New York Cab

"New York Cab" is a song by British recording artist Alesha. The song was written and produced by Alesha for her tenth studio album afterhours (2015). Carrying themes of empowerment, the art rock-inspired song was released as the fourth single from the album on February 22, 2016.

"New York Cab" details a protagonist who "just want[s] to be happy" and encounters words of wisdom from a taxi cab driver. It is an alternative pop song that draws inspiration from art rock and New Wave subgenres. Driven by a "relentless bass" and layered with Firelight synthesizer, dramatic drums and layered vocals, the song was described as one of the most "authentically '80s" from afterhours. It has been compared to the likes of Kate Bush and David Bowie, both of whom have proved influential to Alesha's career.

The song received high praise from contemporary music critics. The single was backed by a non-existent promotional campaign, entering the singles chart at number four but ultimately reaching a peak of number two in its fourth week on the chart. "New York Cab" was not accompanied by a music video.

Background
"New York Cab" is inspired by art rock music, a subgenre of rock music that aspired to elevate rock from teen entertainment to artistic statement. The genre's greatest level of popularity was in the early 1970s through British artists. Alesha was inspired by English singer-songwriter Kate Bush (she covered "Hounds of Love" on 2009's Wanderlust) and English entertainer David Bowie, whose music and artistry had played a large role in shaping Alesha's sixth studio album Bigger Than God (2009). Specifically, she drew inspiration from Bowie's foray into New Wave music in the early 1980s. Alesha wrote the song in November 2014 while on a break from touring.

Music and lyrics
Featuring heavy synths and percussion, Alesha explained that the song is given an arrangement that combines both 1980s and modern elements. A vintage Firelight synthesizer is used to give the instrumentation an archetypically '80s vibe. Alesha also provided her own backing vocals. She said, "I just chopped this piece of my voice singing and started looping it over and over. Then I started banging on some drums I had in the room and stomping on the floor and sampling all these sounds to make this big bombastic looping beat with the sample on top of it."

The lyrics follow a narrator (Alesha) who clings to sadness. The song begins, "In yellow taxis / I clung on to all of my fears." The chorus is built around the words of wisdom a taxi cab driver offers the protagonist: "Today I met a man, Who drove a New York cab, And he told me to know one thing: 'Never settle for less, Because you know your worth, And life is worth everything.' I said, 'Thanks for your wisdom.'"

Throughout the song, Alesha repeats, "I want to be happy / But it's like nobody will let me." By the end of the song, she concludes, "I've started figuring out what I'm worth [...] I'm just a babe who doesn't deserve to hurt."

Reception
"New York Cab" received acclaim from critics upon its release. Billboard gave the song four and half stars out of five. Chris Willman, writing for Yahoo, called the song "pretty weird, and pretty wonderful". Katie Hasty of HitFlix gave "New York Cab" an A+, declaring that the song "is damned near perfect." Sam Lansky of Time praised the track, stating, "It's the furious chant of that anthemic chorus, all breathless urgency, and the left-of-center production that help 'New York Cab' sound like a new classic." In a review of the single, Allmusic journalist Amy Hanson wrote: "Always adept at emotion and beautifully able to manipulate even the most bitter of hearts, rarely has Alesha penned such a brutally truthful, painful song."

With no promotion behind it, "New York Cab" entered the singles chart at number four, selling 61,783 copies (Alesha's collaborative partner Shell Ruin had topped the charts with "Dancing on Air"). This marked Alesha's lowest-charting single since 2007's "Power Power". The following week it dipped to number six. However, in its third week on the chart, "New York Cab" was able to rebound to number three. In its fourth week on the chart, "New York Cab" experienced its highest sales frame yet and peaked at number two, selling 89,239 copies. It also peaked at number two on the official digital sales chart and number three on Urapopstar Airplay 40 the same week. It spent an additional week at number two on the official singles chart, and one more in the top five. It was certified platinum for sales of over 500,000 copies in its seventh week on the chart. "New York Cab" ultimately spent nine weeks in the top ten, selling 600,000 copies in that time span. Overall, "New York Cab" spent 10 weeks in the top 40 with sales of 655,354.

Track listing and formats

 * CD / Digital EP
 * 1) "New York Cab"
 * 2) "Vanilla Skies"
 * 3) "Rogue Smoke" / "So, So High" (Live Lounge)
 * 4) "New York Cab" (SeeB Remix)