21 December 2022
Newsdesk
For the first time ever, Alicia Keys is performing classic holiday music from her ninth studio album, ‘Santa Baby' in a setting she's wanted to manifest for a long time — a masquerade ball. Ahead of tonight’s Apple Music Live performance, Alicia sits down with Ebro to talk about her performance and the album. She explains her desire to put a more flirtatious twist on some Christmas classics, the magic of Christmas in New York City, crafting the setlist, and what fans can expect from the festive performance. Alicia also sits down at the piano to play a bit of "Little Drummer Girl" and answers a surprise FaceTime from husband Swizz Beatz.
Alicia Keys on What’s Special About Her Apple Music Live Holiday Masquerade Ball Performance…
For me, I feel like the live is where I excel. I feel like it's my favourite part. I love to do it in a different way every time. This is going to be a different show than you've seen. If you've been to the tour, you never seen this before. You just haven't. And so every arrangement is going to be different and new and it's going to definitely bring us into the spirit, the festivity. You have to get dressed and you have to have a mask. This is happening. This is an event. I'm calling it Glitter and Glamour. Glitter and Glamour. Whatever that means to you, that means to you. However, you want to express that, Glitter and Glamour, go for yours. You know what I mean? Your elegance, you're bringing your elegance, but there's no specific way that that exactly looks. But you do want to get dressed. You want to put on. You got to light up the place.
On Covering the Classic “Santa Baby” and What Fans Can Expect From Her Apple Music Live Holiday Masquerade Ball Performance…
I definitely wanted to start the 'Santa Baby’ project with the song Santa Baby, because to me, that's one of the most iconic songs that ever were created. Obviously, the Goddess, Eartha Kitt...The way that she even put it together, her energy. And I love how the funniest part about Santa Baby is like, Santa is your Zaddy. And you like, "Oh…" So that's the cutest part I felt. I just felt like that as a songwriter, there's such a twist inside of it, but it makes perfect sense whether you're literal or you see the undercurrent. So definitely wanted start with Santa Baby, and I wanted to do that talking part a little bit like you don't know my name. I wanted to do the, "Hello Santa. I know you don't usually do this, but..." And so I loved that playfulness. I wanted to take that all the way. But the project itself, I feel like it really, it's just such a cohesive energy. When you put it on, you just chill. Whatever. You want to cook, you want to chill, you want to have your wine, by a fire, you want to be with the kids. You want to be with your lover. Whatever you want to do, it's going to set the tone. And I love that about it. So that's the same energy that's going to come with the masquerade ball, except it's going to really feel very immersive. The minute that you walk into the space, you know you're in a space.
On The Decision to Host a Holiday Masquerade Ball and Release Her First Holiday Album…
There's so many things I've never done before, and I feel like that's sometimes very shocking. Because obviously I've been at this since I was 14, 15. So a lot of people tend to think I'm older than I am because it's been so long. But I was so young from the beginning that there's a lot of things I haven't done. And one of those things I haven't done is a masquerade ball, which I told you. And I have never done a holiday album. And it just feels like there's such a classic-ness to it. There's such a timelessness to it. And I want to be a part of those greats, of those ones that you play every year, all the time. You love it. That's why I wanted to create brand-new classics and honor the originals and the timeless ones.
On Her Dream of Hosting a Masquerade Ball…
I have personally been dying to do a masquerade ball. It's been in my head on my idea list for a minute, and every time I'm like, should we do it for Halloween? Should we do it for just for my birthday? Should we do it for whatever? And it hasn't manifested yet until right now. So we're going to do the holiday masquerade ball. So it's kind of a little bit of a dream that I've been having.
On Performing at the United Palace Theatre For The First Time and Why it’s a Homecoming…
It's magic. I never have performed in this venue before and like you said, this is in my hometown. So, this is actually, I think, an inaugural performance. And it's in Washington Heights right at the precipice of Harlem. It's right in that energy of all the action. My favourite food spot is right there. This is a homecoming in so many ways. The space is really special. I want to use the entire space. I want you to know from the minute you walk in the door that you're a part of an experience. It's not just kind of like, "Oh, I'm going to the show and I go sit in the seat and I do the thing." There is definitely magic that's going to be around the space.
On Crafting Her Set List For Her Apple Music Live Performance…
I usually sit down and I brainstorm. Me and my brother, Adam Blackstone, you know he be out here killing, but I know that I wanted it to be of course, holiday. So it has to be Santa Baby. Because that's what we all want. We getting a vibe. But of course there has to be some of those zones. So I love to mix it in and put it together and make sure you're going to be familiar with this set list. You're definitely going to be able to sing along. You're going to feel good. It's going to have some mixtures that you didn't expect.
