Busker Sings Aerosmith Song—Then Lead Singer Steven Tyler Appears And Joins Him

Apr 09, 2020 by apost team

On the streets of Moscow, a young, up-and-coming singer songwriter was belting out Aerosmith’s signature track I Don't Want To Miss A Thing to make a bit of pocket change in 2017. In a magical, serendipitous moment, Aerosmith’s singer, Steven Tyler, appears out of nowhere in the middle of the busker’s cover. After watching the musician from afar, Tyler eventually walks up to the busker’s mic and joins him while the audience cheers them on.

The short clip, which a bystander luckily caught on video, captures what must have been a huge surprise. It’s almost as if by playing his track, the busker made Tyler magically appear. What’s more, Tyler didn’t just happen to walk by at any moment; rather, he came exactly when the busker was singing Aerosmith's track. But before joining the young man — who appears to be in his 20s — Tyler seems to look on in awe both because of the singer’s talent, but also because of the incredible coincidence.

After around 20 seconds, though, Tyler can’t help himself. Parting ways with the enthusiastic audience, many of whom have their phones out to record this magical moment, Tyler walks over to the singer who moves the mic down to Tyler’s level and keeps playing his guitar without missing a beat. As soon as Tyler sings the first line, joining the busker for an impromptu duet with the Aerosmith frontman the onlookers go wild. And it’s understandable because, well, what are the odds that Tyler, who lives in the U.S., would just be walking the streets of Moscow at the same time that someone was playing his song?

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After the brief performance, which has the two trade off on the mic while the busker continues to play guitar, Tyler puts his hat on the young musician’s head in a warm, almost fatherly gesture. Then the two pose for a quick photo and the video ends. Unfortunately, we don’t get to hear from either musicians to hear their thoughts surrounding this chance encounter, but it’s safe to say that both were awestruck.

What makes the encounter at least a bit more believable is just how popular Aerosmith’s I Don't Want To Miss A Thing track is. But according to Louder Sound, the song wasn’t always a favorite, especially among some of Aerosmith’s band members. For those who know the song but aren’t familiar with its origins, the track was originally written for the apocalyptic blockbuster film Armageddon, which happened to star Steven Tyler’s daughter. But Joey Kramer, Aerosmith’s drummer, wasn’t exactly thrilled about the decision.

“I kind of knew it was a hit, but I didn’t really like the song,” Kramer told Louder Sound. “I didn’t think that song was us. When I first heard it, it was just a demo with piano and singing. It was difficult to imagine what kind of touch Aerosmith could put on it and make it our own.”

While it's understandable that Kramer had his reservations about the track, which was only in its nascent stage as a demo, it’s incredible to think that Aerosmith’s only US number one hit in the band’s history almost did not see the light of day. Fortunately, Kramer changed his tune once the band got ahold of the track and started working on it.

“When we finally did make it our own, that’s when it became what it is,” Kramer told Louder Sound. “It was just a question of learning the song and playing it as a band. As soon as we began playing it as a band, then it instantly became an Aerosmith song.”

Because the hit’s success went hand in hand with the blockbuster film’s release, Louder Sound credits the 1998 track with attracting a younger generation of fans to a band that had already been around for decades. That hypothesis certainly makes sense. In all likelihood, the busker in Moscow, who looks to be in his 20s, grew up hearing the track in his childhood, and now he can say that he’s both met and performed with Aerosmith’s frontman — and not many fans can say that.

How shocked would you be if Steven Tyler appeared while you were singing an Aerosmith song? What did you think about their duet? Let us know and pass this incredible video on to all the Aerosmith fans you know.