Never Leave You

Recorded in New York by Lumidee Cedeno, a teenager from Spanish Harlem, the track was produced by Tedsmooth and emerged from the mixtape circuit before attracting label interest, eventually being signed to Universal Records for official release in 2003. Released in 2003 on Universal Records, 'Never Leave You' became a surprise crossover hit, reaching number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one in the United Kingdom, where it spent three weeks at the top; the track's spare, percussion-driven production and Lumidee's unpolished vocal delivery were widely noted as a refreshing contrast to the heavily produced R&B of the period. The track remains a recognisable early 2000s pop-R&B artefact and a notable example of a street-level New York recording breaking through to global chart success; its UK number-one run in particular gave it lasting recognition in British pop culture, and it has been sampled and referenced across subsequent decades.