The night the New York Knicks won the NBA Championship, Alicia Keys was onstage at the afterparty for the premiere of her new documentary and performed “Empire State of Mind” onstage. She gave an encore performance Thursday afternoon in New York City, at the end of the Knicks’ victory parade in lower Manhattan.
“This is our time! This is our time! We are champi-ONS!” she yelled to the cheering crowd as she stood on the stage with Knicks players in front of City Hall.
“Me and my son Egypt, we thought that we would do it like this,” she continued. Egypt stood at the piano and began to play Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” as Alicia sang the first verse of that classic tune.
“I’m in a New York State of Mind,” she finished, then yelled, “Let’s gooooo! OK!” as the drum beat of “Empire State of Mind” started up. “We here right now! This is our time right now! We’ve been waiting over 50 years for this moment and we never gonna stop!”
Alicia then sat at the piano and completed the song, as the players danced and sang behind her, along with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Jay-Z, who appeared on the original song, didn’t make an appearance.
“Congrats, New York City, I love you!” she said as she left the stage. On her Instagram Story, she posted video of herself hanging out backstage with Knicks Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges.
Others who popped out or performed during the parade included Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Ja Rule, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie and Wu-Tang Clan.
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