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.

"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.[3] As of June 2023, the video has received 3.8 billion views on YouTube.

In September 2023, OneRepublic released a reimagined version of the song, featuring a slower tempo and a new backing track.[4]

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".[5] 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!"[6] 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."[6]

"Counting Stars" is a folk pop[7] and pop rock song[8] with a disco beat.[9] 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."[10] 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 107.6 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 Cm-E-B-A.[11] Ryan's vocals span from a low of B2 to a high 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.[12]

The video became the first music video by a band in history to reach 1 billion views, doing so on November 2, 2015.[13] It has received over 3.8 billion views and 16 million likes on YouTube, and, as of January 2023, is the 16th most viewed video on the site.[14]

Commercial performance

"Counting Stars" debuted at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 6, 2013.[15] The song peaked at number two on January 18, 2014, and stayed there for two weeks behind "Timber" by Pitbull, featuring Kesha.[16][17] 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.[18] 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.[19]

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,[20] 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.[21] On October 11, 2014, the Official Charts Company confirmed that "Counting Stars" had sold 1 million copies in the UK.[6] On February 28, 2022, Live Nation Entertainment confirmed that song had sold 41 million copies worldwide.

Track listing

CD single[22]

  1. "Counting Stars" – 4:18
  2. "Counting Stars" (Lovelife remix) – 3:55
Other Versions
  • 7th Heaven Club Mix - 7:15
  • 7th Heaven Radio Edit - 3:14

Credits and personnel

Recording[23]

  • Recorded at Black Rock Studio Santorini, Santorini, Greece, and Patriot Studios, Denver, Colorado
  • Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York

Personnel[23]

Charts

Certifications and sales

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[118] 15× Platinum 1,050,000
Austria (IFPI Austria)[119] 2× Platinum 60,000*
Belgium (BEA)[120] Gold 15,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[121] Diamond 800,000
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[122] Gold 15,000^
France 60,300[123]
Germany (BVMI)[124] Diamond 1,000,000
Italy (FIMI)[125] 4× Platinum 200,000
Mexico (AMPROFON)[126] 2× Platinum 120,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[127] 2× Platinum 40,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[128] 2× Platinum 30,000*
Portugal (AFP)[129] 3× Platinum 60,000
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[130] 2× Platinum 80,000
Sweden (GLF)[131] 5× Platinum 200,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[132] 2× Platinum 60,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[133] 5× Platinum 3,000,000
United States (RIAA)[134] Diamond 10,000,000
Streaming
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[135] 3× Platinum 5,400,000
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[136] Platinum 8,000,000
Summaries
Worldwide 41,000,000[137]

* 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

Release dates and formats for "Counting Stars"
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Germany June 14, 2013 CD single Universal [22]
Italy October 18, 2013 Radio impact [138]

