Alicia Keys reveals why she wrote her answer song 'Empire State of Mind (Part II)'
It was in response to Jay-Z's 'Empire State of Mind'
The amazing Alicia Keys joined Jordan and Perri on KISS Breakfast to talk about her brand new song 'Lifeline', which comes from the new film The Color Purple. The singer also took part in the Quiz That Gets Quicker, and revealed the real reason she decided to write her iconic song 'Empire State of Mind (Part 2) Broken Down'.
Back in 2009, 'Empire State of Mind' was a huge hit for Jay-Z, featuring Alicia Keys, however, here in the UK it's Alicia's answer song, 'Empire State of Mind (Part 2) Broken Down', also became a massive hit, and Alicia revealed the real reason she wrote the song.
"'Empire State of Mind’ was actually Jay’s record first and I was on the hook," Alicia explained. "After all of that happened, I realised, you know what? This song is crazy and it's going insane, I have to have a version that I can sing. What am I going to do? I can't just sing the hook every show?!"
So with that in mind, Alicia decided to release 'Part Two', which reached Number 4 in the UK, and also saw worldwide success. The 'Fallin'' singer explained: "So that was what provoked the feeling of creating the Part Two. So the Part Two is what we call 'broken down' and I then, just played keys on it and then eventually at the end it started to go into the sonic that you know.
"I remember that the UK went crazy for 'Broken Down' and at one point, like in America, it was like all about the me and Jay version, in the UK I never heard the Jay version EVER! Y'all just took my version and (it) went crazy."
She added: "But it was amazing, that was really cool."
Alicia also did the Quiz That Gets Quicker, but didn't do too well, only getting a dubious one out five, after she was quizzed on some very British questions, such as when is a roast dinner eaten and what does 'chinwag' mean?
When can you hear Jordan and Perri on KISS Breakfast?
You can catch Jordan and Perri every weekday on KISS FM UK between 7am and 11am.
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