Nobody anticipated the performance’s meteoric rise to fame when Alicia Keys and John Mayer performed a mashup of their songs “Gravity” and “If I Ain’t Got You” onstage together. Featuring Mayer’s blues-rock roots and Keys’ soulful R&B, the performance was a perfect fusion of their musical genres.
John Mayer was secretly waiting on the stage’s edge to make a surprise appearance as Alicia began the performance by playing the renowned intro to her popular song. She continues, “I would like to invite my dear beautiful friend, John Mayer” following the delivery of the first lyric. This duet, which John performs as he steps onto the stage, has amassed more than 111 million views on YouTube.
Nas, Questlove, A$AP Rocky, Q-Tip, and Swizz Beatz were among the many famous artists who Keys invited to the event. John Lennon’s “Imagine,” Bob Marley’s “War,” and Nas’s “One Love” were among the several cover songs she sang throughout her sixteen-song set.
Keys purposefully incorporated songs by politically and socially concerned musicians like Marley and Lennon into the set list in an effort to get the crowd thinking about a variety of topics. “Maybe we could love somebody, instead of polishing the bombs of holy war,” she said to the crowd as she played her song “Holy War” to close the show.
