“You can’t refuse the Queen.”
It turns out that Alicia Keys had a pretty good reason for her set list choices at Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee concert.
Rich Fury / Getty Images for dcp
Over the weekend, Alicia took the stage in front of Buckingham Palace — and one of her song choices sparked some backlash.
Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images
Quite a few viewers seemed to question why Alicia performed the New York anthem, “Empire State of Mind,” while in the middle of London celebrating the Queen.
Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images
On social media, fans poked fun at the choice and shared their confusion about the whole thing:
absurdly funny to me that they got Alicia Keys to perform Empire State of Mind during a celebration of English monarchy. happy Jubilee, here’s a song about that colony you lost
@taybewell / Via Twitter: @taybewell
alicia keys did not just go “i love you london… when i’m in london… i feel like i’m in new york?” and then proceed to sing empire state of mind? queen of subtle transitions!
@HarryPhillips15 / Via Twitter: @HarryPhillips15
im sorry but watching alicia keys remix empire state of mind at the queen’s jubilee to say “in londonnnn, concrete jungles where dreams are made of” ???? concrete WHAT? 😭😭
@jennyfuur / Via Twitter: @jennyfuur
And while it may not have been some people’s first choice from Alicia’s discography, it was actually hand-picked by the queen.
In a behind-the-scenes video from the event, Alicia revealed that her entire set list was “personally” selected by the queen, despite the fact that she wasn’t in attendance.
“Telling the boys that the queen requested the songs that I’m singing,” Alicia said in the clip while sitting with her sons, adding, “They were like, ‘You can’t refuse the queen.'”
Alicia’s 11-year-old son, Egypt, even piped in, saying, “You can’t refuse the queen. It’s against the law here.”
So while “Empire State of Mind” may not have been everyone’s cup of tea, it’s a personal fav of the queen, herself.
And that’s definitely reason enough to give New York a shout out in the middle of England!