"Runaway" is a 1996 song by Nuyorican Soul, a project by the house-garage production and remix team of "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez. It features Puerto Ricansinger and songwriterIndia and was released as the first and lead single from their album, Nuyorican Soul. The song is a cover of The Salsoul Orchestra's recording "Run Away", featuring American singer Loleatta Holloway from 1977. The new version was very successful in clubs and reached number-one on the BillboardHot Dance Club Play chart in the US. In Europe, "Runaway" peaked at number 24 in the UK and Iceland, and at number 39 in Germany. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the song reached number 75 in February 1997. American singer Janet Jackson once told MTV News that her inspiration to write her 1997 hit "Together Again" came from "Runaway" by Nuyorican Soul, as the song reminded her of being in Studio 54 in New York when she was a child. "Runaway" gave Jackson a kind of New York feel of disco and she wanted to do something like this.
Critical reception
The song received positive reviews from most music critics. Aberdeen Press and Journal called it "sensational". Daryl Easlea for BBC wrote that "taking the Salsoul Orchestra's Runaway – first sung by Loleatta Holloway, but here by India – again reflected the past projected into the future. A full hands-in the-air anthem, it brought a stately majesty to the original." Larry Flick from Billboard noted 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/dance diva India in the vocal seat." Music & Media said that the track "is a perfect drivetime record, with Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez and Louie Vega packing in every gramme of sunshine they've soaked up during years of fusing latino beats and New York club vibes. Soaring vocals from salsa diva India make this the most accessible track from their self titled album..." People commented that the current queen of salsa, India, "tears into the disco standard "Runaway"." Vibe called it a "soaring remake" in their review of the Nuyorican Soul album.
Music video
The music video for "Runaway" takes place in a cramped apartment where there is a house party. India 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
DJ Magazine 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
Charts
Weekly charts
Cover versions, samples and remixes
American DJ Armand Van Helden and German DJ Mousse T. has made remixes of "Runaway". The Armand Van Helden Remix Became a Speed Garage club hit. British singer-songwriter Nate James covered "Runaway" on his 2009 album Revival. A Hundred Birds covered "Runaway" in 2016.
