Jay-Z and Alicia Keys Perform “Empire State of Mind” at Tony Awards
Alicia Keys and Jay-Z will be performing together at the 77th Tony Awards on Sunday night, as announced by CBS.
The duo is set to perform “Empire State of Mind” during the live broadcast of the awards show, which this year will be held at New York’s David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the first time.
Jay-Z and Keys initially released “Empire State of Mind” in 2009 as part of Jay-Z’s album, The Blueprint 3.
Keys will also be present at the ceremony on Sunday representing her musical Hell’s Kitchen, which tied for most nominations this year with the straight play Stereophonic at 13 each.
This year’s nominations marked a significant moment for women directors, with seven nominated across the best play direction and best musical direction categories. Stereophonic also set a new record for the most Tony nominations for a play, surpassing the previous record held by Slave Play in 2020 with 12 nominations.
In addition to Jay-Z and Keys, casts of nominated musicals Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Hell’s Kitchen, Illinoise, Merrily We Roll Along, Suffs, The Outsiders, The Who’s Tommy, and Water for Elephants will all be performing. Stereophonic will also have a chance to perform on stage after initial backlash from fans and playwrights for being excluded from the lineup (some argued it was because the show is not a musical, although it is nominated for best score).
The awards show will be broadcast live on CBS on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT. Ariana DeBose, hosting for the third year, choreographed the opening number and served as producer. More information on how to watch can be found here.