Regina Spektor has been part of New York City’s musical fabric since she first began to make a name for herself in the ’00s with her uniquely baroque piano pop.
But in more recent times, the USSR-born, Bronx-raised Spektor (who plays Radio City Music Hall on Saturday in support of her excellent new album “Remember Us to Life”) has seen her work seep into the wider worlds of theater, TV and even hip-hop.
“It’s great when other people making art are into what you do,” she tells The Post. “It feels like you’re part of an ecosystem, even if I don’t know them personally.”
Here’s how Spektor, 37, has become a key reference point in American pop culture.
“Hamilton”
Spektor was recently included in “The Hamilton Mixtape” (singing the tender “Dear Theodosia” with Ben Folds), after creator Lin-Manuel Miranda reached out and explained his long-held admiration. “After I saw ‘Hamilton’ at the Public and tweeted about it, Lin messaged me straight away,” says Spektor. “He said he’d been listening to my music for a long time and was putting my songs into mixtapes he made for people when he was younger.”
Chance the Rapper
The Chicago emcee recently won the Grammy for Best Rap Album for his 2016 effort “Coloring Book,” which Spektor should have been on. “He sent me a version of the song ‘Same Drugs’ which sounded finished to me. I tried to put myself in it, but I think he was attached to the version he had, so he chose that.” Just a few weeks after release, Chance tweeted that not using Spektor’s version may have been his “biggest mistake.”
“Orange is the New Black”
In 2013, Spektor was approached to write the Netflix show’s theme — the result was “You’ve Got Time.” “I remember always being really excited when each episode was delivered to me,” she says. “I couldn’t wait to watch more and more. But I can never tell if something’s going to be successful. I’m still in shock that ‘Freaks and Geeks’ only had one season!”