"Stars"
Single by Switchfoot
from the album Nothing Is Sound
ReleasedJuly 5, 2005
GenreAlternative rock, post-grunge, hard rock
Length3:59 (Radio Edit)
4:20 (Album Version)
4:09 (Acoustic)
LabelSony BMG
Songwriter(s)Jon Foreman
Producer(s)John Fields
Switchfoot singles chronology
"This is Your Life"
(2004)		 "Stars"
(2005)		 "We Are One Tonight"
(2006)

"Stars" is the first single released from American rock band Switchfoot's fifth album Nothing Is Sound. "Stars" was released to radio on June 28, 2005, and again on July 5.[1] It was the most-added song on Modern Rock Radio in its first week of release[2] and peaked at number sixteen on the US Modern Rock chart. The song was certified gold as a digital single on December 13, 2005.[3] It is the band's third most successful song, behind previous hits "Meant to Live" and "Dare You to Move". On iTunes, an acoustic mix of the track is available.

Lyrical themes

In an August 2011 interview with Songfacts, lead singer Jon Foreman explained the inspiration for "Stars":

I'm always looking to find order within the chaos. And sometimes when my life gets fairly chaotic, I'll take a walk outside. And in this one particular instance, I remember I'd driven off into the desert and was looking up at the stars. I had a pretty good view away from the city lights out in the high desert, and I remember thinking about the order and the perfection of galaxies of planets in orbit and traveling around space and thinking how chaotic the wars and divorces and riots on our planet must look from outer space. So that's where the song began.[4]

In another interview, Foreman said that "Stars" is about perspective, a song about stepping back in the midst of chaos and looking at the stars; the idea of anti-entropy, implying there must be something keeping the world together. "The first verse looks at things from Descartes perspective, pinning the center of the universe on the individual. 'Maybe I've been the problem,' maybe I'm overcast, falling apart, etc... The second verse talks about our world from the perspective of the stars looking down on earth from the eternal dance of gravity and motion."[5]

The song is a fan favorite for its introspective lyrics and reverberant, aggressive sound.

Music videos

The music video for this song was filmed at Universal Studios, mostly underwater.[6] The video features the band playing in an outdoor setting, but as the video progresses, they can be seen "floating" in a watery environment. At the apex of the song, right before the bridge of the song, this environment bursts, and the band plays in the rain until the end of the video.[7]

The video was directed by Scott Speer and produced by Coleen Haynes.

A music video based on a shortened version of this song was used for American Idol, in partnership with Ford, in a Mustang commercial.

Track listings

UK CD single
  1. Stars (Album Version)
  2. Stars (Acoustic Version)
  3. Dare You To Move (Acoustic Version)
  4. Stars (Video)

Charts

Chart (2005) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[8] 43
US Billboard Hot 100[9] 68
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[10] 15
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[11] 16
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[12] 39
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[13] 37

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[14] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Awards

In 2006, the song won a Dove Award for Short Form Music Video of the Year at the 37th GMA Dove Awards. It was also nominated for Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "FMQB Airplay Archive: Modern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  2. ↑ Switchfoot - Nothing Is Sound
  3. ↑ RIAA Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - Switchfoot singles Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "Jon Foreman of Switchfoot: Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  5. ↑ Originally posted as 12 Days of Switchfoot at switchfoot.com Archived 2007-07-24 at the Wayback Machine (published September 2, 2005 - retrieved January 12, 2007) partial text still available at brokenmasterpieces.com (retrieved June 17, 2008)
  6. ↑ Switchfoot Look Like California Raisins After Video Shoot - MTV published August 4, 2005 (retrieved January 12, 2007)
  7. ↑ Switchfoot - Stars
  8. ↑ "Switchfoot – Stars". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Switchfoot Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Switchfoot Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Switchfoot Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Switchfoot Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Switchfoot Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  14. ↑ "American single certifications – Switchfoot – Stars". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  15. ↑ 37th Annual GMA Dove Awards Nominations & Winners Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine on About.com; Jones, Kim
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