Main image: Ɱ via Wikimedia Commons. Inset: Raphael Pour-Hashemi via Wikimedia Commons
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Miley Cyrus stunned a roomful of unsuspecting guests on the Upper East Side Monday night with a surprise three-song performance—including her Grammy-winning hit Flowers and a dramatic mic drop, People reports. She also performed two tracks from her new album, Something Beautiful.
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The impromptu set took place at one of Manhattan’s most storied and celebrity-frequented lounges: Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel, located at 35 East 76th Street between Park and Madison. The performance ended with a cheeky farewell—“It’s time to get back to my penthouse.”
While Cyrus’s unannounced performance sent ripples through social media, it’s far from the first time Bemelmans has drawn high-wattage guests into its warm, mural-lined embrace.
Known for its nightly live piano, martinis with character, and walls hand-painted by Madeline author Ludwig Bemelmans himself, the bar has long been a haunt for the rich, the royal, and the unmistakably famous.
Over the years, Bemelmans has attracted a dizzying range of notable figures. Frank Sinatra was a regular. Paul McCartney has been known to hop behind the piano. Mariah Carey, Liza Minnelli, Bono, and Billy Joel have all passed through the plush banquettes. More recently, StyleCaster reported that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are fans of the bar’s “Elaine’s Smoky Martini” (Cosmopolitan).
In December 2024, the New York Post caught Bill Murray spontaneously joining the bar’s pianist to belt out Looking Glass’s 1972 hit “Brandy,” with the band’s lead singer, Elliot Lurie, at his side.
Even Kylie Minogue made an appearance in 2022, when she stopped by to promote her wine line and ended up performing a few hits by the grand piano.
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Though celebrity sightings may be the flashiest part of the bar’s lore, Bemelmans is also cherished by neighborhood locals and longtime hotel guests. Its timeless charm—dim lighting, crisp uniforms, and the tinkling of a Steinway in the background—offers a rare escape from the city’s pulse.
Miley’s mic drop may have made headlines, but in many ways, it was right on brand for a place where the unexpected feels perfectly at home.
Here’s a clip of Miley’s performance.
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