Celebrities Singing “New York State of Mind” Reminds Twitter of “Imagine”

Several celebrities got together to sing a song again, and the internet has thoughts. 

Brought together by the NYCNext organization, Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” got an “Imagine”-style spin from some familiar faces in Zeshan B, Sara Bareilles, Victoria Clark, Cautious Clay, Andy Cohen, Stephen Colbert, Chloe Flower, Idina Menzel, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Brian Newman, Kelli O’Hara, Joan Osbourne, and more. 

The cover was intended to honor the city, and also encourage New Yorkers to contribute or volunteer to the organization, which aims to help the city “recover and rebuild.”

While they didn’t take on Nas’ “NY State of Mind,” the cover still got some Twitter users feeling emotional, while others poked fun at the selection of stars and decision to do another star-studded cover after the “Imagine” compilation last year. Since making the “Imagine” video and bringing a handful of celebrities together at the start of the pandemic, Gal Gadot spoke up about the backlash she and other self-isolating celebrities earned after the video went viral, as many called it tone deaf.

“I had nothing but good intentions and it came from the best place, and I just wanted to send light and love to the world,” she later said. “I started with a few friends, and then I spoke to Kristen [Wiig]. Kristen is like the mayor of Hollywood. Everyone loves her, and she brought a bunch of people to the game. But yeah, I started it, and I can only say that I meant to do something good and pure, and it didn’t transcend.”

See what Twitter users have to say about the “New York State Of Mind” rendition below.