When Alicia Keys and John Mayer shared the stage for a mash-up performance of “Gravity” and “If I Ain’t Got You” no one knew how popular the performance would become. The show showcased a seamless blend of their musical styles and talents, combining Keys’ soulful R&B with Mayer’s blues-rock influences.
At the start of the performance, Alicia plays the iconic intro to her hit song with the audience completely unaware that John Mayer was waiting at the side of the stage to make a guest appearance. After she delivers the first verse, she says “I would like to invite my dear beautiful friend, John Mayer” John walks on stage and makes this a duet that hits over 111 million views on YouTube.
Keys enlisted a huge lineup of big names for the night, with Nas, Questlove, A$AP Rocky, Q-Tip and Swizz Beatz also making appearances. She sang a 16-song set, which included several covers such as Nas’s “One Love”, Bob Marley’s “War” and John Lennon’s “Imagine”.
This choice of songs by socially conscious artists such as Marley and Lennon was deliberate, as Keys asked the audience to reflect on several social and political issues throughout the gig. She ended the night by playing her song “Holy War” and told the audience, “Maybe we could love somebody, instead of polishing the bombs of holy war.”