Alicia Keys and John Legend celebrated Juneteenth in musical style.
June 19 — celebrated as the day the Civil War ended and slaves were granted their freedom in 1865 — has become a day to celebrate Black history and the musicians marked the occasion with a virtual piano showdown.
RELATED:L Alicia Keys And John Legend Sing About Natural Deodorant In New ‘Carpool Karaoke’ Episode
Details of the competition were revealed on social media – you can tune-in to the battle on Friday, June 19 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Verzuz’s Instagram or Verzuz’s site.
Both Legend and Keys weighed in on social media.
It's happening tomorrow. @aliciakeys @verzuzonline https://t.co/6ulsNcTAG2
— John Legend (@johnlegend) June 18, 2020
Battle of the 🎹 Juneteenth! 🖤🖤🖤
With my brother @johnlegend
6/19 8PM EST/5pm PST
👀👀👀💥💥💥@verzuzonline #Verzuz pic.twitter.com/9CDSr46aw0— Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) June 13, 2020
My piano already wins!! 🤣🤣🤣 Ya’ll ready?!💥🎹🔥TOMORROW 8pm EST/ 5pm PST pic.twitter.com/4WQDViQAT7
— Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) June 18, 2020
Kojo Ebro gave the set-up his seal of approval. Plenty of other celebs tuned into the action, including Michelle Obama, Gabrielle Union, Timbaland, Queen Latifah and Missy Elliot.
Watching #Verzuz w/ @johnlegend & @aliciakeys on @AppleMusic …. looking lovely pic.twitter.com/KImsGywmPR
— Kojo Ebro (@oldmanebro) June 20, 2020
The entire event can be viewed below:
After it was over, Legend described the event as “a celebration of love and music & freedom!”
They call it a battle, but tonight with @aliciakeys was more like a celebration of love and music & freedom! Thanks for celebrating Juneteenth with us! Proceeds from this t-shirt benefit @LetsFreeAmerica & they're only available until tomorrow – get yours: https://t.co/okOYl7MPET pic.twitter.com/8yEImPnfFI
— John Legend (@johnlegend) June 20, 2020
Meanwhile, Legend spoke to the Associated Press about the event and explained the whole “battle” concept.
“It is and it isn’t. It’s really a celebration of music and our mutual love and respect for each other,” he said.
“I consider her my sister,” he added, highlighting their long history together. We’ve collaborated, we’ve written together, I sang background on her album before anyone even knew who I was, I opened for her on my first major tour as a solo artist… so we’re gonna have fun, we’re gonna celebrate Black music and celebrate Juneteenth together.”
As a bonus, after it’s all over fans can enjoy a virtual after-party courtesy of DJ D-Nice.
