Billy Joel, Vanderbilt University Student Michael Pollack, Perform 'New York State Of Mind' (VIDEO)

It takes a lot of nerve to approach an idol of yours and ask him a question. It takes even more to ask that idol to do you a favor.

Yet that's exactly what Billy Joel fan Michael Pollack did at Tennessee's Vanderbilt University in January. During a forum with the six-time Grammy Award winner and hall of famer, Pollack asked if he could accompany Joel on the piano for a performance of "New York State of Mind." After a brief pause, Joel simply said, "Okay."

So Pollack joined his idol on the stage, "And then from there," he later recalled to Vanderbilt's student paper, "it was just ... foggy. It's hard to remember. I just started playing. I had practiced it a little bit thinking maybe I’d get the chance to go up ... I kind of lost myself playing."

If Pollack did indeed lose himself up on the stage, you'd never know it. Any nerves the undoubtedly on-edge Pollack may have had to begin with don't seem to have affected his musical abilities. A YouTube video of the event, uploaded on Feb. 26, shows him confer briefly with Joel, then absolutely knock the performance out of the park.

"That's Michael Pollack. Remember that name," Joel said after Pollack stepped off the stage. "Guy's got chops!"

Though Pollack is currently a freshman at Vanderbilt, he's sure to attract attention when he graduates, especially with a Joel endorsement on his resume.

WATCH the video, above.

(Hat tip, Gawker)