Cobra Starship

Cobra Starship began as an emo side project launched by former Midtown frontman Gabe Saporta in 2005, yet it rapidly expanded into a complete vehicle for his hook-driven fusion of pop, hip-hop, and dance-rock. The New York group first captured widespread attention in 2006 through the irreverent single “Snakes on a Plane (Bring It),” which doubled as the theme for the horror-action film starring Samuel L. Jackson and served as the lead track on the band’s Fueled by Ramen debut, While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets. That October release climbed to number seven on Billboard’s Independent Albums chart, after which Saporta and an expanding lineup joined Gym Class Heroes on tour.

The following year brought the Patrick Stump-produced sophomore album ¡Viva la Cobra!, where Saporta welcomed contributions from Travis McCoy and the Philadelphia trio V.I.P. while leaning further into synthy dance-pop, hip-hop, and emo-rock textures; the record peaked at number 80 on the Billboard 200 and number 19 on the Top Modern Rock Albums chart. Momentum built again with the 2009 release Hot Mess, whose club-oriented single “Good Girls Gone Bad”—co-written by Kara DioGuardi and performed with Gossip Girl actress Leighton Meester—reached the Top 40 and propelled the album to number four on the Billboard 200, prompting the band’s first European headline dates and a co-headlining run with 3OH!3.

Night Shades, issued in 2011, featured additional production and songwriting input from DioGuardi, Ryan Tedder, and Steve Mac among others, and yielded the Top Ten hit “You Make Me Feel...” featuring Sabi while debuting at number 50 on the Billboard 200. A previously unreleased track, “Never Been in Love,” surfaced in late summer 2014 with vocals from Icona Pop and a piano sample drawn from Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You.” The group disbanded the next year, after which Saporta stepped away from performing to pursue artist management.

In late 2021 the band resurfaced with two previously unheard singles, “Beautiful Life” and “Party with You,” issued as part of Fueled by Ramen’s 25th-anniversary campaign and later included on an expanded reissue of Hot Mess.