"City of Stars" is a song performed by

Ryan Gosling Ryan Thomas Gosling (born November 12, 1980) is a Canadian actor. Prominent in independent film, he has also worked in blockbuster films of varying genres, and has accrued a worldwide box office gross of over 1.9 billion USD. He has receive ...

and

Emma Stone Emily Jean Stone (born November 6, 1988), known professionally as Emma Stone, is an American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award. In 2017, she ...

in the film ''

La La Land ''La La Land'' is a 2016 American romantic musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress, respectively, who meet and fall in love ...

'' (2016). The music of the song was composed by

Justin Hurwitz Justin Gabriel Hurwitz (born January 22, 1985) is an American film composer and a television writer. He is best known for his longtime collaboration with director Damien Chazelle, scoring each of his films: '' Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench'' ...

while the lyrics were provided by

Benj Pasek Benj Pasek (born June 6, 1985) is an American theater and television composer and lyricist best known for his works '' The Greatest Showman'', ''La La Land'' and ''Dear Evan Hansen'', all of which he co-wrote with his songwriting partner, Just ...

and

Justin Paul Justin Paul (born January 3, 1985) is an American theater and television composer and lyricist best known for his works ''The Greatest Showman'', ''La La Land'' and ''Dear Evan Hansen'', all of which he co-wrote with his songwriting partner, Ben ...

. The song won numerous awards, including the award for Best Original Song at both the

74th Golden Globe Awards The 74th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2016, was broadcast live on January 8, 2017 from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m. EST by NBC. T ...

and 89th Academy Awards.

Context

In the film, the song is first sung by Gosling alone as the character of Sebastian as he sings and dances on the

Hermosa Beach Pier The Hermosa Beach pier is located in the Southern California community of Hermosa Beach. It extends into the Pacific Ocean. In 1904 the first pier was built. It was constructed entirely of wood even to the pilings and it extended five hundred ...

. Later in the film, it is reprised by Sebastian and Mia (Stone) during a montage of him getting ready to tour with Keith's (

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

) band, as well as Mia quitting her job at a coffee shop and renting out a theater for her one-woman play.

Inspiration

, the composer of the song, discussed the writing of the song:

In popular culture

Cover versions

* On ''

The Voice of Greece ''The Voice of Greece'' is a Greek television talent show created by John de Mol and based on the concept ''The Voice of Holland''. It is part of an international series. It began airing on ANT1 on January 10, 2014, and the final of second seaso ...

'', Stefanos Vezirgianopoulos & Kiriaki Sahinidou covered this song on the third Battle episode of the show on 14 November 2018. * On ''

The Voice UK ''The Voice UK'' is a British singing competition television series. Created by John de Mol, it premiered on BBC One during the spring television cycle on 24 March 2012. Based on the original '' The Voice of Holland'', and part of ''The Voice ...

'', Shane McCormack covered this song on the second Knockout Show on 24 March 2018. * On ''

The X Factor UK ''The X Factor'' is a British reality television music competition, created by Simon Cowell. Premiering on 4 September 2004, it was produced by Fremantle's Thames and Cowell's production company Syco Entertainment for ITV, as well as simulca ...

'', Lloyd Macey covered this song on the first Live Show on 28 October 2017. *

Sheridan Smith Sheridan Caroline Sian Smith OBE (born 25 June 1981) is an English actress, singer and television personality. Smith came to prominence after playing a variety of characters on sitcoms such as ''The Royle Family'' (1999–2000), ''Two Pints of ...

covered this song on her debut album ''

Sheridan Sheridan may refer to: People Surname *Sheridan (surname) *Philip Sheridan (1831–1888), U.S. Army general after whom the Sheridan tank is named *Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816), Irish playwright (''The Rivals''), poet and politician ...

''. * Anton du Beke and

Connie Fisher Connie Fisher (born 17 June 1983) is a British actress, singer and TV presenter, who won the BBC One talent contest, '' How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?'' On 15 November 2006, she opened to excellent reviews in the part of Maria von Trapp ...

covered this song on Anton's debut album ''From the Top''. * Gavin James covered this song and released it as a single. * South Korean singer

Hwasa Ahn Hye-jin (, born July 23, 1995), known professionally by her stage name Hwasa (), is a South Korean singer, rapper, and television personality currently signed to RBW. She debuted as a member of the girl group Mamamoo in 2014. She made her ...

from

Mamamoo Mamamoo (, stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed by RBW (formerly WA Entertainment) in 2014, composed of four members: Solar, Moonbyul, Wheein and Hwasa. The group officially debuted with their single "Mr. Ambiguous" on ...

covered this song and released it on YouTube. * Qian Zhenghao covered this song on the Chinese idol survival show ''

Idol Producer ''Idol Producer'' (), is a 2018 Chinese reality boy group survival show, which premiered on January 19, 2018 on iQIYI. It is presented by Lay Zhang with Li Ronghao, Jackson Wang, MC Jin, Cheng Xiao and Zhou Jieqiong serving as mentors. On Apr ...

''. * Singers Eile Monty and Black Gryph0n covered this song and released it on YouTube. * On '' Operación Triunfo 2017'', Amaia Romero and

Alfred García Alfred García Castillo (born 14 March 1997) is a Spanish singer-songwriter. He gained national recognition when he took part in series nine of the reality television talent competition ''Operación Triunfo'', where he finished in fourth place, ...

covered this song on the ''Gala 3'' on 13 November 2017. * On the seventh season of ''

Singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

'',

Liu Huan Liu Huan (born August 26, 1963, in Tianjin) is a Chinese singer and songwriter. He is one of China's modern era pioneers in pop music. He combines his music career with teaching the history of Western music at the Beijing University of Interna ...

and its guest singer Tia Ray covered this song on the Finals Rush Hour on April 5, 2019. * On the episode 9 of Sea of Hope, South Korean actor

Lee Dong-wook Lee Dong-wook (; born November 6, 1981 ) is a South Korean actor, host, model and entertainer. He is best known for his leading roles in the television dramas '' My Girl'' (2005), '' Scent of a Woman'' (2011), ''The Fugitive of Joseon'' (2013), ...

and South Korean singer

Lee Su-hyun Lee Su-hyun (; born May 4, 1999), is a South Korean singer. Following her appearance on the second installation of SBS audition program ''K-pop Star'' alongside her brother, she debuted as the vocalist of the sibling duo AKMU on April 7, 2014, ...

covered this song. * On the 2021 MBC Gayo Daejejeon, ITZY's Lia and Stray Kids' Bangchan and Felix, covered this song.

Music video

The music video was uploaded to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel on Apr 17, 2017 and has gained more than 11 Million views as of October 2021.

Accolades

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2016 songs Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songs Best Original Song Golden Globe winning songs Songs about Los Angeles Songs written by Justin Paul (songwriter) Songs written by Benj Pasek Songs with music by Justin Hurwitz Songs from La La Land ja:シティ・オブ・スターズ