Nothing says New York is back like a gaggle of A-list celebs singing Billy Joel.
In an awe-inspiring montage of the five boroughs set to Joel’s iconic “New York State of Mind,” Idina Menzel, Stephen Colbert, Andy Cohen, Ben Stiller, Joel’s daughter Alexa Ray Joel and others all joined the city’s most known recording artists best to sing NYC back to its better days.
The music video — which captures the star-studded lineup at landmarks like the Unisphere, Coney Island, plus the rooftops, ballparks and ordinary streets of Gotham — was made by pandemic recovery group NYCNext to rally around the city’s comeback.
The song selection wasn’t just a happy coincidence, either.
Citing that the original and majestic tune was Joel’s “love letter” to the city during its turbulent years of the mid-’70s, NYCNext recreated his unconditional admiration upon New York’s more modern hardships.
“In this equally challenging time, we realized that this song was precisely the rally cry that New York needs,” the group described.
Doing so with “with Billy’s support and approval,” the celebs “set out to create an all-new recording and music video that we hope will inspire, lift the spirits of New Yorkers, and motivate them toward civic action.”
The elaborate music video was also done in conjunction with the public reopening of Broadway theaters, something that makes New York “its best self,” Colbert told CBS Sunday Morning.
“The arts are the oxygen of New York, and Broadway opening is like the city can breathe again.”
