Jay-Z's 'Empire State of Mind' has been around for about three months, but now it's going head-to-head with Frank Sinatra's three decade-old 'New York, New York' in a poll for the unofficial theme song of New York City. The vote, spearheaded by Madison Square Garden, takes place after a back-to-back re-airing of Hov's 'Answer the Call' from last Sept. 11 and 'Frank Sinatra: The Main Event' -- both classic MSG concerts. Of course, this all goes down on the MSG Network on Dec. 4, which is also Jay's birthday.
The whole idea seems kind of fixed for Hov, but it's actually a hard decision. Sinatra was the King of New York in an era where there were tons of contenders for the crown. Compare that with Jay-Z. If he wasn't the King of New York, who would it be? Mayor Bloomberg? Some Wall Street executive? 50 Cent? Those people aren't nearly as big.
If you go on a song-by-song comparison, it's still a tough choice. Sinatra didn't write 'New York, New York.' In fact, it was sung first by Liza Minnelli and adopted by Frank later in his life when he was veering pretty close to becoming a washed-up embarrassment. The rendition revived his career and has become a big anthem for NYC over the last few decades. For Jay-Z, 'Empire State of Mind' is his first Number One single and has been an unavoidable track since its release on Sept. 8. More than calling himself the "new Sinatra," the song scored the Yankees' 27th World Series title and has been performed in multiple high profile television appearances.
So, Jay or Frank? The vote is yours starting after the concerts that air on the MSG Network on Dec. 4. Somewhere Billy Joel is crying.
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