NEWS
Sam Smith and Alicia Keys have joined forces for a duet of Smith’s ‘I’m Not The Only One’ – watch it below.
Smith was celebrating the 10th anniversary of his debut album ‘In The Lonely Hour’, which went on to make Smith the only artist to sell one million albums in the US and UK.
To commemorate the anniversary, Smith hosted a karaoke party at NYC’s gay bar Julius’, with drag queen Lady Bunny serving as the night’s emcee and DJ. Smith also unveiled a surprise duet with Alicia Keys, which they called “a dream come true.”
In response, Keys said: “This is amazing. Can you believe we never did this before? Except for right now? That’s crazy!”
The pair went on to sing Smith’s smash hit ‘I’m Not The Only One’, which would eventually peak in the UK Charts at number three – take a look at the collaboration below:
NME saw Smith perform live in London last year, rating their performance a full five stars: “Smith has delivered a beautifully designed show that echoes their creative evolution from lovelorn balladeer to something edgier and more transgressive. And the multigenerational crowd stays with them to the finish. Smith’s musical metamorphosis probably isn’t complete yet, but for now, this live triumph feels like a new high watermark.”
Meanwhile, Alicia Keys recently starred as one of Usher’s guest performers for his Super Bowl performance. She began by performing a clip of her own song ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ before Usher joined her to deliver a rendition of their 2004 collaboration ‘My Boo’.
She also surprised London fans last year in December with a 10-minute performance at St. Pancras Station, playing classics such as ‘Empire State of Mind’, ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ and ‘No One’ as well as her latest single, ‘Lifeline’.
Her last full-length album ‘Keys’ garnered three stars from NME: “With some judicious pruning and sharp sequencing, any Keys fan should be able to carve out a pretty satisfying playlist. So, in its own accidental way, it’s a double album that works perfectly for the streaming era.”
In other news, the BBC have promised Sam Smith’s Proms performance will be “entirely appropriate” after past ‘Satanic’ backlash.
Lewis Capaldi reportedly picked up the bill for an entire pub packed with England supporters following their dramatic World Cup win against Mexico.
The singer songwriter was spotted enjoying the match with Rita Ora at the Marlborough pub in Mayfair as the Three Lions secured a thrilling 3 to 2 victory.
Even though his home nation, Scotland, endured a disappointing tournament and were knocked out during the group stage, Capaldi still joined in the celebrations after the final whistle by treating the England fans in the pub to a round of drinks.
“Lewis bought every single person in the Marlborough a drink,” one customer told The Sun. “The bar staff were told to put every drink ordered on his tab. By the end of the night it came to almost £2,000.”
The pubgoer continued, saying it was “such a generous surprise and a genuinely lovely thing to do, especially from a Scotland fan… Lewis was an absolute legend. Not only did he buy everyone a drink, but he was also so kind to every person who came over to say hello.”
Ora also posted several videos from the lively celebrations, writing: “NOTHING beats a London pub game EVER… It’s coming home!!! The fact I woke up with my hair clips in and my hair has not moved says. Watch it till the end… trust me.”
Throughout the celebrations, Capaldi and Ora sang each other's songs before joining the rest of the crowd in celebrating England's victory by chanting, “Football’s coming home, it’s coming home…”
The celebrations come just before Capaldi headlines BST Hyde Park this weekend. The Scottish singer songwriter is set to perform at the London concert series on both Saturday, July 11, and Sunday, July 12.
Those huge outdoor performances are part of his UK and Ireland headline tour this summer, and any remaining tickets can be found here.
Capaldi recently revealed that one of the BST Hyde Park concerts will also be streamed live worldwide on YouTube.
The performance will be the biggest headline show of his career so far. Fans across the globe will be able to watch for free on YouTube without a paywall. The broadcast will feature 26 cameras capturing every moment, along with aerial footage filmed by drones.
Joining him on the July 11 BST Hyde Park lineup are The Vaccines, Absolutely, Nieve Ella, Tyler Ballgame, Kerr Mercer, NECKBREAKERS, Benjamin Steer, Luz, Sebastian Croft, and Luke La Volpe.
Meanwhile, England will face Norway in the World Cup quarter finals on the same evening as Capaldi's opening BST Hyde Park performance.
