Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down

Summary

"Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down" is a song by American singer Alicia Keys from her fourth studio album, The Element of Freedom (2009). It is an answer song to the Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Empire State of Mind" performed by Jay-Z featuring Keys. Produced by Al Shux and Keys, the song gained international airplay and download sales although it was only officially released in the United Kingdom as the second single from The Element of Freedom.

"Empire State of Mind (Part II)"
Single by Alicia Keys
from the album The Element of Freedom
B-side"We're Almost There"
ReleasedFebruary 22, 2010 (2010-02-22)
Genre
Length3:36
LabelJ
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Alicia Keys singles chronology
"Put It in a Love Song"
(2009)
"Empire State of Mind (Part II)"
(2010)
"Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)"
(2010)
Licensed audio
"Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down" on YouTube

Before its official release, "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down" had reached number four on the UK Singles Chart on downloads alone. The success of the song from a high volume of album downloads, led to it being announced as the second single from The Element of Freedom in the UK. The single was released on February 22, 2010.[1] Keys and "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down" are featured on a 2011 HP Beats Commercial.[2] The song also featured on the soundtrack of the film Sex and the City 2 (2010).[3]

Background edit

Following the release of "Empire State of Mind" in October 2009, Keys stated that she was planning to release a second version of the song featuring only her vocals, as a single the following month.[1] The original takes of Keys' version, entitled "Empire State of Mind Part 2", included both Keys' vocals and a new rap verse from Jay-Z,[4] but the final product did not include Jay-Z.[5] Discussing the record, Keys claimed that it acts as a dichotomy of strength and vulnerability, commenting that "The music is really strong, and the drums are really aggressive, but my voice is vulnerable and delicate".[1]

I definitely wanted to give my version of it and my vision of how I see New York and how it feels to me. I wanted to do it for my style—more broken down, more on piano, more voice and intimacy—so that's what I did. I imagined, 'If I was able to sing this whole song, how would I do it?' So I just sat down at my piano and I kind of broke it down and started singing about New York as I see it, and it turned out great.

— Keys on recording "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down"[6]

Critical reception edit

"Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down" was generally well received by contemporary music critics in their reviews for The Element of Freedom.[7][8][9] Allison Stewart of The Washington Post noted that the track, which is a pop ballad, had replaced "Empire State of Mind" sports team references and ruminations with "even milder and less controversial string of generalities", highlighting Keys' version's lyrics "If I could make it here/I could make it anywhere".[10] Greg Kot of Hartford Courant wrote that Keys' version "retains the soaring vocal hook" but the track "loses its swagger" without Jay-Z.[11]

Chart performance edit

On December 20, 2009, due to high downloads of "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down", the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number fifty-two. As of February 14, 2010 it has reached a new peak of number four on downloads alone (her highest-charting solo single since "Fallin" reached number three in 2001). It became Keys' eighth top ten hit in the UK and second from The Element of Freedom.[12] It ended up spending eight straight weeks within the top 10 in the country, the longest stay for any of her songs including the original version, Jay-Z's, "Empire State of Mind" in which she is featured. So far, it has spent 26 consecutive weeks within the top 40 as well as 52 weeks within the top 100, becoming Keys' most successful single ever. In December 2010 the song was announced as the thirteenth biggest selling single of the year in the UK, surpassing a number of chart-toppers and shaping as the biggest selling non-top-two single with 575,500 copies sold. In May 2011, the song would re-enter the top 100 by jumping from No. 189 to No. 93 in its 76th charting week.[13] On January 21, 2010, the single entered the Irish Singles Chart at forty-six and reached eight.[14] It also debuted on the Billboard R&B charts at number seventy-seven and peaked at number fifty-five on the Billboard Hot 100 without an official release.[15] In May 2012, "Empire State of Mind (Part II)" ranked as the 79th biggest-selling single of the 21st century in the United Kingdom, as published by the Official Charts Company.[16]

Live performances edit

On November 29, Keys performed the song's chorus in a medley alongside "Doesn't Mean Anything" and "No One", on the sixth season of the United Kingdom television show, The X Factor.[17] Keys performed the full version of the song on 4Music Favourites. Keys also performed the song on Saturday Night Live along with "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart".[18] Stephen Colbert and Keys also performed the song together on The Colbert Report with Colbert adding his own verses on December 15, 2009.[19] For the 2010 Radio 1 Big Weekend, the track's chorus was changed from "New York..." to "North Wales..." and the new version waxes lyrical about all that the North Wales coast has to offer. Lyrics include; "Yes, today I travelled north from Harlech to the Menai Bridge. What a pretty drive, with so much to see it’s such a privilege."[20] On June 28, 2011, Keys performed the song on Good Morning America. Keys also performed the song as the final number at the six-hour 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief on December 12, 2012.[21]

There was no official music video shot for "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down". However, due to the success of the song, leading to it being released as a UK single, the 4Music Favourites performance was shown on music channels as the music video.[citation needed]

In 2022, Keys performed the song at the Platinum Party at the Palace.[22]

Track listings edit

UK Digital download[23]
No.TitleLength
1."Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down"3:36
German / Austrian / Swiss CD single and Digital download[24][25]
No.TitleLength
1."Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down"3:36
2."We're Almost There"3:35

