Keys recorded a sequel entitled "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down", which is featured on her fourth studio album The Element of Freedom (2009).

Her version was positively received by critics, reached the Top 10 in the UK, the Netherlands and Ireland charts, and peaked at number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 without an official release.

"Empire State of Mind" was originally written by Brooklyn-native singer, songwriter and producer Angela Hunte and writing partner Janet "Jnay" Sewell-Ulepic.

The piano component that runs throughout the song contains a sample of the 1970 single "Love on a Two-Way Street", written by Burt Keyes and Sylvia Robinson, performed by The Moments.

Jon Bush of AllMusic listed the song as being a highlight from The Blueprint 3, commenting that it is Jay-Z's "king of crossovers ... a New York flag-waver with plenty of landmark name-dropping that turns into a great anthem with help on the chorus from Alicia Keys".

[16] Martin Andrew of PopMatters called the song "yet another chance" for Jay-Z to show his respect to New York, but commented that it "remains interesting thanks to a fantastic Al Shux beat and celebratory hook from Alicia Keys.

"[18] USA Today's Steve Jones perceived a maturity by Jay-Z in the song, writing that "The upper-crust landmarks he now references are a far cry from the grimy Marcy Projects sights that he once detailed, something that perhaps is to be expected from the self-described 'new Sinatra'.

[20] Shannon Barbour of About.com called "Empire State of Mind" the album's apex, commending Keys for the "standout" aspect of the song, her "excellent display of some unusually strong vocals".

[21] Slant Magazine writer William McBee described it as a "glittering paean to the Big Apple" with Keys "soaring skyscraper-level on the hook and Jay putting on for his city.

[64] After five months of release "Empire State of Mind" was certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for the shipment of over 3,000,000 units in the US.

[76] The video, which was filmed on location, features black-and-white images of New York City intercut with full-color shots of Jay-Z and Keys performing in Times Square.

The slideshow is then intercut with a black and white clip of Jay-Z, wearing a Yankees cap and a vest with no sleeves, performing the song on a street in front of apartment buildings.

Then the video begins to rotate from images of New York being shown briefly, to clips of Jay-Z singing "Empire State of Mind" in several locations with different outfits.

The video ends with color vision of the duo performing at night on the red glass steps forming the roof of the TKTS pavilion in Times Square.

[81] "Empire State of Mind" was first performed at Jay-Z's "Answer the Call" benefit concert in Madison Square Garden on September 11, 2009,[82] where it was the opening song.

During the MTV VMA performance images of locations in New York, such as the Empire State Building and the Apollo Theatre, were shown on an overhead screen behind Jay-Z and Keys.

[86] Lil' Mama said she did not mean to disrespect either performer but the song had her "emotions running high", adding that "in that moment I came up onstage to celebrate my two icons singing about NY.

[90][91] The two musicians performed the song on a custom-made stage adorned with Yankees flags,[90] while images of New York City flashed across several large screens throughout the stadium.

[91] Jayson Rodriguez of MTV News wrote of the performance, "If the Yankees were looking to change their tune heading into Game 2 of the World Series, they couldn't have picked better musical guests.

[11][12] On November 5, 2009, Jay-Z and Keys sang "Empire State of Mind" at the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMA) in Berlin, Germany, while performing in front of a New York cityscape.

[103] Rodriguez of MTV News said that Bridget Kelly, who sang Keys' part, "turned more than a few heads" because the outfit she was wearing was "tighter than her boss' rhyme".

[108] The track, entitled "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down", appeared on Keys' fourth studio album The Element of Freedom which was released in December 2009.

[120] Comedy website CollegeHumor parodied the song in a video titled "Galactic Empire State of Mind" which re-writes the lyrics to follow the events of the first three Star Wars films from the perspective of Darth Vader.

"Newport (Ymerodraeth State of Mind)" was directed by British filmmaker MJ Delaney and featured London-based actors Alex Warren and Terema Wainwright, rapping and singing respectively.

[124] In July both Warren and Wainwright met with Universal Records (the music publishers)[125] to discuss releasing the track as a single, with some of the proceeds going to the mental health charity Newport Mind.

But the seven co-writers of "Empire State of Mind" refused to give permission for the Newport single, a situation which led to the video being removed from YouTube on August 10.

[127] Aly Semigran, also writing for the same publication, thought the cast's performance was lacking the gravitas of the original version, but reported that Keys had deemed the Glee cover "amazing".

[129] Music critic Tom Stack, of Entertainment Weekly, had a more positive assessment of Glee's take on it in the episode, stating that from the wardrobe to the choreography, it was "spectacular" and elating.

[131] Glee's cover version was released as a single and debuted at number twenty-one on the Billboard Hot 100, taking the title for biggest jump of that week.

[133] In 2010, American alternative dance band LCD Soundsystem played "Empire State of Mind" in concert, performing a verse of the song as a duet between James Murphy and keyboardist Nancy Whang.