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Billy Joel reacts to “We Didn’t Start the Fire” cover, brings Joe Jonas onstage

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Billy Joel‘s number-one hit “We Didn’t Start the Fire” was recently given an update by the rock band Fall Out Boy: They wrote an entirely new set of lyrics mentioning events that happened since Billy’s 1989 original, like Sandy Hook and Columbine, the death of Michael Jackson, the elections of Obama and Trump and the post 9-11 war on terror. Now, Billy has reacted to the new version of the song.

Speaking with BBC Radio 2, Billy said he’d heard about the cover version and was happy that someone else decided to continue the narrative. “Everybody has been wanting to know when there is going to be an updated version of it, because my song started in ’49 and ended in ’89 – it was a 40-year span,” he explained.

“Everybody said, ‘Are you going to do part two? When are you going to do part two?’ And I said, ‘Nah, I’ve already done part one,’” he added. “So, Fall Out Boy, go ahead. Great. Take it away.”

Billy was in the U.K. to perform at BTS Hyde Park festival in London on July 8, and during his performance of “Uptown Girl,” he brought Joe Jonas out to join him for a duet. Joe wrote on Instagram afterward, “Thank you to my friend @billyjoel for having me on stage…You’ve been a big inspiration to me and this was a bucket list moment. Life made.”

When Stereogum posted a photo of the performance on its Instagram account, one commenter named Tim snarked, “Imagine paying a bunch of money to see Billy Joel and you have to listen to Joe Jonas sing some of his parts.” Joe Jonas then showed he has a sense of humor by replying, “ugh Tim that would be terrible.”

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