"Runaway" is a song by

Nuyorican Soul Nuyorican Soul is an American music group from New York City, New York. It was formed by Little Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez. In 1996, the group released " Runaway". The single reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs cha ...

, a project by the

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

production and

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

team of "Little" Louie Vega and

Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez (born July 5, 1970), also sometimes known as K-Dope, is an American record producer and disc jockey. He is one half of the classic house music Masters at Work musical production team with Little Louie Vega; and also release ...

. It features Puerto Rican singer and songwriter

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and was released in 1996 as the first and lead single from their debut album, ''

'' (1997). The song is a cover of

The Salsoul Orchestra The Salsoul Orchestra was the backing Band (music), band of session musicians for many acts on the New York City label Salsoul Records and, under its own name, recorded several hit singles and albums between 1975 and 1982. History The orchestr ...

's recording "Run Away", featuring American singer

Loleatta Holloway Loleatta Holloway (, ; November 5, 1946 – March 21, 2011) was an American singer known for disco songs such as "Hit and Run" and "Love Sensation". In December 2016, ''Billboard'' named her the 95th most successful dance artist of all time. Acco ...

from 1977. The new version was very successful in clubs and reached number-one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart in the US. In Europe, it peaked at number 24 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, but was even more successful on the

UK Dance Chart The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synthpop) in record ...

, where it hit number-one. Additionally, it was a top 30 hit in Iceland, and a top 40 hit in Germany. On the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

, the song reached number 75 in February 1997.

Critical reception

Scottish ''

Aberdeen Press and Journal ''The Press and Journal'' is a daily regional newspaper serving northern and highland Scotland including the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness. Established in 1747, it is Scotland's oldest daily newspaper, and one of the longest-running newspap ...

'' complimented the song as "sensational". Barry Walters for ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States *''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...

'' commented, "This retro-

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

interpretation is so joyously reverent, it feels utterly contemporary. The song features refreshingly live strings conducted by the original

Salsoul Salsoul Records is an American New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre (the Cayre brothers). Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco/post-disco 12-inch releases, ...

architect,

Vince Montana Vincent Montana Jr. (February 12, 1928 – April 13, 2013), known as Vince Montana, was an American composer, arranger, vibraphonist, and percussionist. He is best known as a member of MFSB and as the founder of the Salsoul Orchestra. He has b ...

, as well as an appropriately unfettered (and bilingual) vocal by the Latin siren

, the only vocalist to be revered in

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

, and

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

circles." In an retrospective review, Patrick Corcoran from Albumism remarked that it "once again marries the carefree

sound of the original with a respectful updating of production values." Daryl Easlea for

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

wrote that taking the Salsoul Orchestra's "Runaway" "again reflected the past projected into the future." He added, "A full hands-in the-air anthem, it brought a stately majesty to the original."

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

'' stated that "as clubland continues to salivate for the onset of the full-length debut from Nuyorican Soul, the act offers this wonderfully faithful rendition of the Loleatta Holloway disco classic with fierce

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

diva India in the vocal seat." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' declared it as "a perfect drivetime record, with

and

Louie Vega Luis Ferdinand Vega Jr. (born June 12, 1965), as known as "Little Louie" Vega, is an American DJ, record producer and Grammy Award winner remixer of Puerto Rican ancestry. He is one half of the Masters at Work musical production team. Biograph ...

packing in every gramme of sunshine they've soaked up during years of fusing latino beats and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

club vibes. Soaring vocals from salsa diva India make this the most accessible track from their self titled album..." Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' wrote, "The new version is pleasingly retro, with India replicating Holloway's role with distinction. Radio is already on this one, too, and a hit is the only possible outcome." A reviewer from ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People ...

'' noted that the current "queen of salsa", India, "tears into" the disco standard. Judson Kilpatrick from ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'' deemed it an "soaring remake". David Sinclair from ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' viewed it as a "buoyant" debut.

