Empire State of Mind

Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys is featured in Audition, the first episode of Season Two. It is sung by the New Directions in an attempt to recruit new members, after Matt transferred, as well as learning that Nationals will be held in New York.

Their intent is to tell the school that they can sing popular songs, and not just older songs and show tunes. However, only future New Directions member Sam, and Sunshine seem to acknowledge them – by singing along in Sunshine's case, and by gazing curiously and tapping his foot in Sam's case.

Santana leads the chorus along with Rachel.

Lyrics

Artie:
Yeah, yeah
Now I'm up at Brooklyn
Now I'm down in Tribeca
Right next to DeNiro
But I’ll be hood forever
I’m the new Sinatra
And since I made it here
I can make it anywhere
Yeah they love me everywhere

Finn:
I used to cop in Harlem
All of my Dominicanos
Right there up on Broadway
Brought me back to that McDonald's
Took it to my stash box
Five Sixty State street
Catch me in the kitchen
Like a Simmons with them pastries

Puck:
Cruising down 8th street
Off white Lexus
Driving so slow but BK is from Texas
Me I’m up at Bed-Stuy
Home of that boy Biggie
Now I live on Billboard
And I brought my boys with me
Say what up to Ty Ty
Still sipping Mai Tai's
Sitting courtside
Knicks and Nets give me high fives
Jigga, I be spiked out (Santana: Come on)
I can trip a referee (Santana: Come on)
Tell by my attitude (Santana: Come on)
That I most definitely from

Rachel and Santana with New Directions (Puck):
New York (Hey, aha)
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of (Yeah)
There's nothing you can’t do (Yeah)
Now you’re in New York (Rachel: You're in New York) (Aha aha aha)
These streets will make you feel brand new (Rachel: You feel brand new) (New)
Big lights will inspire you (Rachel: Inspire you) ( Come on)
Let's hear it for New York (Your welcome old G)
New York, New York (I hold you high, sugar)

Finn (Mercedes):
Catch me at the X
With OG at a Yankee game (Whoa, whoa)
Dude I made a Yankee hat
More famous than a Yankee can
You should know I bleed Blue (Whoa, whoa)
But I aint a crip tho
But I got a gang of brothers
Walking with my clique though
Welcome to the Melting Pot (Whoa, whoa)
Corners where we selling rocks
Africa bambaataa
Home of the hip hop
Yellow cap, gypsy cap
Dollar cab, holla back
For foreigners, it ain't for they act
Like they forgot how to act

Puck (Mercedes):
Eight million stories
Out there in it naked (Whoa, whoa)
The city is a pity
Half o' y’all won’t make it
Me (Whoa, whoa) I gotta plug Special Ed
"I Got It Made"
If Jesus payin' LeBron
I’m payin' Dwayne Wade
Three-dice Cee-Lo (Whoa, whoa)
Three-card Marley
Labor Day Parade
Rest in peace, Bob Marley
Statue of Liberty (Whoa, whoa) (New Directions: Come on)
Long live the World trade (New Directions: Come on! Yeah, eh)
Long live the kingdom (New Directions: Come on! Yeah, eh)
I’m from the empire state that's

Santana with New Directions:
New York (Rachel: New york!) (Puck: Hey) (Santana: Huh, yeah)
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can’t do (Puck: That you can't do) (Mercedes: You can't do, oh)
Now you’re in New York (Rachel: You're in New York) (Santana: Huh, yeah) (Puck: Welcome to the bright lights baby)
These streets will make (and Rachel: you feel brand new) (Mercedes: Brand new, baby)
Big lights will (and Rachel: inspire you) (Mercedes: Oh)
Let's hear it for New York (Santana: Uh, huh)
New York (Santana: Yeah)
New York (Santana: Uh, huh) (Rachel: Yeah, hey)

Artie (Mercedes):
Lights is blinding
Girls need blinders (Whoa, whoa)
So they can step out of bounds quick
The side lines is
Lined with casualties (Whoa, whoa)
Who sipping life casually
Then gradually become worse (Uh, huh)
Don’t bite the apple Eve
Caught up in the in crowd
Now your in-style
End in the winter gets cold
En Vogue with your skin out (Whoa, hoo)
The city of sin is a pity on a whim
Good girls gone bad
The city's filled with them

Finn (Mercedes):
Mommy took a bus trip
And now she got her bust out (Hoo, hoo)
Everybody ride her
Just like a bus route
Hail Mary to the city your a virgin
And (Oh, oh, oh) Jesus can’t save you life starts when the church ends (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
Came here for school
Graduated to the high life
Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight (Oh, whoa)
Dub MHS (New Directions: Come on) (Whoa, whoa) (New Directions: Yeah, eh)
Got you feeling like a champion (New Directions: Come on) (Oh, whoa)
The city never sleeps (New Directions: Come on) better slip you an Ambien (New Directions: Yeah, eh)

Santana with New Directions (Mercedes):
New York (Rachel: New York!) (Finn: Huh, huh) (Santana: Yeah, yeah)
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of (Rachel: Are made of!)
There's nothing you can’t do (Nothing you can’t do) (New Directions: You can’t do)
Now you’re in New York (Rachel: You're in New York) (Yeah, yeah, eh) (Santana: Huh, huh, yeah)
These streets will make you feel brand new (Rachel: You feel brand new) ( New) (New Directions: You feel brand new)
Big lights will inspire you (Rachel: Inspire you) (You) (New Directions: Inspire you)
Let's hear it for New York (Santana: Huh, huh)
New York (Santana: Yeah) (New York)
New York (Santana: Huh, huh) (Rachel: Yeah, hey)

Mercedes with New Directions Girls:
One hand in the air for the big city
Street lights, big dreams all looking pretty
No place in the world that could compare
Put your lighters in the air

Finn and Mercedes with New Directions:
Everybody say yeah (Santana: Come on), yeah (Santana: Come on)
Yeah, (Santana: Come on) yeah!

Rachel and Santana with New Directions (Mercedes):
New York (New York) (New Directions: New York) (Santana: Yeah, yeah)
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of (Jungle, yeah, yeah)
There's nothing you can’t do (New Directions: You can’t do)
Now you’re in New York (New York, New York) (Artie: New York) (Santana: Yeah)
These streets will make you feel brand new (Brand new) (New Directions: Brand new)
Big lights will inspire you (Inspire you) (New Directions: Inspire you)
Let's hear it for New York (New York) (Santana: Huh)
New York (New York) (Santana: Yeah)
New York (New York, yo whoa) (Santana: Huh, uh)

Trivia

This is the first group number of Season Two.
Blake Jenner, Melissa Benoist, and Kevin McHale sang this at the American Australian Association last 2012. Source