Top 10 Surprise Guests During Live Music Performances

In what we can only imagine must’ve been a super surreal moment for the musical’s cast, they were joined on stage by the Carole King during the curtain call. The icon appeared mid-way through a speech about their “Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS” benefit night, and the cast’s reaction is priceless. King sang the company’s praises and promised to sing with them in honor of the good cause. Jessie Mueller, who played the music legend, is visibly starstruck, and who can blame her? It’s an emotional watch, so just imagine being in the room? In another we-wish-we’d-been-there “Broadway Cares” performance, Stevie Nicks surprised “School of Rock” audiences to sing “Rhiannon” with the insanely talented cast.

Sam Smith was full of surprises when they took on the role of musical guest at “SNL.” During their first number of the night, “Unholy, ” the singer wore an oversized pink gown that opened up to reveal Kim Petras sitting inside. At the end of their performance, Petras seemingly alludes to Sharon Stone’s famous “Basic Instinct” scene with a few dance moves. But little did we know that she was hinting at another reveal to follow. During Smith’s second performance, we were astounded to see them joined by the movie star. The “Gloria” actress lies motionless until Smith starts singing. Even then, she doesn’t do much except gaze off into the distance; still, we couldn’t take our eyes off her.

Beyoncé knows how to put on a show, and her Coachella (or Beychella) set slayed so hard we still haven’t quite recovered. In one of its many highlights, the star reunited with her old bandmates in a seemingly unanticipated performance. They sang “Lose My Breath,” “Say My Name,” and “Soldier,” giving it everything that we always loved about this powerhouse girl group. The reunion had a major impact on digital sales, sending purchases of the group’s popular discography through the roof and giving Bey’s solo hits a significant surge. Individually and as a trio, they all kill it, and we couldn’t have asked for a better surprise. But really, when are they going to reunite for good?

Rapper GloRilla gave a fierce rendition of “Tomorrow 2” at the 2022 AMAs. It was a showcase that had audiences hyped, whether they were watching from home or in the auditorium. Just as we thought it couldn’t go any harder, the stage opens to reveal Cardi B in a car. The rap artist featured on a remix version of the track, but we weren’t expecting her to perform that evening as her family was grieving the recent loss of rapper Takeoff. Still, she came out with all the sass and power that initially catapulted her into stardom and, along with GloRilla, gave audiences one of the biggest talking points of the night.

If you were lucky enough to score tickets to see Paul McCartney at Glastonbury, you probably thought you had it made. So, we can practically feel your mind being blown when the icon invited two other music legends to join him in closing day two of his headlining set. He first introduced the Foo Fighters frontman, revealing the efforts Grohl had undergone just to be present for this moment. The pair sang The Beatles' “I Saw Her Standing There” and Wings' “Band On The Run.” He then brought out ‘The Boss’ to perform Springsteen’s “Glory Days” and the Fab Four’s “I Wanna Be Your Man.” The set concluded with the trio singing together. Oh, to have been a fly on the Pyramid Stage that day!

During their 2006 concert in London’s Hyde Park, Taylor Hawkins channeled Freddie Mercury, engaging the audience with a bit of call-and-response. However, audiences would soon learn this was a precursor to introducing the Foo Fighters’ guest stars: the legendary Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen fame. With them, audiences were treated to some of “We Will Rock You” and “Tie Your Mother Down.” This unexpected crossover wasn’t the only surprise that night, as the group was also joined by Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister. The concert played to about 85,000 people live, and for anyone feeling FOMO, it was also streamed online in 2020, bringing some much-needed entertainment into the dreariness of lockdowns.

Alicia Keys collaborated with several artists, including Kendrick Lamar, on the track “It’s On Again” for “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” Still, we weren’t expecting the artist to show up during the Los Angeles stop of her tour, less still borrow her limelight for two numbers! He started with “Poetic Justice,” and Keys handed him the spotlight to perform “Swimming Pools (Drank)” totally solo. We can only imagine what a tremendous evening this must’ve been for fans of the rapper who were not expecting this bonus highlight from their night out. We would definitely be up for more collaborations like this in the future! Maybe even a joint world tour?

The world-renowned music festival took place over the same period that the U.S. Supreme Court announced the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Like many artists, the “Drivers License” singer used her vast platform to voice her outrage over the decision. She dedicated a number in her set to the Justices responsible for the controversial ruling. She invited British artist Lily Allen to join her, who just happened to have an aptly named song for such an occasion. It’s not the collaboration we expected, but it was epic! And the crowd was clearly having the best time. We can’t be the only ones waiting for the duo to re-release this song as a duet, right?

T-Swift has quite the “Reputation” for inviting surprise guests to join her on stage. And “The 1989 World Tour” was chock-a-block of them. Perhaps you were fortunate enough to be there when she was joined by Queen Elsa herself, Idina Menzel, or maybe you were present for “Hot in Herre” with Nelly and HAIM. However, arguably the most unexpected appearance was from Phoebe Buffay actress Lisa Kudrow. Now, if someone told us Pheebs would one day sing “Smelly Cat” with a global icon in front of thousands, we’d suggest you’d been downing too many espressos at Central Perk. Hey Kudrow, we bet “no one told you life was gonna be this way.”

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Joni Mitchell Joins Brandi Carlile, “Newport Folk Festival” (2022)
A Stirring & Unexpected Performance of “Both Sides Now” from a Musical Legend

Will Ferrell Joins Green Day, “Saturday Night Live” (1975-)
Come to Think of It, Green Day Could Always Use More Cowbell

Fall Out Boy Joins 2 Chainz, “Coachella” (2013)
No Lie, the Rapper “Came to Save Rock and Roll”

David Lee Roth Joins Foo Fighters, “Dave Grohl's Surprise Birthday Bash at The Forum” (2015)
What Better Way to Say “Happy Birthday!” than with a Surprise Musical Guest?

Garth Brooks Joins Justin Timberlake, “The 20/20 Experience World Tour” (2013-15)
Justin Surprised the Nashville Crowd with One of His Friends in (Not So) Low Places

The rock band pulled out all the stops for their big 50th-anniversary bash. They invited some serious star power to join them at various stops on their tour, some more unexpected than others. For instance, Gwen Stefani and Keith Urban joined them at L.A.’s Staples Center. Katy Perry showed up in Las Vegas, while Tom Waits could be seen in Oakland, California. Taylor Swift rocked up to one of their Chicago dates, and Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga were present in Newark. And that’s just in the U.S.! In London, they were joined by Mary J. Blige, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and others. The list goes on! It brings a whole new meaning to “Surprise Party.”