Starry Eyed (Ellie Goulding Song)
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"Starry Eyed" is a song by English singer and songwriter
Ellie Goulding Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer, songwriter, and activist. Born in Hereford and raised in Lyonshall, Goulding began writing songs at the age of 15. She released her debut single " Under the Sheets" through ...
, released as the second single from her debut studio album, ''
Lights Light is an electromagnetic radiation, part of which stimulates the sense of vision. Light or Lights may also refer to: Illumination * Lighting * Light bulb * Traffic light Arts and entertainment Music * Lights (musician) (born 1987), Canadian s ...
'' (2010). It was written by Goulding and Jonny Lattimer, and produced by
Starsmith Finlay Dow-Smith (born 8 July 1988), known professionally as Starsmith, is a British songwriter, record producer and DJ. Smith's best known for co-writing and serving as the primary producer for Ellie Goulding's debut album '' Lights,'' whic ...
. Goulding made her debut US television performance on ''
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'' on 7 April 2011 performing "Starry Eyed".


Background

When asked what "Starry Eyed" was about, Goulding told
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:
It's about letting go. As opposed to all the sad and depressing things I write about, I decided to write something about the joining together of people in some kind of euphoric state—be it at a festival, at a show or in a club. I wanted a song that would reach out to people of every background and every enjoyment, whether you enjoy a natural high, taking drugs, drinking or whatever. Because I'm essentially a pop artist I wanted to write a song that everyone can relate to.
"Starry Eyed" was featured in the 2010 superhero film '' Kick-Ass'' and on its soundtrack. The song was used in the
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teen drama series ''
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'' and '' Awkward'', as well as during a segment of the ''
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'' in November 2011.


Critical reception

Nick Levine wrote for
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
that the song "manages to be folky, poppy and dancey all at the same time, twinkly but not twee, and otherworldly without losing its universal appeal." ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' critic
Mark Beaumont Mark Beaumont may refer to: * Mark Beaumont (cyclist) (born 1983), English cyclist born in Swindon, adventurer, broadcaster, documentary maker and author * Mark Beaumont (journalist) (born 1972), English music journalist {{hndis, Beaumont, M ...
cited "Starry Eyed" as one of the album's "spangliest tracks" along with " Under the Sheets", commenting that it "finds Ellie love-struck and breathless ..to
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
diva beats and looped soul wails, sounding like an angelic
Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. She rose to fame as a member of Girls Aloud, a Pop music, pop girl group created through ITV (TV network), ITV's reality competition show ''Popstars: The R ...
."


Commercial performance

"Starry Eyed" debuted at number four on the UK Singles Chart, selling 49,118 copies in its first week. The song spent two additional weeks at number four, selling 45,579 copies in its second week and 39,942 copies in its third week. "Starry Eyed" was certified platinum by the
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(BPI) on 17 March 2017.


Music videos

The music video, directed by Ross Cooper and Bugsy Riverbank Steel of OneInThree, was filmed at
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in London and released on 20 January 2010. It sees Goulding in various costumes and settings of the venue as well as two acrobatic backup dancers dressed in fringe leotards. The video uses a visual styling effect used generally in sporting analysis called StroMotion which created the unique look of Goulding and the dancer's echoes, reverses and reverberations as they dance to the song. A second music video, directed by Dugan O'Neal, was filmed at
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in
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, England, and released on 28 July 2011 for the US market. It features Goulding
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in the countryside with her on-screen boyfriend, with special effects used to make stars appear to whirl around her. Goulding is also seen in a Cystal
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wearing a silver dress, sporting blue eye contacts, and dancing around while lip-syncing. Towards the end of the video, Goulding and her boyfriend go to a tree where he places her hand on a tree in front of them, making geometric lines appear on the tree. When she looks back for her boyfriend, he turns around in a hood, and is hollow but filled with the night sky that zooms into, and show Goulding in a peach-yellow dress singing the last part of the song. The American version of the video also features product placement for Beats by Dr. Dre headphones and
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, which can both be seen being used by Goulding within the first 26 seconds of the video.


