{"id":6889,"date":"2025-11-22T19:06:38","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T19:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/alicia-keys-hells-kitchen-christmas-broadway-1236119944\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T19:06:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T19:06:38","slug":"alicia-keys-hells-kitchen-christmas-broadway-1236119944","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/alicia-keys-hells-kitchen-christmas-broadway-1236119944\/","title":{"rendered":"Alicia Keys Pops Up at \u2018Hell\u2019s Kitchen\u2019 to Salute Yolanda Adams\u2019 Broadway Debut, Talks \u2018Beautiful\u2019 New Holiday\u00a0Song"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
\n

\n\tAlicia Keys<\/a> had a busy Friday (Nov. 21). Not only did the 17-time Grammy winner release a new holiday song and guest on a single from an Italian vocal legend, but she made a special appearance alongside the cast of her semi-autobiographical Broadway musical, Hell\u2019s Kitchen,<\/em> at the Shubert Theatre. Keys was in the house to deliver a mini-set as part of an \u201cencore sessions\u201d performance, but she was also there salute to the Broadway debut of Grammy-winning gospel singer Yolanda Adams, who just joined the cast as Miss Liza Jane.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter belting the \u201cEmpire State of Mind\u201d finale with the cast, Keys and Adams took the stage together. \u201cFirst of all, I\u2019m grateful,\u201d said Adams, hugging Keys. \u201cAll that dancing made me feel younger, but my feet say no. I have to thank Alicia for saying, \u2018Hey, what do you think about\u2026?\u2019 And I\u2019d already thought about it, and I tried it, and I love it.\u201d When Adams left the stage, Keys was in her element, blissfully relaxed at an upright piano while crooning her cover of Prince\u2019s \u201cHow Come U Don\u2019t Call Me Anymore?\u201d, duetting with cast member Durrell \u201cTank\u201d Babbs on a gorgeous cover of Bonnie Raitt\u2019s \u201cI Can\u2019t Make You Love Me\u201d and singing \u201cUnderdog\u201d before sending the ecstatic audience out into the streets of Manhattan (incidentally, not far from Hell\u2019s Kitchen).<\/p>\n

\n\tJust hours before dazzling Broadway, Keys spoke to Billboard<\/em> about \u201cHell\u2019s Kitchen\u2019s a Merry Little Christmas,\u201d which hit DSPs on Friday. She says the idea of a holiday song for her Broadway musical Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em><\/a> <\/em>was broached a year ago. \u201cFor different reasons it didn\u2019t come together,\u201d she tells Billboard<\/em>. \u201cThis year we knew we wanted to do it, so we put it together now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHell\u2019s Kitchen\u2019s a Merry Little Christmas\u201d mashes up the standard \u201cHave Yourself a Merry Little Christmas\u201d with the musical\u2019s opening number, Keys\u2019 \u201cThe Gospel.\u201d The recording features Adams along with principal performers including Amanda Reid, Phillip Johnson Richardson and Jessica Vosk.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI love it so much,\u201d Keys continues. \u201cIt\u2019s such a beautiful version. Of course, the holidays are such a beautiful time to celebrate that warm, festive feeling. We wanted to bring some Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em> energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe recording was produced by Adam Blackstone, Keys\u2019 longtime collaborator who also serves as music supervisor and co-orchestrator for the musical. \u201cOur process of bringing the music to life for Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em> has been so thrilling and exciting,\u201d Keys says. \u201cWe had no idea that someone as phenomenal as Yolanda Adams would be joining the cast. The life of Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em> has just been such an incredible experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWith a book by Kristoffer Diaz, Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em> premiered at the Public Theater in late 2023, moving to the Shubert Theatre in March 2024. It was nominated for 13 Tonys, with Kecia Lewis, who played Miss Liza Jane, wining for best featured actress in a musical and Maleah Joi Moon, as Ali, taking home best actress in a musical at the 2024 Tony Awards. The original Broadway cast recording, featuring the three brand-new songs Keys penned for the musical, came out in 2024 and hit No. 1 on Billboard<\/em>\u2018s Cast Albums chart.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe first North American tour, meanwhile, kicked off during October in Cleveland, with 30 cities on the schedule for its first year.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThat\u2019s such a huge accomplishment,\u201d Keys says. \u201cAnd I\u2019m so excited the country will get to experience it \u2014 even if you can\u2019t come to New York \u2014 in a city near you. And this cast is unreal. I just can\u2019t believe how good they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe holiday song isn\u2019t Keys\u2019 only new music to drop on Friday. It coincides with the release of her feature on \u201cL\u2019aurora,\u201d a new single by Italian vocalist Eros Ramazzotti. \u201cIt\u2019s my first time singing in Italian,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s such a beautiful process to continue to learn and try things that are new and different, so I\u2019m really excited about that.\u201d Keys is also working on new material as she works toward a follow-up to her last studio album, 2021\u2019s Keys<\/em>, and 2022\u2019s holiday effort Santa Baby<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m writing right now, creating new music,\u201d she says. \u201cIt is very, very special. I just feel like I\u2019m getting better and better, so that\u2019s all happening. There\u2019s a lot of phenomenal things bubbling, but I just take my time \u2014 just like Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em>, just take my time putting it all together. It\u2019s just a beautiful time of no limits. That\u2019s how I look at everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alicia Keys had a busy Friday (Nov. 21). Not only did the 17-time Grammy winner release a new holiday song and guest on a single from an Italian vocal legend,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556,108,4273,96,97],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-broadway","category-genre-rb","category-holiday","category-music","category-rb-hip-hop"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6889\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}