This year has been great for music, especially in the live event space.

From new albums from big names like Drake, Killer Mike, and a host of others to Beyoncé having the summer and early fall on lock with her Renaissance World Tour, there have been many standout moments from 2023. But a surprise pop-up during Janet Jackson’s headlining set at ONE Musicfest might have taken the cake.

Social media users have joked that J. Cole has been traveling around the world, appearing on stages as if he’s Jesus of Nazareth due to his recent endeavors that include pulling up on Drake for the final stop of his It Was All a Blur Tour in his hometown of Toronto and helping 6lack kick off his Since I Have a Lover Tour.

The North Carolina native might be leaning into the chatter after he hopped on the mic for yet another unannounced performance, this time with the living legend Janet (Miss Jackson if you’re nasty) for one of their previous collabs.

Jackson, who was the headliner for the first day of the highly anticipated ONE Musicfest, hit the stage running, kicking things off with “Damita Jo” and going through hits like “That’s The Way Love Goes,” “If” and more before a brief interaction with the crowd and surprising them with none other than J. Cole himself to perform their 2015 single, “No Sleeep.”

Seeing the pair onstage was one of those musical moments that one just had to witness as the crowd went utterly silent from shock before greeting J. Cole with applause and screams once it finally registered what was happening.

Jackson also beamed with pride as she watched the “In the Morning” MC perform his hit “No Role Modelz,” singing along just as eager festival-goers went bar for bar with J. Cole from the crowd.

The synergy between the two was out of this world, and again, seeing Janet Jackson and J. Cole on stage together, performing under a full moon, wasn’t necessarily in the cards for ONE Musicfest. Still, it will forever be one of those things that you remember for a lifetime.

It also proves that when legends link up, magic always follows.

J. coleJanet jackson