Cover versions

English band You Me at Six covered the song on the
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segment of
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's ''
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'' on 18 May 2010. Their version reached number 104 on the UK Singles Chart for the week ending 18 September 2010. American singer
Bridgit Mendler Bridgit Claire Mendler (born December 18, 1992) is an American entrepreneur and former actress and singer-songwriter. She first became known as a Child actor, child actress and continued acting into adulthood, which overlapped with a musical car ...
recorded an acoustic version of the song for her video series titled '' The Hurricane Sessions'', with the music video released on
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on 8 May 2013. Sam Lansky of
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commented that Mendler's "husky voice works nicely with the song, especially toward the end, as it gets a little more emotive." ''
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'' opined that her cover "show off" her vocal range and added, "By slowing it down, Bridgit's version of the song sounds more intimate and relaxing, making it the perfect song for a 'rainy day' soundtrack." "Starry Eyed" was included on the set list of Mendler's Summer Tour in 2013. She also performed the song on the breakfast show ''
The Strawberry Alarm Clock Strawberry Alarm Clock is a psychedelic rock band formed in 1967, originating in Glendale, California, a city about ten miles north of downtown Los Angeles. The band is best known for its 1967 hit single " Incense and Peppermints." Their music ...
'' on the
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-based radio station
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on 30 October 2013.


Track listings

*UK CD single #"Starry Eyed" – 2:58 #"Starry Eyed" (Russ Chimes Remix) – 5:10 #"Starry Eyed" ( Little Noise Session) – 3:03 *UK digital EP #"Starry Eyed" – 2:57 #"Starry Eyed" (Russ Chimes Remix) – 5:08 #"Starry Eyed" (Little Noise Session) – 3:03 #"Starry Eyed" ( Penguin Prison Remix featuring
Theophilus London Theophilus Musa London (born February 23, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. He is best known for his guest appearance alongside Allan Kingdom and Paul McCartney on Kanye West's 2015 single " All Day", which peaked at num ...
) – 5:10 *UK limited-edition 10" single :A. "Starry Eyed" – 2:58 *German CD single #"Starry Eyed" – 2:57 #"Fighter Plane" – 4:25 *German digital EP #"Starry Eyed" – 2:57 #"Starry Eyed" (Russ Chimes Remix) – 5:08 #"Starry Eyed" (Little Noise Session) – 3:03 #"Starry Eyed" (Penguin Prison Remix featuring Theophilus London) – 5:10 #"An Introduction to Ellie Goulding" (video) – 2:34 *US digital EP – The Remixes #"Starry Eyed" (Penguin Prison Remix) – 5:09 #"Starry Eyed" (
Jakwob James Edward Jacob (born 28 March 1989), better known by his stage name Jakwob, is a British music producer, songwriter, DJ and composer. Early life Jacob was born in Hereford and grew up in Lincoln. His parents are Anglo Indian and Scottish ...
Remix) – 4:35 #"Starry Eyed" (Russ Chimes Remix) – 5:08 #"Starry Eyed" (Monsieur Adi Remix) – 4:42 #"Starry Eyed" ( AN21 and Max Vangeli Remix) – 8:14


Personnel

Credits adapted from the
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of ''
Lights Light is an electromagnetic radiation, part of which stimulates the sense of vision. Light or Lights may also refer to: Illumination * Lighting * Light bulb * Traffic light Arts and entertainment Music * Lights (musician) (born 1987), Canadian s ...
''. *
Ellie Goulding Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer, songwriter, and activist. Born in Hereford and raised in Lyonshall, Goulding began writing songs at the age of 15. She released her debut single " Under the Sheets" through ...
– songwriting, vocals * Seye Adelekan – acoustic guitar, backing vocals * Alan Clarke – photography * Jonny Lattimer – songwriting * Naweed – mastering *
Starsmith Finlay Dow-Smith (born 8 July 1988), known professionally as Starsmith, is a British songwriter, record producer and DJ. Smith's best known for co-writing and serving as the primary producer for Ellie Goulding's debut album '' Lights,'' whic ...
– bass, drum programming, keyboards, production * Mark 'Spike' Stent – mixing


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


References

{{Authority control 2010 songs 2010 singles Cherrytree Records singles Ellie Goulding songs Interscope Records singles Polydor Records singles Song recordings produced by Starsmith Songs written by Ellie Goulding Songs written by Jonny Lattimer