Alicia Keys' New York City performance was a family affair.
The Grammy winner, 40, performed at the Apollo Theater in Harlem Thursday night as part of SiriusXM and Pandora’s Small Stage Series. For the sold-out hometown concert, Keys played songs new and old, bringing out her younger son to meet the concertgoers at one point.
Keys walked back onstage for an encore and asked fans, “My son Genesis wants to come out — is that okay?” The 6½-year-old then walked out with his mask on, sat next to the piano and said hi to the crowd. The artist then sang “If I Ain’t Got You” and said, “This is for him. This is for you.” She also dedicated it to her other son, 11-year-oldEgypt, signaling to him off-stage.
Genesis and Alicia Keys.Dimitrios Kambouris
Teasing the performance earlier this week, Keys, who shares her kids with husband Swizz Beatz,wrote on Instagram, “This. Is. It!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’ve been dreaming about bringing these One Night Only shows to YOU!! We’re taking over the illustrious Apollo in NYC TONIGHT 11/11!! These shows are so special to me! Each one will be different. I’m so excited to see you! Get your look ready! You’re about to enter The KEYS universe! No holding back!”
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Last month,Keys told PEOPLE about watching her olderson Egypt grow up and start to perform. In a sweet moment that aired on herYouTube Originals docuseriesNoted: Alicia Keys The Untold Story, she and Egypt watch a clip from the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards, during which Egypt accompanied Keys on piano as she sang “Raise a Man.” As the pair watched the video, the “Girl on Fire” singer grew teary-eyed.
“I’m not the crying type, I’m really not,” she told PEOPLE. “[But] you get so sensitive just [thinking] about how life goes on, and seeing him next to me and remembering that moment. That moment was the first time that he performed with me onstage, and I remember being completely so wrapped up in him being okay because I asked him to do it.”
Keys explained that her son initially demurred at the request, asking, “Do I have to?” But eventually, he agreed, sending Keys' nerves through the roof.
“I was so nervous for him that I remember at midnight the night before the show, I realized I hadn’t even practiced,” she said at the time. “I remember all of this and I’m sitting there watching it with him and just…how I feel about him and seeing his growth and watching him go on stage and just completely own — it just hit me like a ton of bricks.”
source: people.com
