International superstar surprises London commuters with performance at King’s Cross

Londoners got a real surprise on their Monday morning commute through King’s Cross as a major star rocked up to perform.

American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys treated folk at St. Pancras International Station on Monday (December 11) where she performed to a lively crowd of commuters in Britain’s capital.

An exuberant audience cheered the 42-year-old during the chorus and interludes of her solo performance in one of London’s central transport hubs.

Alicia performed four songs, including her smash hits Empire State of Mind, If I Ain’t Got You, and No One.

Alicia did make some changes to the lyrics, though, given her location.

Altering Empire State of Mind’s original line of, ‘Now you’re in New York!’, the crowd celebrated as she instead sang, ‘Now you’re in London!’

Alicia Keys rocked up to London’s St. Pancras International Station for a surprise Monday morning performance (Picture: Reuters)

Of course, a huge crowd gathered (Picture: Reuters)

And it wouldn’t be an Alicia Keys performance without said keys, would it?

She played her set on a black Yamaha piano, which was donated to St Pancras by British icon Sir Elton John after he performed at the station in 2016.

The 15-time Grammy award-winning musician also performed her recent release Lifeline, from the soundtrack of the new musical feature film The Colour Purple which is based on the Broadway stage musical and 1982 novel of the same name.

She serenaded the audience for around 10 minutes, prompting the growing crowd of the capital’s commuters to whack out their phones and film her in awe.

Alicia looked more than happy to be there too, beaming her way through the tunes while effortlessly showcasing her impressive vocal talents.

The Grammy winner performed four of her hits (Picture: Reuters)

She wowed Londers with her incredible vocals (Picture: Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Alicia was in the best mood (Picture: Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Wearing her raven locks in a braided ponytail, she also wore a quirky biker leather jacket and her signature gold hoops.

Footage of the mad Monday morning quickly spread online, with social media users amazed at the chance encounter many people had today.

X (formerly Twitter) user JD Jackson wrote alongside a clip of Alicia doing her thing: ‘She’s just the greatest in my book. Singer, songwriter, musician, and ELITE at all 3. She’s incredible!’

Gutted to have missed out, user namzbah96 said: ‘NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m always at St Pancras as well!! I can’t believe this’.

After hearing her sing No One, teesevensix said: ‘One of the best vocal performances I’ve heard from her, in a minute, and one of my favourite songs.’

Ryomen Sukuna wrote: ‘The one time I don’t go through King’s Cross and this happens’.

She played a piano previously donated by Sir Elton John (Picture: David Fisher/Shutterstock)

The No One hitmaker was in London for Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Others were baffled by how ‘random’ the performance was, berating themselves for being at home in bed when music royalty was just a few miles away.

Alicia did have a good reason for being in the capital.

She was, in fact, in London over the weekend to headline the Jingle Bell Ball concert hosted by radio station Capital FM at the O2 Arena, where she joined the likes of Zara Larsson, Raye, S Club, Take That, and Rita Ora.

Her arrival in the UK comes after a 20th-anniversary edition of her album the Diary Of Alicia Keys was released earlier in December.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

MORE : Sam Thompson tipped for This Morning role after I’m A Celebrity win

MORE : The Entertainer and Alfie star Shirley Anne Field dead at 87

It was a low-Key(s) performance.