“What’s next” — Alicia Keys and Jay Z celebrate ‘Empire State of Mind’ hitting 1B streams, tease sequel collaboration

Alicia Keys and Jay Z celebrated the milestone achievement of their collaborative song Empire State of Mind, which has crossed 1 billion streams recently. The song is part of Jay Z's 2009 album The Blueprint 3. To mark the occasion, Keys shared a video clip on her Instagram account featuring herself and Jay Z, hinting at the possibility of another collaboration between the two.

The caption read:

"1 Dream. 1 Song. 1 Billion streams.. Thank you! We love you. What’s next…."

In the video, Keys is seen walking around Jay Z, putting an arm on his shoulder, both confident and poised in their demeanor, while music plays in the background. As of now, no further details regarding their collaboration or any other details have been disclosed.

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Alicia Keys and Jay Z sing Empire State of Mind at Tony Awards

On June 16, Alicia Keys and Jay Z performed at the Tony Awards ceremony held at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater in New York City. The duo, alongside Hell's Kitchen Broadway cast, treated the audience to their hit collaboration, Empire State of Mind. The musical was nominated for multiple awards, including Best Book of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, and more.

The performance started with Keys walking through the crowd, followed by her co-singer performing the opening rap stanza before the two sang together, starting with the first chorus stanza:

"In New York (Ayy, uh, yeah; aha)/Concrete jungle (Yeah) where dreams are made of/There's nothin' you can't do (Yeah, okay)/Now you're in New York (Aha, aha, aha; uh, yeah)."

The duo continued:

"These streets will make you feel brand-new (New)/Big lights will inspire you (Come on) (Okay)/Let's hear it for New York (You welcome, OG; uh)/New York (Yeah), New York (Uh, I made you hot, ni**a)."

In a November 2022 interview with E! News, Alicia Keys acknowledged that she wanted to collaborate with Jay Z again, stating:

"It’s so funny ‘cause we talk about that a lot because there’s so many songs that come up, and it’s like, ‘Oh, JAY would be crazy on this,’ and ‘Oh, AK would be crazy on this."

The singer continued:

"We’re like, ‘But will it ever be like ‘Empire State of Mind’? So, I wonder if it kind of, you know, hinders us in some kind of way; it’s almost like there’s no topping it… Definitely we are not limited, and I’d love to do another collaboration with my brother."

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More about Alicia Keys's collaboration with Jay Z

Alicia Keys and Jay Z worked together on Empire State of Mind for the latter's 2009 album The Blueprint 3. The single charted at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became a success on several other charts.

Keys later wrote a sequel and response to the track titled Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down, releasing it first as part of her fourth studio album, The Element of Freedom, on December 11, 2009, and then as a single on February 22, 2010.

The single was Alicia Key's take on New York, compared to the perspective of both her and Jay Z present in the first track. The single was a chart success and was also used in the film Sex and the City 2.