Olivia Rodrigo introduced the person she wrote “Deja Vu” about to Billy Joel‘s music — and now she’s singing onstage with the “Piano Man” himself.
The 19-year-old pop star surprised fans when she joined Joel onstage during his Madison Square Garden concert in New York City on Wednesday night (Aug. 24) to perform back-to-back songs: “Deja Vu” and Joel’s “Uptown Girl,” the song she references in her 2021 top five Billboard Hot 100 hit.
“Hey, guys!” Rodrigo said to the crowd as they screamed wildly. “Thank you so much for having me, Billy. I’m such a huge fan. And, uh, I kind of wrote this next song about you,” she said before launching into “Deja Vu.”
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Fans will recognize the reference to Joel’s 1983 hit in Rodrigo’s single, in which she sings, “I’ll bet that she knows Billy Joel ’cause you played her ‘Uptown Girl,’” and later on when she belts, “Play her piano, but she doesn’t know that I was the one who taught you Billy Joel.”
“Deja Vu” was Rodrigo’s second single from her debut album Sour, released in April 2021. After debuting in the top 10, the song eventually peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100 in June 2021 — becoming her third top five hit off Sour, after “Drivers License” and “Good 4 U.”
Following its release, “Uptown Girl” also peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100, for five consecutive weeks beginning on the chart dated Nov. 12, 1983, and was accompanied by a famous music video that starred model Christie Brinkley, who was married to the singer from 1985 to 1994.
Madison Square Garden has been pretty busy this week, with Harry Styles‘ 15-date residency kicking off on Saturday night. Joel referenced the pop star’s string of dates onstage Wednesday, telling the crowd: “Thank you to Harry Styles for taking a night off.”
While there hasn’t been any official video released of the performance yet, concert attendees flooded Twitter with photos and clips of the superstar duo performing together.
“I BET THAT SHE KNOWS BILLY JOEL” pic.twitter.com/O1Hk9iKRST
— vicky (@sourigos) August 25, 2022
Olivia Rodrigo is living her best life. Happy for her pic.twitter.com/LgVzoW6keS
— Jin (@rhaber84) August 25, 2022
Olivia Rodrigo just showed up at Billy Joel’s concert. This fuckin rules. pic.twitter.com/nTRJN4RHAn
— Summer Time Sean (@CaptainToney) August 25, 2022