Counting Stars

"Counting Stars" is a song by American pop rock band OneRepublic from their third studio album, Native (2013). The song was written by lead singer Ryan Tedder, and produced by Tedder and Noel Zancanella. It was released as the album's second single on June 14, 2013.

For other uses, see Counting Stars (disambiguation).

"Counting Stars"
Single by OneRepublic
from the album Native
ReleasedJune 14, 2013
RecordedAugust 2012[1]
Genre
Length4:19
Label
Songwriter(s)Ryan Tedder
Producer(s)
OneRepublic singles chronology
"If I Lose Myself"
(2013)		 "Counting Stars"
(2013)		 "Something I Need"
(2013)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Music video
"Counting Stars" on YouTube

The song has been one of the band's most successful singles, reaching number one in many countries including Canada and the United Kingdom, number two in the United States, and top ten in 20 countries. It has sold over 1 million copies in the United Kingdom.

The song's accompanying music video, directed by James Lees, features the band performing in the ground floor of a building beneath an ongoing church congregation on the upper floor.[2] As of July 2020, the video has received over 3 billion views on YouTube and is one of the most watched videos of all time on the site.

Background and composition

Ryan Tedder stated that "'Counting Stars' came about [in August 2012] as an idea. It was probably the most versions of any song[...]to get it right". He also called it "one of [his] two favorite songs on the [Native] album".[1] Tedder started writing "Counting Stars" while waiting for Beyoncé to turn up to a studio session, about a month after starting to write "Love Runs Out".[3] In an interview with the Official Charts Company, Tedder said, "I had the idea for Counting Stars originally in the summer of 2012 when I was in the Hamptons. I was working in the largest house I've ever stepped foot in, which was being rented by Jay-Z and Beyoncé. I was in the middle of working on my most recent album with OneRepublic, Native, and during that time I was determined not to work with any other artists. I broke the promise because I also did sessions that year with Beyoncé. When Jay-Z and Beyoncé invite you to stay with them in the Hamptons, you don't say no!"[4] He continued: "I was out there for about five days and on the second day I woke up early and I started combing through the internet, searching for stuff that would inspire me for Beyoncé. I ended up coming across this weird song that had this indigenous folk sound to it that just struck me like lightning. I didn't like the verses or lyrics, but I loved the feel and movement of it. That ended up inspiring Counting Stars. I debated playing it for Beyoncé and putting it forward for her album, but it didn't feel like a song Beyoncé would record. I immediately came up with the chorus idea, went home and for the next three months finished the Native album."[4]

"Counting Stars" is a folk pop[5] and pop rock song[6] with a disco beat.[7] Ricardo Baca of The Denver Post said that the song is "an extremely effective (and infectious) song — with Tedder's polished pop hijacking a folk song, and a little R&B attitude in there as well."[8] The band explained that the song is about "laying in bed awake at night when you're stressed out of your mind, thinking 'How are we gonna make ends meet? How are we gonna pay the bills?' You know, all those things you wanna do with your life - how are we gonna make them work? How's this actually gonna happen or come to pass? So, instead of counting sheep, we're counting stars."[1]

According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, the song has a tempo of 104 beats per minute before increasing to 122 beats per minute. The song is written in the key of C♯ minor, and follows a chord progression of C♯m-E-B-A.[9] Ryan's vocals span from the lower note of B2 to the higher note of C♯5

Music video

The music video was filmed on May 10, 2013, in New Orleans, Louisiana, and premiered on May 31, 2013. The video features the band performing the song in a gloomy ground floor of a building surrounded by hanging light bulbs, interspersed with scenes of several people in a religious revival service on the upper floor, dancing along with the song. At the end of the video, the ceiling is demolished, causing one of the people in the service to fall through the floor, coming through the ceiling of the room the band is performing in. The video also shows clips of an alligator crawling through the ground floor.[10]

The video became the first music video by a band in history to reach 1 billion views, doing so on November 2, 2015.[11] It has received over 3 billion YouTube views, and, as of December 2020, is the 16th most viewed video on the site, as well as the second most viewed music video among group artists.[12] It also has over 12 million likes.

Commercial performance

"Counting Stars" debuted at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 6, 2013.[13] The song peaked at number two on January 18, 2014, and stayed there for two weeks behind "Timber" by Pitbull, featuring Ke$ha.[14][15] The song spent 25 consecutive weeks in the top ten, and finished fifth for the most total weeks on the Hot 100 after spending 68 weeks on the chart.[16] It is tied with "Apologize" as OneRepublic's highest peaking single in the United States, and is their third US top-ten hit. The song has sold over 5.3 million copies in the US as of December 2014.[17]

In Canada, the song set the record for the longest climb to number one on the Canadian Hot 100, reaching number one on its 34th week on the chart on February 8, 2014. The song has topped the charts in Canada, Finland, Israel, Poland, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom,[18] and charted within the top ten in 20 countries, including attaining top five placements in Australia, Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand. In the United Kingdom, "Counting Stars" spent 34 consecutive weeks inside the top 40.[19] On October 11, 2014, the Official Charts Company confirmed that "Counting Stars" had sold 1 million copies in the UK.[4]

Track listing
  1. "Counting Stars" – 4:18
  2. "Counting Stars" (Lovelife remix) – 3:55

Credits and personnel
Recording[21]
  • Recorded at Black Rock Studio Santorini, Santorini, Greece, and Patriot Studios, Denver, Colorado
  • Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York
Personnel[21]

Covers and parodies

Bellator MMA used the song to promote their eleventh season on Spike.[28]

"Counting Stars" was used in the end credits and in some of the TV spots for the 2014 sci-fi film Earth to Echo.

The song was also featured in the international trailer for Xavier Dolan's 2014 film, Mommy.

The song was used in "74 Epiphanies", episode 11 of Rookie Blue's 6th season.

The song appeared in 2015 video game Guitar Hero Live.

"Counting Stars" was used in the game MLB Perfect Inning 16 for mobile devices by Gamevil.

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[113] 7× Platinum 490,000
Austria (IFPI Austria)[114] Platinum 30,000*
Belgium (BEA)[115] Gold 15,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[116] Diamond 800,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[117] Gold 15,000^
Germany (BVMI)[118] 3× Gold 450,000
Italy (FIMI)[119] 4× Platinum 200,000
Mexico (AMPROFON)[120] 2× Platinum 120,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[121] 2× Platinum 30,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[122] 2× Platinum 80,000
Sweden (GLF)[123] 5× Platinum 200,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[124] Platinum 30,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[125] 3× Platinum 1,000,000[4]
United States (RIAA)[126] Diamond 10,000,000
Streaming
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[127] 3× Platinum 5,400,000
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[128] Platinum 8,000,000

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Regions Dates Format(s) Label(s)
Austria[20] June 14, 2013 CD single
Germany[20]
Switzerland[20]
United States Radio (Top 40)

See also

References
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