Some songs are written over months in carefully planned studio sessions. But R&B singer-songwriter Mary Ann Alexander’s latest single, NYC, released on July 10, was born in seven minutes on a park bench. She had travelled to New York for the first time with no intention of writing a song. Instead, she did what she always does in a new city – wander its streets in search of a park. But Washington Square Park, buzzing with musicians, dancers, artistes, and strangers from every corner of the world, became the backdrop for an impromptu performance.
“I came across a sign that said ‘Rap On The Beat.’ There was a producer sitting there with a microphone and a laptop, inviting people to freestyle. So I went up to him and asked, ‘Can I sing instead?’,” she recalls. She also remembers being captivated by the atmosphere, “There were musicians, dancers, artistes, old people, young people and babies. It felt so alive. I was honestly just messing around and having fun. I had no idea that a random moment in a park would end up going viral and eventually become a song I’d release.”
The clip quickly found an audience online, resonating with millions and earning praise from one of Alexander’s biggest musical inspirations, SZA. “Her album, Ctrl, was such a huge part of my teenage years. I honestly can’t describe how much that body of work shaped my emotional landscape,” Alexander says, adding, “She was one of the first artistes I looked up to who acknowledged my music when The Lovey Dovey Song started going viral. So this was a bit of a full-circle moment.”
The song also took on meaning that Alexander hadn’t anticipated, with people who watched the original NYC video on Instagram telling her that they related to it as immigrants. She shares, “Many connected with that feeling of being overwhelmed, but also excited, inspired and at the same time, feeling so small in a city where it feels like anything is possible,” remembers Alexander.
That sense of wonder makes the song stand apart from the other songs in her debut EP, Love or a Lesson, released recently. “The EP is much more like a diary, it’s very introspective. It explores different chapters of love and relationships, whether that’s heartbreak, self-worth or growth. It’s about looking inward. But NYC feels more outward-looking. It’s about curiosity, adventure and allowing yourself to be inspired by the world around you,” Alexander notes.
Recreating the performance in a studio came with its own challenge, though, as Alexander wanted listeners to experience the same unfiltered joy memorable in the original clip. “There’s a charm to that moment so when I made the studio version, I really tried not to overthink it and imagined I was sitting at that table again,” she shares.
Alexander’s growing international stature has included performing on DJ AG’s live sessions and receiving appreciation from artistes such as Craig David and Anderson .Paak. Performing across continents has also changed how she views the possibilities available to independent musicians, saying, “It reminded me how small the world has become for independent artistes – you just need something genuine to say.”
Most listeners may not know, but her musical roots begin with her father, Alex Kayyalakkal, a Malayalam playback singer. Despite this, music was never presented as the obvious career path. “The arts brought all of us so much joy so everyone preferred that it stayed that way instead of becoming a profession. But being surrounded by music from such a young age made it feel like a language I naturally understood,” reflects Alexander
Much of her artistic journey afterwards, has unfolded in Bengaluru, with Alexander noting that the city has given her community. “It’s one of the few cities where independent musicians, producers, filmmakers and creatives constantly cross paths and collaborate. My biggest creative breakthroughs happened here. It’s a city that genuinely encourages experimentation.”
As Indian R&B continues to find its footing globally, Alexander hopes the conversation evolves beyond nationality. “I hope I can be part of proving that Indian artistes don’t have to choose between being local and being global,” she says, adding, “I don’t label my music as ‘Indian R&B’. It’s just R&B. I’m just Indian. I hope we get to a point where that’s not even a conversation anymore.”