Stephen Colbert, Idina Menzel sing Billy Joel's New York State of Mind

Stars such as Stephen Colbert, Idina Menzel, Sara Bareilles and Andy Cohen are championing New York City in a new video that aims to bring the city together amid the pandemic. 

Put together by grassroots organization NYCNext, the clip encourages the city’s recovery from being shut down due to COIVD-19, as well as driving civic engagement.

Celebs are seen singing along to Billy Joel’s 1976 hit New York State of Mind, including the likes of Victoria Clark, LaChanze, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Kelli O’Hara and Peppermint.

Belting it out: Stephen Colbert, Idina Menzel, Sara Bareilles and more sing Billy Joel’s New York State of Mind to celebrate the city reopening, organized by NYCNext

Also featuring in the clip are performers Anaïs Reno, Mario Cantone, Jerry Dixon, Suzanne Vega, Tom Kitt and Billy’s daughter Alexa Ray Joel. 

However, the reaction to the video on social media has been mixed – with some pointing out that it brings back dreadful memories of Gal Gadot’s Imagine video at the very start of the pandemic. 

‘Because a song is all it takes,’ one user wrote, while another said: ‘Did they not learn anything from the imagine video lol.’

She’s got the pipes: Frozen star Idina Menzel sings the Billy Joel song among others 

Inspiring: The clip encourages the city’s recovery from being shut down due to COIVD-19, as well as driving civic engagement

Cameo: Bravo personality Andy Cohen pops up in the clip to give the camera a kiss 

Gal Gadot famously addressed the backlash to her Imagine video this year, saying she had ‘nothing but good intentions’ when she got a group of A-Listers to try and rally the public through the pandemic.

‘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,’ Gal explained.

‘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.’