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Runaway" takes place in a cramped apartment where there is a house party.

performs the song amidst the crowd of dancing people. Occasionally, the story of three different women are being told; one comes home and finds her boyfriend with another woman. The second woman is tired of cleaning up after her lazy boyfriend, and the third one has had enough of her boyfriend playing nights with the guys. Towards the end while India sings, all three women are packing their cases and running away from their boyfriends.

Impact and legacy

American singer

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

once told

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that her inspiration to write her 1997 hit " Together Again" came from "Runaway" by

, as the song reminded her of being in

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and a former disco nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Studio 54 has 1,006 seats on two levels. The theater was ...

in New York when she was a child. It gave Jackson a kind of New York feel of

and she wanted to do something like this. ''

DJ Magazine ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lat ...

'' ranked the song at number 51 in their list of "Top 100 Club Tunes" in 1998. ''Disc Over Music'' main man and UK mainstay Tim Green said that "Runaway" was the first song he remember hearing, and liking, that could be classified as dance music.

Track listing

* 12", UK (1997) :A1. "Runaway" (Original Flava 12") – 9:55 :A2. "Runaway" (Philly Beats) – 2:38 :B1. "Runaway" (Mongoloids in Space) – 11:35 :B2. "Runaway" (Don't Sample This) (Accapella) – 3:43 * 2 x Vinyl, 12", US (1997) :A1. "Runaway" (Original Flava 12" Mix) – 9:55 :A2. "Runaway" (Philly Beats) – 2:38 :B. "Runaway" (Mongoloids in Space) – 11:35 :C1. "Runaway" (

Mousse T Mustafa Gundogdu ( tr, Mustafa Gündoğdu ; born 2 October 1966), best known under his stage name Mousse T., is a German-Turkish DJ, record producer, film composer and judge on season 15 of ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'', the German versi ...

's Jazz Funk Experience) – 8:19 :C2. "Runaway" (Mousse T's Soul Dub) – 5:46 :D1. "Runaway" (Ronnie's Guitar Instrumental) – 9:24 :D2. "Runaway" (India's Ambient Dream) – 2:51 :D3. "Runaway" (Don't Sample This!) (A Cappella) – 3:43 * CD single, UK (1996) #"Runaway" – 4:14 #"Runaway" (Original Flava 12") – 9:57 #"Runaway" ( Armand Van Helden Remix) – 10:36 * CD maxi, US (1997) #"Runaway" (Radio Edit) – 4:19 #"Runaway" (Original Flava 12") – 12:30 #"Runaway" (Mongoloids in Space) – 11:35 #"Runaway" (Mousse T's Jazz Funk Experience) – 8:19 #"Runaway" (Radio Edit with Spanish) – 4:18 #"Runaway" (Spanish Underground Mix) – 7:50

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions, samples and remixes

American DJ Armand van Helden and German DJ

Mousse T. Mustafa Gundogdu ( tr, Mustafa Gündoğdu ; born 2 October 1966), best known under his stage name Mousse T., is a German-Turkish DJ, record producer, film composer and judge on season 15 of '' Deutschland sucht den Superstar'', the German vers ...

made remixes of "Runaway". The van Helden remix became a

speed garage Speed garage (occasionally known as plus-8) is a genre of electronic dance music, associated with the UK garage scene, of which it is regarded as one of its subgenres. Characteristics Speed garage features sped-up NY garage 4-to-the-floor rhyt ...

club hit. British singer-songwriter

Nate James Nathaniel James Speas, known as Nate James, (born 15 September 1979 in Lakenheath, Suffolk, England) is an English singer-songwriter. James released his debut soul album '' Set the Tone'' in 2005 which won him two MOBO Nominations for Best Newc ...

covered "Runaway" on his 2009 album, ''Revival''. A Hundred Birds covered "Runaway" in 2016.

References

{{La India 1996 songs 1996 singles Electronic songs American house music songs House music songs Talkin' Loud singles