"Stars" is the title track on the sixth studio album of American singer-songwriter

Janis Ian Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit "Society's Child, Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" an ...

. The song is a sombre guitar ballad about the pitfalls, fleetingness, and consequences of fame.

Nina Simone version

Jazz and blues singer

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

performed a modified version of "Stars" live at the 1976

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annu ...

held in

Montreux Montreux (, ; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, Swiss municipality and List of towns in Switzerland, town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Alps. It belongs to the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut (district), Riviera-Pays ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Simone's version was played on the piano, included new lyrics, and had a more somber tone than that of Ian's, fitting the mental and financial struggles the artist was facing in the decline of her career. A recording of Simone's performance was preserved. Simone released another rendition of "Stars" in her live compilation album ''Let it Be Me'' (1987) and posthumously, the Montreux version, in ''Nina Simone: The Montreux Years'' (2021). Simone's Montreux cover version was played during the final moments of the season 3 finale of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

adult cartoon ''

BoJack Horseman ''BoJack Horseman'' is an American adult animation, adult animated tragicomedy television series created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. It stars the voices of Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins, and Aaron Paul. Set primarily in ...

''. Jen Chaney wrote in ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

'' magazine that the way the season's finale "unfold the way it does to Nina Simone’s 'Stars,' is utterly crushing. It’s the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever seen in an animated series." The song was included in the show's

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

References

1974 songs Janis Ian songs {{1970s-song-stub