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JAY-Z/ALICIA AND 'GLEE'S' AMBER RILEY ROCK WORLD SERIES: Duo performs 'Empire State of Mind'; actress belts National Anthem. (Video)

(November 2, 2009)

*Players from both dugouts of the World Series Thursday night were seen grooving to the pre-Game 2 performance of Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' ode to New York, "Empire State of Mind."

Jay-Z sported a Yankees cap and varsity jacket, while Keys – in a purple top and black pants - belted out the chorus, first while seated at her piano and then from center stage.

"I think it almost seems like it's the anthem for New York right now," Derek Jeter told MLB.com.

"As a die-hard Yankees fan, I'm honored to perform a song that celebrates the greatness of New York in one of our city's most important landmarks, Yankee Stadium," Jay-Z said in a press release.

Jay-Z told ESPN's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" that earlier in the day he got a chance to roam the field and imagined catching a ball and doubling a guy out at home plate.

"I felt like a kid," he said. "The field is beautiful. I've never been that close to the field. Walking around, I jumped over the center-field fence and everything, like I was catching a home run."

For Saturday's Game 3 in Philadelphia, FOX tapped the cast of its new hit series "Glee" for the National Anthem. Cast member Amber Riley, who plays the glee club's lone African American member Mercedes Jones, took center stage as her cast mates circled behind her for a well-received rendition.

In other "Glee" news, the cast will be honored with the Favorite New Television Cast Ensemble distinction at the 17th anniversary Diversity Awards, to be held Sunday, Nov. 22, at The Beverly Hills Hotel.

Watch the Jay-Z/Keys and Amber Riley performances: