Olivia Rodrigo shocked the audience while appearing at Billy Joel’s recent Madison Square Garden performance, easing fans’ anticipation of seeing the two on stage.
Although the pairing may seem unlikely, Olivia Rodrigo fans are familiar with the “Piano Man,” as he is prominently featured in her hit song “deja vu.”
Billy Joel and Olivia Rodrigo performed a duet of fan-favorite songs at his 82nd Madison Square Garden sold-out concert.
Billy Joel’s Madison Square Garden concert yesterday, August 24, was made even more special by the addition of Olivia Rodrigo to the lineup.
After Billy Joel introduced Olivia Rodrigo, the audience erupted in applause.
Joel says this as Rodrigo’s instrumental rendition of “deja vu” plays in the background:
“I’m gonna bring up a young musician, who’s a very talented singer-songwriter. She won the Billboard Awards 2022 Woman of the Year. She got the American Music Awards. She got all kinds of awards. She’s very talented, and I like her music, and so does my kids.”
The GRAMMY-winning singer performed “deja vu,” a song that prominently mentions Billy Joel and that fans assumed was about her then-on-screen boyfriend Joshua Bassett.
Olivia Rodrigo’s homage to Bily Joel is “deja vu.” In many parts of the song, the young singer refers to his former lover as doing the same things they did, such as listening to Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl.”
Aside from that, Olivia angrily accuses her ex in the song of teaching his new lover piano when she was the one who originally taught him Billy Joel.
Following “deja vu,” Billy joined her in performing his all-time favorite, “Uptown Girl,” which was also mentioned in the song.
The two performed a duet, with Olivia singing the majority of the song and Joel belting out the riffs.
Following their performance, the two hugged once more, drawing applause from the Madison Square Garden audience.
Billy Joel’s sold-out performance at Madison Square Garden last night marked his 82nd consecutive sold-out show at the New York venue.
According to Variety, Billy Joel’s final shows at Madison Square Garden this year will be on September 9, October 9, November 23, and December 19.