"Stars" is the first single released from American rock band
Switchfoot
Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (guitar, keyboards, back ...
's fifth album ''
Nothing Is Sound''. "Stars" was released to radio on June 28, 2005, and again on July 5.
It was the most-added song on Modern Rock Radio in its first week of release and peaked at number sixteen on the US Modern Rock chart. The song was certified gold as a digital single on December 13, 2005.
[RIAA Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - Switchfoot singles]
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":
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."
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. 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.
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
# Stars (Album Version)
# Stars (Acoustic Version)
# Dare You To Move (Acoustic Version)
# Stars (Video)
Charts
Certifications
Awards
In 2006, the song won a
Dove Award
A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...
for Short Form Music Video of the Year at the
37th GMA Dove Awards
The 37th Annual GMA Dove Awards, also called the 37th Annual GMA Music Awards, were held on April 5, 2006 recognizing accomplishments of Christian musicians for the year 2005. The show was held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee, ...
. It was also nominated for Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year.
37th Annual GMA Dove Awards Nominations & Winners
on About.com; Jones, Kim
References
External links
Official music video
{{Switchfoot
2005 singles
Switchfoot songs
Music videos directed by Scott Speer
Songs written by Jon Foreman
Post-grunge songs
Song recordings produced by John Fields (record producer)
2005 songs