Charts edit

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[54] 2× Platinum 140,000
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[55] Platinum 30,000^
Germany (BVMI)[56] 3× Gold 450,000
Italy (FIMI)[57] Gold 15,000*
Portugal (AFP)[58] Gold 10,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[59] 2× Platinum 1,200,000
United States (RIAA)[60] Platinum 1,000,000

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history edit

Release dates and formats for "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom February 22, 2010 Digital download RCA
Germany May 28, 2010 CD Sony Music

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Balls, David (2010-01-13). "Keys to release solo version of 'Empire'". Digital Spy. Digital Spy Limited. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  2. ^ Anthony Osei (February 11, 2011). "Video: Alicia Keys in HP Beats Audio Ad". Complex. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  3. ^ Jocelyn Vena (April 21, 2010). "'Sex And The City 2' Soundtrack Features Diane Angelica, Jennifer Hudson". MTV News. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  4. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (2009-11-05). "Jay-Z and Alicia Keys Record 'Empire State of Mind Part 2'". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  5. ^ Aswad, Jem; Vena, Jocelyn (2009-12-04). "Alicia Keys Collabos with Beyoncé, Drake Hit the Net". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  6. ^ Graff, Gary (2010-02-01). "Interview: Alicia Keys, singer". The Scotsman. UK: Johnston Press Digital Publishing. Archived from the original on June 14, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  7. ^ Christgau, Robert. "The Element of Freedom". Consumer Guide. Robert Christgau. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  8. ^ Radlift, Ben (December 14, 2009). "ALICIA KEYS: "The Element of Freedom"". The New York Times. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  9. ^ Ragogna, Mike (December 14, 2009). "HuffPost Reviews: Alicia Keys, Robin Thicke, Avatar, and Pixies, Plus Conversations with Julian Lennon and Precious Composer Mario Grigorov, and more". The Huffington Post. HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  10. ^ Stewart, Allison (December 15, 2009). "'Element' is another safe, uninspiring album from R&B star Alicia Keys". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  11. ^ Kot, Greg (December 15, 2009). "Review: Album Well-Crafted, But Alicia Keys Doesn't Let 'Freedom' Ring". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  12. ^ Alicia Keys "Empire State of Min (Part II)" Official Charts. Accessdate=2010-03-13.
  13. ^ "Official UK Singles Top 100 - 18th February 2012 | The UK Charts | Top 40 | Official Charts Company". Theofficialcharts.com. Archived from the original on 2011-10-16. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  14. ^ Irish searchable database search: "EMPIRE STATE OF MIND (PART II)" Archived 2009-06-02 at the Wayback Machine IRMA. Accessdate=2010-03-13.
  15. ^ Billboard charts for "Empire State of Mind (Part II)" Billboard. Nielsen SoundScan. Accessdate=2010-03-13.
  16. ^ "The Official Top 150 Biggest Selling Singles Of the 21st Century revealed!". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on July 9, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  17. ^ The X Factor ITV Season 6, Episode 26. November 29, 2009.
  18. ^ "Music - New Music News, Reviews, Pictures, and Videos". Rolling Stone.[dead link]
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  20. ^ "North Wales replaces New York in Alicia Keys' hit". WalesOnline.co.uk. May 18, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
  21. ^ Anderson, Kyle (13 December 2012). "Bruce Springsteen, the Who, Billy Joel, and Beatlevana: On the scene at 12-12-12". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  22. ^ Yeates, Cydney (2022-06-08). "Alicia Keys defends Jubilee performance after Empire State Of Mind backlash". Metro. Retrieved 2023-10-06.
  23. ^ Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down: Alicia Keys: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads
  24. ^ "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down: Amazon.de: Musik". amazon.de.
  25. ^ "Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down". amazon.de. Archived from the original on 2013-02-10.
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  27. ^ "Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
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  39. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 13, 2010" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
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  41. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
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  54. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2019 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  55. ^ "Danish single certifications – Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  56. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Alicia Keys; 'Empire State of Mind')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  57. ^ "Italian single certifications – Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved August 13, 2020. Select "2012" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Empire State of Mind" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  58. ^ "Portuguese single certifications – Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  59. ^ "British single certifications – Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind (Part II)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  60. ^ "American single certifications – Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
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  63. ^ "Bravado - Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down - Alicia Keys - Single CD (2-Track) - Musik". Bravado.de. 2010-05-28. Archived from the original on 2012-03-03. Retrieved 2012-02-15.

External links edit

  • "Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind (Live from Apple Music Festival, London, 2016)" on YouTube
  • ""Empire State of Mind Part II" (Broken Down) - Live NYC Tribute" on YouTube
  • "Alicia Keys - Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down (Live on Letterman) on YouTube
  • "Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down (BET COVID-19 Relief Effort)" on YouTube
  • "Alicia Keys - Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down (Piano & I: AOL Sessions +1)" on YouTube
  • "Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind (Live from iTunes Festival, London, 2012)" on YouTube
  • "LALA (Unlocked) feat. Swae Lee / Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down [2021 MTV V..." on YouTube