Billy Joel has surprised fans in London with a guest appearance from Joe Jonas during his recent Hyde Park show, with the pair singing Joel’s hit ‘Uptown Girl’ together during the show’s encore.
The show took place on Friday night (July 7), as part of the venue’s British Summer Time concert series. It marked Joel’s first show in the UK in over four years, with his last performance taking place at Wembley Stadium in June of 2019. Jonas, meanwhile, had most recently performed in the UK last month with the Jonas Brothers.
In an Instagram Reel, Jonas thanked Joel for inviting him to perform at the show. “You’ve been a big inspiration to me, and this was a bucket list moment,” he wrote in the post’s caption. “Life made.” Jonas’ Reel, where he gave a behind-the-scenes look at soundcheck and gearing up to join Joel on-stage, can be viewed below along with fan-shot footage of the duet:
Joel originally released ‘Uptown Girl’ in 1983 as a single from his ninth studio album, ‘An Innocent Man’. The song was particularly popular in the UK, where it topped the charts – marking Joel’s only single to do so across his entire career. The song experienced an unexpected revival in 2021, when Olivia Rodrigo mentioned the song by name in her single ‘Deja Vu’. In response, Joel invited Rodrigo herself to perform ‘Uptown Girl’ with him during his residency at Madison Square Garden in August of 2022.
Last month, Joel announced that he will end the aforementioned residency in 2024, on what will be his 150th performance of the residency in the iconic venue. June also saw Joel’s hit ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’ covered by Fall Out Boy, who updated the lyrics to include historical events from 1989 onward.
The Jonas Brothers, meanwhile, recently released their sixth studio album ‘The Album’. They will tour in support of it next month as part of a headlining North American run.