Kim Kardashian got a sax-y Valentine’s Day surprise from husband Kanye West on Thursday, February 14: a saxophone serenade in her living room by the one and only Kenny G. Now the smooth jazz superstar, 62, is sharing his side of the viral moment.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Kenny G said that a publicist had emailed him with West’s request on the eve of Valentine’s Day, explaining that the saxophonist would be performing in a room filled with roses. “I thought, ‘That actually sounds really beautiful,’” he said. “Then I got a text from David Foster, who told me he had heard about the request and told me I should definitely do it. … It just happened to work out, ‘cause I’m in town and I don’t live very far from where they live. So it worked out really well.”
The Grammy winner arrived at the couple’s house on Friday while the living room was still being decked out with flowers, and he had started warming up by the time West arrived. “He could not have been nicer,” Kenny G said of the 41-year-old. “He was so warm and accommodating. Just chit-chatting about music. It was super cool … I said something like, ‘This kind of sound would be really great with some of your music.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, maybe we can go to the studio and check it out.’ So I thought that was cool.”
When the big moment arrived, the “I Love It” rapper gave Kenny G the high sign. “[Kardashian] was coming around a corner, and I got the nod from Kanye to go,” the musician said. “And so I started to play, and when she came, she just went, ‘Oh, my God,’ and then she looked at me and was smiling and just kind of stopped. She didn’t know what to do with herself for a minute. Then she got her phone out, which was awesome.”
Kardashian, 38, then uploaded the video of her surprised reaction to Twitter, where it has garnered more than 88,000 comments, including a good-natured roast from the reality star’s friend Chrissy Teigen. “Did Kenny have to stand there while the flowers were being set up? How did he get out?” Teigen, 33, asked. “We need more info on Kenny!!!”
James Corden also jested about the serenade on Thursday’s episode of The Late Late Show. “Since his first name starts with a K and has long dark hair, Kim actually invited [Kenny] to join the family,” the 40-year-old joked. “He now goes by Ken Kardashian.”
