"Lil Star" is the second international

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from

Kelis Kelis Rogers (; born August 21, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and chef. She attended Manhattan, New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she played saxophone and was selected for the Girls Ch ...

' fourth studio album, ''

Kelis Was Here ''Kelis Was Here'' is the fourth studio album by American singer Kelis, released on August 22, 2006, by Jive Records. Originally titled ''The Puppeteer'', the album features production by Bangladesh, Raphael Saadiq, Max Martin, Sean Garrett, and ...

'' (2006). Released outside US (where "Blindfold Me" served as the second single), the single features Cee-Lo, who was at the time half of the duo

Gnarls Barkley Gnarls Barkley is an American soul music, soul duo composed of singer-songwriter CeeLo Green and producer Danger Mouse (musician), Danger Mouse. They released their debut studio album, ''St. Elsewhere (album), St. Elsewhere'', in 2006. It contai ...

. Following the moderate success of " Bossy", the single has proven to be a return to form for Kelis; it debuted at number eight in Ireland and was also a huge hit in the United Kingdom reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart. The track was hailed by many music fans and critics as Kelis' "comeback" single, despite the fact "Bossy" was written specifically for Kelis' return to music.

Background and lyrics

"Lil Star" features Kelis singing about the times when she has self-doubt. "I can't be confident and bold and obnoxious all the time", Kelis says. "What kind of person would I be? I'm a human being and I have other sides, too. I'm not always secure and I'm not always confident. I have moments where I get self-conscious." The song was tentatively set to be released on January 8, 2007, but to allow time for promotion the release date was pushed back to February 19. However, on January 8, the song was added to the C List of

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

Playlist, and has since been promoted to their A List, guaranteeing at least 20 plays a week. The

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

for "Lil Star" was filmed by

Marc Klasfeld Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director. He has directed over two hundred music videos for artists such as Slipknot, Sum 41, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Britney Spears, Kid Rock, Michael Bublé, Nelly, Foo Fighters, Kelly ...

, and has been on rotation since January 13, 2007 when it was added to British urban music channel MTV Base's videos roster. "Lil Star" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 37 on January 28, 2007. The following week, high download sales enabled an 18-position jump to number 19. On February 12, 2007 "Lil Star" moved into the UK top 15 at the number-13 position. During its fourth week in the top 40, the song es slid down two placto number 15. However, on February 26, 2007, in the fifth week on the UK chart it moved from number 15 to the top three. "Lil Star" landed at number three on the UK Singles Chart in the week of its physical release.

Chart performance

"Lil Star" made its debut on the UK Singles Chart at number eighty-four on January 21, 2007 based on downloads alone five weeks before its release and climbed the charts rapidly to number thirty-seven within a matter of weeks due to strong download sales. Several weeks later it managed to make its initial peak at number thirteen based on downloads sales. After its official release it peaked at number three, becoming the first single from ''Kelis Was Here'' to reach the top three in the UK, and became Kelis' highest-charting single since 2004's "

Millionaire A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. Many national currencies have, or ...

". "Lil Star" also entered several other UK charts including the UK R&B Singles Chart where it peaked at number one, the UK Airplay Chart where it peaked at number three, the

UK Official Download Chart The UK Singles Downloads Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the music industry. Since July 2015, the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, with the chart date given as the following Thursday. The main chart con ...

where it reached number nine, and the UK

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

Top 100 countdown where it peaked at number eleven. To date, "Lil Star" remains one of Kelis' best-selling singles in the UK where it sold over 118,000 copies. "Lil Star" also peaked at number eight in Ireland, her highest-peaking single since "

Milkshake A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, or fruit syrup into a thick, sweet, cold mixture. It may ...

" back in 2003. "Lil Star" found similar success in Eastern Europe; it peaked at number four in Slovenia, number seven in Hungary, and number eighteen in Slovakia. Although "Lil Star" performed well in European countries such as the UK and Ireland, it became a commercial failure in Germany, peaking at number ninety-nine, Kelis' lowest-charting single there to date. "Lil Star" was to be released in Australia as the second single from ''Kelis Was Here'', with its video having been aired on music programs around Australia, but for unknown reasons it did not happen and instead " I Don't Think So" was released.

Music video

The

for "Lil Star" was filmed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in December 2006 and directed by

, who had previously worked with Kelis on " Bossy" and "

Blindfold Me "Blindfold Me" is a hip hop song by American singer Kelis from her fourth studio album, ''Kelis Was Here'' (2006). It was written and produced by Sean Garrett and Polow da Don. A remix, featuring American rapper Nas, was released as the album's s ...

" earlier in 2006. In the video Kelis is walking down a street in a large

space suit A space suit (or spacesuit) is an environmental suit used for protection from the harsh environment of outer space, mainly from its vacuum as a highly specialized pressure suit, but also its temperature extremes, as well as radiation and ...

-style coat, then singing to the stars. The stars take the formation of Cee-Lo and Kelis as they both sing, all wrapped up in a very mellow and calm atmosphere, relating to the song's theme. It premiered on

MTV UK MTV is a British pay television channel focusing on reality TV and music programming operated by Paramount Networks UK & Australia. The channel launched as part of MTV Networks Europe localisation strategy in 1997. MTV UK (previously MTV UK & I ...

on January 13, 2007.

Track listings

;UK CD 1 #"Lil Star" (Radio Edit) #"80's Joint" ;UK CD 2 #"Lil Star" (Album Version) #"Lil Star" (Linus Loves Remix) #"Lil Star" (Soundboy Remix) #"Lil Star" (Future Cut Throw Back Mix) #"Lil Star" (Video) ;12" single *Side A: #"Lil Star" (Main) #"Lil Star" (Instrumental) *Side B: #"Lil Star" (Main) #"Lil Star" (A Capella) ;Promo remixes CD #"Lil Star" (Linus Loves Remix featuring Cee-Lo) #"Lil Star" (Linus Loves Dub featuring Cee-Lo) #"Lil Star" (Future Cut Remix featuring Cee-Lo) #"Lil Star" (Soundbwoy Remix featuring Cee-Lo) #"Lil Star" (Soundbwoy Instrumental) #"Lil Star" (Al Usher 12" Mix featuring Cee-Lo)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2000s ballads 2006 songs 2007 singles Kelis songs CeeLo Green songs Music videos directed by Marc Klasfeld Contemporary R&B ballads Songs written by CeeLo Green Songs written by Kelis