she left the photo uncaptioned, she tagged CBS and Roc Nation, indicating that a surprise televised special may be in the works with the broadcast network.
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“Empire State of Mind” has been certified 9x-platinum in the US after peaking at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 — Jay’s first song as a lead artist to hit the landmark.
Alicia Keys recorded a sequel to the track later that year, which also became a commercial success.
JAY-Z, a rare live performer, has now performed two surprise concerts in the space of a week.
The “99 Problems” rapper appeared at Tom Brady’s New England Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremony where he performed his 2003 song “Public Service Announcement,” which Brady used to use as his walkout music during his time with the Patriots.
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During the performance, Jay said: “Foxborough, make some noise! Put one hand in the air for the G.O.A.T., Mr. Tom Brady, tonight!”
Brady then walked onto the stage to a euphoric reception in New England, where he played between 2000 and 2020, winning six Super Bowls.
