Alicia Keys will close out the 2022 Apple Music Live Presents series with her Holiday Masquerade Ball, the singer's first seasonal special set to stream this Wednesday.
The concert was taped earlier this month at The United Palace in Keys hometown of New York City, and was packed with a mix of Keys hits as well as a slew of songs from her new Christmas LP, Santa Baby.
But before fans get to see Keys take the stage, they can see her revive her classic original Christmas song, 1998's "Little Drummer Girl."
PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at an impromptu performance of the song while delivered by Keys while she was interviewed by Ebro Darden, Apple Music's Global Editorial Head of Hip Hop and R&B, to promote her special. The tune was originally featured on the So So Def compilation 12 Soulful Nights of Christmas.
"I got a little memory of it," Keys told Darden, before getting behind the ivories and taking the mic, as if no time had passed since the track was written.
"Little Drummer Girl" dropped years before Keys became a household name with the launch of her 2001 debut album Songs in A Minor, which featured the No. 1 single "Fallin'" and earned her five Grammy awards.
Since then, she's gone on to nab another 10 Grammys, dropped nine more albums and find more chart success with smash singles including "Empire State of Mind," "My Boo," "Girl on Fire," "No One" and "If I Ain't Got You."
Her Christmas album, of course, has already struck success. Santa Baby debuted exclusively on Apple Music last month and landed on Billboard's Top Holiday Albums chart upon its release. The 11-track album features "soulful, raw, and fresh reimaginations of holiday classics as well as four original songs," according to a release.
Doing a live special was a no-brainer for Keyes, she told Darden in another exclusive clip of their chat, which will air in full on Apple Music 1 on Tuesday. "For me, I feel like the live is where I excel. I feel like it's my favorite part," she said. "I love to do it in a different way every time."
"This is going to be a different show than you've seen," Keyes teased of the special. "If you've been to the tour, you never seen this before. You just haven't. And so every arrangement is going to be different and new, and it's going to definitely bring us into the spirit, the festivity."
She continued, "You have to get dressed, and you have to have a mask. This is happening. This is an event. I'm calling it 'Glitter and Glamour.' 'Glitter and Glamour.' Whatever that means to you, that means to you. However you want to express that, 'Glitter and Glamour,' go for yours. You know what I mean? Your elegance, you're bringing your elegance, but there's no specific way that that exactly looks. But you do want to get dressed. You want to put on. You got to light up the place."
Joining Keys on stage will be special guests, including singer-songwriter JVKE who performed a special rendition of his single, "golden hour," with Keys.
Grammy and Oscar-winner Jon Batiste also joined Keys for an electric medley of covers, which brings down the house, including Nina Simone's "Feeling Good" and Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song."
Apple Music Live gives the biggest stars in music a global platform to connect with audiences around the world. The special has previously featured exclusive live performances from Harry Styles, Lil Durk, Mary J. Blige, Luke Combs, Billie Eilish, and Wizkid.
@applemusic How to survive the holidays, according to #AliciaKeys. ❤️ Watch her #AppleMusicLive performance right here on @TikTok December 21st at 7PM PT. #HolidayVibes #ParentsOfTikTok ♬ original sound - Apple Music
Alicia Keys' Holiday Masquerade Ball streams on Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 7:00 p.m. PST exclusively on Apple Music in partnership with TikTok. Fans will also be able to tune in to the show on Apple Music's TikTok page @AppleMusic.
