"Gotham City" is a song by American R&B singer R. Kelly based on the fictional city of the same name. It was featured on the soundtrack to the film '' Batman & Robin'', and it reached number nine on both the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and Hot R&B Singles charts. In Europe, the song peaked within the top 10 in Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, and within the top 20 in Iceland, Ireland and Scotland. The

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

for the song was directed by

Hype Williams Harold "Hype" Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video and film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adelphi Univ ...

. A remix version for the song was released featuring rapper Strings with a video also directed by Williams.

Critical reception

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 musi ...

from ''

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 advertis ...

'' complimented the singer for "his spiritual side, infusing this atmospheric acoustic

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

with uplifting lyrics and a choral climax". He noted that "the whole tone and musical texture of this single are markedly different from anything that Kelly has previously recorded. It's a refreshing change that leaves you anticipating the direction he will take on his next album". 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 m ...

'' declared it "a very well-crafted ballad". Programmer Vranz van Maaren at the Netherlands' leading station, AC outlet Sky 100.7 FM, commented: "In general I am not that R&B-minded but when I first saw the clip I was just blown away and when I contacted the record company ( Zomba) they handed me a copy as soon as possible, because they were afraid that I'd change my mind if I found out it was R. Kelly". He also added: "The song is far less R&B than many of his previous efforts, and shows that he's able to broaden his potential audience a great deal without alienating his traditional fan base". 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 We ...

'' described it as "a pretty, semi-acoustic ballad not a million miles away from some of the stuff Babyface does. It has a rousing chorus on which Kelly is aided and abetted by the soulful interjections of the Chi-Towne Gospel Machine and Tyrone's Kids. Another smash."

Music video

was produced to promote the single, directed by American director

. It features Kelly driving his motorcycle around New York City. He also passes

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

. Kelly also drives the

Batmobile The Batmobile is the fictional land vehicle driven by the superhero Batman, used both to patrol Gotham City looking for crime and to engage in car chases or vehicular combat with the city's criminal underworld. The Batmobile is one of a suite o ...

. Singer Sparkle is featured in video as a dancer. Williams also directed the music video for the remix of the song.

Track listings

* "Gotham City" # "Gotham City" (LP version) # "Thank God It's Friday" # "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)" (radio version) # "Gotham City" (acapella and music) * "Gotham City" remix # "Gotham City" (LP version) # "Gotham City" (remix) # "Gotham City" (acapella and music) # "Gotham City" (instrumental) # "Gotham City" (remix instrumental)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1997 singles Batman music Batman (1989 film series) music Music videos directed by Hype Williams R. Kelly songs Pop ballads Contemporary R&B ballads Songs written by R. Kelly Song recordings produced by R. Kelly 1997 songs Jive Records singles 1990s ballads