Vanessa Carlton stunned the crowd at London’s Wireless Festival when she joined Drake onstage Saturday night for a live rendition of her early-2000s anthem “A Thousand Miles.”
The unexpected duet unfolded during the second of Drake’s three headlining sets at Finsbury Park, where the Canadian rapper paused his performance to welcome the 44-year-old singer-songwriter to the stage.
Carlton took her place at the piano and launched into the instantly recognizable intro of her 2002 hit, while Drake hyped the audience and urged them to sing along.
Carlton shared her gratitude on Instagram, writing, “Thank you to the one and only \@champagnepapi for inviting me to be a part of his show and for the sweet introduction. I am so moved and have been a fan since the beginning. And thanks to everyone behind the scenes that pulled this one off for us. So now I can personally recommend Drake’s fabulous \@wirelessfest experience.”
The “Hotline Bling” artist has yet to publicly comment on the collaboration, but his three-night Wireless Festival run featured a rotating lineup of high-profile guests. Alongside Carlton, the rapper brought out Lauryn Hill, 21 Savage, Giveon, PartyNextDoor, Skepta, Latto and Sexyy Red across the weekend.
“This is the first time in my life that I’ve done three different shows on three different days,” Drake told the crowd during Friday’s opening set. “You came to a very special night. It’s night one. It’s a celebration of all things R&B.; All things melodies. All classics.”
Despite the star-studded lineup, the final night of the festival hit a snag.
Drake’s Sunday set was cut short to just 40 minutes due to a strict curfew enforced by local authorities.
The 38-year-old rapper is still riding the momentum from his February release Some Sexy Songs 4 U, a collaborative album with PartyNextDoor.