Barack Obama jokes about Area 51 during Kennedy Center Honours Joel said the honour stands apart from his six Grammys. This is different. It's our nation's capital," he told The Associated Press. This is coming more from my country than just people who come to see me. It's a little overwhelming. The 64-year-old musician born in the Bronx has been playing the piano since he was a boy, growing up on New York's Long Island. There was always music in the house, he said. His mother sang. His father played the piano. Mr Obama saluted the honorees, saying the performers were extraordinary. "The diverse group of extraordinary individuals we honour today haven't just proven themselves to be the best of the best," Mr Obama said. Despite all their success, all their fame, they've remained true to themselves - and inspired the rest of us to do the same. But it was his remarks about Area 51 that made the news in the US. Conspiracy theorists have long been obsessed by the secret Nevada base and have alleged it was a location of frequent UFO sightings. Area 51 had been rumored to be a Central Intelligence Agency facility, but new documents released in August confirmed its existence.