Jay-Z's first set is purely for the fans. We didn't know what to expect, but the medley just goes on and on.
He starts with "Public Service Announcement," then goes to "On to the Next One," "99 Problems," "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" and finishes with "Empire State of Mind."
It's this last song, which is always such a treat to hear performed live because of the soaring vocals, that gets the most attention because the lady who accompanies Jay-Z is most assuredly not Alicia Keys. At the time, the Twitter communitywas excited about Jay-Z, most saying he "killed it" on the "SNL," but just as many asking who the chick was.
The funniest tweet: "I was so happy to see Jay-Z did empire state of mind...but alicia keys was looking pretty weird and asian."
That's not Alicia Keys, but Bridget Kelly. She's a New Yorker who's been doing "Empire State of Mind" with Jay-Z on the road, including Coachella. Her musical influences have been Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, so we can see why she controls her pipes so well.
Later, Jay-Z comes back for one more song, a cover of "Forever Young" with someone calls Mr. Hudson. Who? At first we just thought Betty White was getting formal on us when introducing the act, but nope, that's the stage name of Benjamin Hudson McIldowie a British R&B/pop artist.
We're digging it, and Jay-Z so made us say "aww" when he dedicated the song to "the most incredible Betty White."
