Jay-Z’s collaboration with Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind,” is fast becoming unavoidable in New York City. It feels like every car, bodega and street corner is blasting the song, and the pair teamed up again last night (Nov. 22) to perform the track for the annual American Music Awards.
Keys pays homage to the most obvious forbearer of the song, “New York, New York,” at the beginning, and the only person in the crowd who seems unimpressed is Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day, who can be seen with his trademark sneer around the 2:15 mark.