Popular singer Noah Kahan can’t quite get his lyrics for “Upper West Side” right

By Gus Saltonstall

“We can’t pay the rent, so we’re hanging out on the Upper West Side, oh my God, can you imagine?”

A trained eye on site will immediately spot the error.

Although it’s an understandable mistake, Upper West Side residents know that it’s always “on the Upper West Side” and not “in the Upper West Side.” For many New Yorkers, the “on” vs. “in” rule also applies when talking about the Upper East Side and Long Island, etc.

Kahan is a hugely popular singer, and the song “Forever,” which features the line, has been streamed over 78 million times on Spotify. That’s 78 million people listening “on the Upper West Side.”

Helen Elizabeth pointed out the error on the social media platform X on Sunday.

“ON the Upper West Side,” she wrote. “It should be ON the Upper West Side.”

Another user quickly responded: “Everyone is talking about this guy so I decided to listen to this song and scratch this line on a chalkboard with my fingernails, other than that he has a beautiful voice!”

“My brain just can’t say anything other than ‘on the Upper West Side,'” Elizabeth added.

You can listen to the full song below.

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