Jay-Z made a surprise appearance at the 2024 Tony Awards in New York on Sunday night, rapping his hit Empire State of Mind with Alicia Keys.
The pair came together to support Hell’s Kitchen, a jukebox musical produced by Keys and featuring her songs.
Empire State of Mind is featured in the musical based on Keys’ early life and music and is nominated for 13 Tony Awards.
Fans were quick to notice that Jay-Z did not perform onstage, instead appearing via video rapping from outside the venue.
‘Jay-Z was like yea I’ll come perform outside the Tonys, I’m not trying to hang out with theatre people….and I don’t blame him,’ one fan jokes.
‘Why didn’t they let Jay-Z in the actual theater??’ another quipped, while another added: ‘Jay-Z at the Tonys was not on my bingo card but I’m into this.’
Before the performance, Keys hit the red carpet with her parents and three sons, Kasseem Jr., 17, Egypt, 13, and Genesis, 9.
Jay-Z makes surprise appearance at Tony Awards with Alicia Keys performing Empire State of Mind
Empire State of Mind is featured in the musical based on Keys’ early life and music and is nominated for 13 Tony Awards
Ramin Setoodeh, the co-editor-in-chief for Variety, also explained on X that due to the size of the stage inside the David H. Koch Theater, the crowd wasn’t able to see Jay-Z ‘perform in person.’
‘The stage at Lincoln Center is so small, we never saw Jay-Z perform in person at the #TonyAwards. He and Alicia Keys sang the end of the song in the lobby.’
Another social media user penned, ‘”How do we get people in Iowa to buy Broadway tickets?” ANSWER: make them think Jay-Z and Alicia will be at the actual performance of Hell’s Kitchen.’
Another jokingly typed out, ‘Cast of Hell’s Kitchen has a restraining order out on Jay-Z #tonys.’
During the performance, backup dancers could be seen performing choreography on the stage in front of the star-studded attendees and guests.
A large screen behind them showed both Jay-Z and Alicia belting out lyrics on stairs as a spotlight shone down. However, the pair weren’t actually inside the main theater where the ceremony took place.
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