Set outdoors under the bright lights of the iconic Times Square, this historic concert experience was free for fans and a never been done before evening in honor of her forthcoming album.
Performing to a packed crowd of thousands, the 15-time Grammy Award-winner brought the city to its feet with such songs as "If I Ain't Got You," "No One," "Fallin'," "You Don't Know My Name," "In Common" and new songs from her upcoming album including "Holy War," "She Don't Really Care" and her new single "Blended Family" (What You Do For Love)" featuring A$AP Rocky.
Alicia brought out special guests throughout the night including John Mayer for a mash up of "If I Ain't Got You" and his song "Gravity" with Questlove playing drums.
Alicia brought out special guests throughout the night including John Mayer for a mash up of "If I Ain't Got You" and his song "Gravity" with Questlove playing drums.
Nas took the stage for a duet of "One Love" and "She Don't Really Care" and Q-Tip duetted with Alicia on "You Don't Know My Name."
For one of the last songs of the night, Jay-Z surprised the crowd when he joined Alicia for an epic performance of "Empire State of Mind."
For the encore, Alicia celebrated the music and activism of John Lennon in honor of his birthday.
Times Square was illuminated with social justice messages in the style of Lennon's iconic "War Is Over!" visual across the giant digital billboards.
While Alicia played piano surrounded by the glowing signs, she highlighted a variety of important global issues -- many of which are reflected on her album HERE.
Some of the messages included, "Racism is Over!," "Climate Change Is Reversed!," "Transgender is Accepted Worldwide!," "U.S. Bans Assault Rifles," "Peace in the Middle East," "Syria Is Free And Rebuilt," "Homophobia is Over!" while Alicia performed her moving song "Holy War" from her forthcoming album.
She then finished the night with a performance of John Lennon's "Imagine" and the screens all read "War Is Over! If You Want It."
This performance will air as a concert special on BET on November 3, the eve of her album release.
ALICIA KEYS NEW ALBUM HERE ON NOVEMBER 4
Fifteen-time Grammy®-winning singer, songwriter and producer, Alicia Keys, will release her new highly-anticipated sixth studio album, HERE, on November 4th on RCA Records. From the human condition to global politics, HERE offers a keen glimpse of everything that matters most to Keys.
Alicia recently released the beautiful new song "Blended Family (What You Do For Love)" featuring A$AP Rocky from the upcoming album. Co-written by Alicia Keys and produced by Keys and Mark Batson, the song is a reflection of the honesty portrayed throughout all of HERE.
"My new song "Blended Family (What You Do For Love)" is inspired by my family's personal journey to cultivate deeper understanding, compassion, support and love," says Keys. "To me, family has no singular definition and the modern family is made up of all kinds of beautiful people willing to put love first." You can listen to "Blended Family (What You Do For Love)" here:
Urgent, intimate and musically daring, HERE is Keys' truth laid bare: each track a confession; every melody a prayer.
The majority of HERE's production credits belong to a creative force Keys calls theILLuminaries, comprised of herself; songwriter/producer Mark Batson; rapper/producer Swizz Beatz; and long-time Keys songwriting collaborator Harold Lilly. With this album, Keys made a list of things she wanted to talk about, themes she wanted to explore. The result is HERE speaking to Alicia's roots in NYC and hip-hop culture. The music on the album blends her perspective of the raw humanity of the world and who she is today as a woman and artist.
"On this album, I've arrived HERE," Keys says. "A place where I'm willing to truthfully look at myself in the mirror and to also see the reality of who we have become in this world. The good, the ugly, the shadows and the light. I've come to realize that in order for us to grow and to understand and accept each other we have to recognize the complexity of ourselves. We have to be able to talk about it and meet each other where we are, HERE."
HERE is available for pre-order now. A full track listing, list of performances and more information for HERE will be announced shortly.
This performance will air as a concert special on BET on November 3, the eve of her album release.
ALICIA KEYS NEW ALBUM HERE ON NOVEMBER 4
Alicia recently released the beautiful new song "Blended Family (What You Do For Love)" featuring A$AP Rocky from the upcoming album. Co-written by Alicia Keys and produced by Keys and Mark Batson, the song is a reflection of the honesty portrayed throughout all of HERE.
"My new song "Blended Family (What You Do For Love)" is inspired by my family's personal journey to cultivate deeper understanding, compassion, support and love," says Keys. "To me, family has no singular definition and the modern family is made up of all kinds of beautiful people willing to put love first." You can listen to "Blended Family (What You Do For Love)" here:
Urgent, intimate and musically daring, HERE is Keys' truth laid bare: each track a confession; every melody a prayer.
The majority of HERE's production credits belong to a creative force Keys calls theILLuminaries, comprised of herself; songwriter/producer Mark Batson; rapper/producer Swizz Beatz; and long-time Keys songwriting collaborator Harold Lilly. With this album, Keys made a list of things she wanted to talk about, themes she wanted to explore. The result is HERE speaking to Alicia's roots in NYC and hip-hop culture. The music on the album blends her perspective of the raw humanity of the world and who she is today as a woman and artist.
"On this album, I've arrived HERE," Keys says. "A place where I'm willing to truthfully look at myself in the mirror and to also see the reality of who we have become in this world. The good, the ugly, the shadows and the light. I've come to realize that in order for us to grow and to understand and accept each other we have to recognize the complexity of ourselves. We have to be able to talk about it and meet each other where we are, HERE."
HERE is available for pre-order now. A full track listing, list of performances and more information for HERE will be announced shortly.
HERE Pre-Order Links:
iTunes: smarturl.it/iAKHERE
Google Play: smarturl.it/gAKHERE
Amazon: amzn.to/2e8Wcff
"Blended Family (What You Do For Love)" Buy/Stream Links:
iTunes: smarturl.it/iAKBlended
Apple: smarturl.it/amAKBlended
Spotify: smarturl.it/sAKBlended
Google Play: smarturl.it/gAKBlended
Amazon: amzn.to/2dEceeq
Tidal: smarturl.it/TAKBlended
For more information, details and updates, visit Alicia's social channels:
AliciaKeys.com | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Snapchat
