After the Super Bowl on Sunday (Feb. 7), Verizon will keep the entertainment going with the Tiffany Haddish-hosted Big Concert for Small Business, which is set to feature performances by Alicia Keys, Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard, Christina Aguilera, Eric Church, H.E.R., Jazmine Sullivan, Luke Bryan and Miley Cyrus.
Ahead of the event, Billboard caught up with Keys to learn what she has in store for the virtual event. The veteran performer also shared her thoughts on the current state of livestreamed concerts, her new skincare line and more.
The Verizon Big Concert for Small Business will stream after Super Bowl LV at 11 p.m. ET on Yahoo and Fios as well as Verizon’s Twitter, Twitch, YouTube and TikTok accounts.
Check out the Q&A with Keys below.
This event is, of course, meant to highlight small businesses. Why is this cause close to your heart?
It’s important for me to support small businesses because I find that they are some of the most important places that I shop from. They’re the most unique, the most beautiful, have such incredible personal service, and they service the community. And the entire community can benefit from this beautiful service that’s offered from small businesses. So I think it really supports creativity, it supports entrepreneurialism, and it supports unique offerings.
What can we look forward to when tuning in to your performance on Sunday evening?
People can expect to really feel. To feel engaged, to feel motivated, inspired, to feel the love of different people coming together to support each other. Right now, we just need that so much.
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What are your thoughts on live performance — and livestreams — these days?
Obviously, we all are not able to perform the way that we’re used to performing. We’re not able to travel from city to city and go to different places and meet different people and just fulfill that need of [bringing] good music [to] new spaces and the places we don’t live in. But I think there is an evolution, and being able to reach people because of this digital landscape that we live in is so powerful.
Once there is more of a return to “normal,” do you think virtual events will endure?
This evolution of being able to still have special experiences and special performances just in a new way of doing it is, at this point, the future of performances — and I think that these livestream performances will stick around. It’s a beautiful way to connect no matter what.
And I do believe that we will get back to a place where we can perform live again in different cities and different countries, but livestream performances are proving to be some of the most creative ways that you can bring people together who maybe wouldn’t be able to be together otherwise, so I think that’s pretty cool.
You just launched your first beauty line, Keys Soulcare. What do you hope fans take away from it?
Keys Soulcare is really all about, “How do we care for ourselves and care for our souls through the different ways that we just live life?” The first offering is through skincare, and because I’ve always had challenges with skin, it’s so beautiful to realize that the things you put inside of you, what you have around you, how you care for that inner, is a reflection of the outer, and so I love that.
Anything else in the pipeline for 2021?
I’m looking forward to 2021 being a much better year. I just launched my album, Alicia, and it has been such a cornerstone for these times. I just feel so blessed to be able to have that connection and for my music to connect with people at just a heart level for sure.
There’s more coming in 2021 — more beautiful offerings and ways to connect from Keys Soulcare and for sure more creative projects, more creative endeavors and definitely more music. Trust.