Key Takeaways
- Drake celebrated his 40th birthday in New York by performing with the Backstreet Boys.
- Some guests received luxury handbags, while Drake hosted a cash-prize game show, TMZ reported.
- Drake thanked guests in a speech focused on being alive and staying alive.
There are a lot of perks that come with being obscenely rich and powerful. But perhaps the best is getting to do a mini concert with your childhood faves. Drake did exactly that when he threw his 40th birthday party in New York's Cipriani 42nd Street last night (Oct. 23).
Partying it up with his friends and family, the 6ix God took the stage to perform "I Want It That Way" with the Backstreet Boys. Rocking a shiny black suit, Drizzy sang his heart out with Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, Brian Littrell, and Kevin Richardson backing him up. Funny enough, this performance was actually a sequel: BSB brought Drizzy onstage with them during their July 2022 tour stop in Toronto.
Drake's birthday shindig would've been perfectly eventful if performing with a legendary boy band was all he did. But of course, it wasn't. According to TMZ, Drake also hosted a game show with cash prizes that ranged from thousands of dollars to a million. Even though it was his birthday, he had a gift giveaway, too; some attendees were lucky enough to enjoy the party and walk away with Chanel and Hermès handbags.
Drake's touching 40th birthday party speech
While the BSB performance, gift giveaway, and game show were flashy highlights, the most touching moment was probably the speech the Grammy winner gave to attendees. Addressing an audience of 400, he made sure to show his appreciation. "There's a lot of extremely important people who I resonate with in here because they work extremely hard," he told the crowd. "And even though it's a Friday, I know we take time for ourselves."
"I wanted to say thank you," he added. "Tonight is not about a tour or an album release or a bunch of videos that we shot or a fragrance or a Nike shoe. Tonight is just about being alive, staying alive."
Watch Drake perform with Backstreet Boys and deliver a speech for yourself below.