See also

References

  1. OneRepublic – Counting Stars (Track By Track) on YouTube
  2. "'Native': How OneRepublic's Third Album Brought It All Back Home". March 25, 2022.
  3. "Counting Stars | OneRepublic | Music Video". MTV. Viacom Media Networks. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  4. "Listen to the new 10th anniversary version of OneRepublic's "Counting Stars"". MOViN 92.5. September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  5. Ryan Tedder's #Hangout. 4Music. August 19, 2014.
  6. Fletcher, Harry (October 12, 2014). "OneRepublic's Counting Stars surpasses one million UK sales". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  7. Lindquist, David (July 29, 2014). "Summer Playlist: August and September concerts". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  8. R. Holz, Adam. "ONEREPUBLIC "COUNTING STARS"". Plugged In. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  9. Beaumont, Mark (March 17, 2014). "OneRepublic review – 'Relentlessly catchy'". The Guardian. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  10. Baca, Ricardo (March 29, 2013). "OneRepublic goes "Native" making music for the masses". The Denver Post.
  11. OneRepublic "Counting Stars" Sheet Music. musicnotes.com
  12. "OneRepublic on Twitter". Twitter. May 10, 2013.
  13. "OneRepublic - Counting Stars (Official Music Video)". YouTube. Archived from the original on November 2, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. "Top 1000 Most Viewed YouTube Videos of All Time". YouTube. January 27, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  15. "Music: Top 100 Songs – Billboard Hot 100 Chart – Week of July 6, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  16. "Music: Top 100 Songs – Billboard Hot 100 Chart – Week of January 18, 2014". Billboard. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  17. "Music: Top 100 Songs – Billboard Hot 100 Chart – Week of January 25, 2014". Billboard. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  18. "Music: Top 100 Songs – Billboard Hot 100 Chart – Week of October 18, 2014". Billboard. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  19. "The Big 9 in 2014: Interscope". HITS Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. December 10, 2014. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  20. "OneRepublic reclaim UK singles top spot with Counting Stars". officialcharts.com.
  21. "2014-04-12 Top 40 Official Singles Chart UK Archive". Official Charts Company. April 12, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  22. "ONEREPUBLIC | Counting Stars (2-Track): OneRepublic – Diskografie". Universal Music Group. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  23. Native (CD booklet). OneRepublic. United States: Mosley Music Group, Interscope Records. 2013.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. "OneRepublic – Counting Stars". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  25. "OneRepublic – Counting Stars" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  26. "OneRepublic – Counting Stars" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  27. "OneRepublic – Counting Stars" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  28. "Hot 100 Billboard Brasil – weekly". Billboard Brasil. April 2014. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  29. "OneRepublic Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  30. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201349 into search.
  31. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201420 into search. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  32. "OneRepublic – Counting Stars". Tracklisten.
  33. "OneRepublic: Counting Stars" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
  34. "OneRepublic – Counting Stars" (in French). Les classement single.
  35. "OneRepublic – Counting Stars" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  36. "Greece Digital Songs – June 7, 2014". Prometheus Global Media. June 7, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2014. (subscription required)
  37. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  38. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  39. "Chart Track: Week 32, 2013". Irish Singles Chart.
  40. "Media Forest Week 45, 2013". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest.
  41. "Top Digital Download – Classifica settimanale WK 6 (dal 03-02-2014 al 09-02-2014)" (in Italian). FIMI. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  42. "Luxembourg Digital Songs – July 27, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  43. "Mexico Ingles Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  44. "Top 20 Ingles: Del 10 Al 16 de Febrero del 2014" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. RadioNotas. February 17, 2014. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  45. "Nederlandse Top 40 – OneRepublic" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  46. "OneRepublic – Counting Stars" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  47. "OneRepublic – Counting Stars". Top 40 Singles.
  48. "OneRepublic – Counting Stars". VG-lista.
  49. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  50. "Airplay 100 – 24 noiembrie 2013" (in Romanian). Kiss FM. November 24, 2013. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  51. "Russia Airplay Chart for 2013-12-16." TopHit. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  52. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  53. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201341 into search.
  54. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201429 into search. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
  55. "SloTop50: Slovenian official singles weekly chart" (in Slovenian). SloTop50. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  56. "OneRepublic – Counting Stars" Canciones Top 50.
  57. "OneRepublic – Counting Stars". Singles Top 100.
  58. "OneRepublic – Counting Stars". Swiss Singles Chart.
  59. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  60. "Ukraine Airplay Chart for 2014-02-17." TopHit. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  61. "OneRepublic Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  62. "OneRepublic Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
  63. "OneRepublic Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  64. "OneRepublic Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  65. "OneRepublic Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.
  66. "OneRepublic Chart History (Dance Mix/Show Airplay)". Billboard.
  67. "OneRepublic Chart History (Latin Airplay)". Billboard.
  68. "OneRepublic Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  69. "OneRepublic Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  70. "Pop Rock General". Record Report (in Spanish). R.R. Digital C.A. September 28, 2013. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  71. "OneRepublic Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  72. "ČNS IFPI". IFPI ČR. Note: Select SK SINGLES DIGITAL TOP 100 and insert 202219 into search. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  73. "2013 Year End Singles Chart". ARIA. Archived from the original on February 15, 2014. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  74. "Jahreshitparade Singles 2013". austriancharts.at. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  75. "Best of 2013: Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  76. "Top de l'année Top Singles 2013" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  77. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  78. "MAHASZ Rádiós TOP 100 – radios 2013" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  79. "best of singles" (Click "best of 2013"). IRMA. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  80. "Jaarlijsten 2013" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  81. "Top Selling Singles of 2013". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  82. "SloTop50: Slovenian official singles year end chart" (in Slovenian). SloTop50. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  83. "Årslista Singlar – År 2013" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  84. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2013 – hitparade.ch". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  85. Lane, Daniel (January 1, 2014). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Singles Of 2013". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  86. "Best of 2013 – Hot 100 Songs". Billboard.com. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  87. "Adult Pop Songs – Year-End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  88. "Jaaroverzichten 2014". Ultratop. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  89. "Rapports Annuels 2014". Ultratop. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  90. "Canadian Hot 100 – Year End 2014". Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  91. "Top de l'année Top Singles 2014" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  92. "Single Top 100 – eladási darabszám alapján – 2014". Mahasz. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  93. "FIMI – Classifiche Annuali 2014 "TOP OF THE MUSIC" FIMI-GfK: un anno di musica italiana" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  94. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2014" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  95. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2014" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  96. "Top Radio Hits Russia Annual Chart 2014" (in Russian). TopHit. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  97. "SloTop50 | Slovenian official year-end singles charts" (in Slovenian). Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  98. "Top 100 Songs Annual 2014" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  99. "Årslista Singlar – År 2014" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  100. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2014 – hitparade.ch". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  101. Copsey, Rob (December 31, 2014). "The Official Top 100 Biggest Songs of 2014 revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  102. "Hot 100 Songs – Year End 2014". Billboard.com. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  103. "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  104. "Adult Pop Songs – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  105. "Adult Alternative Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  106. "Dance/Mix Show Songs – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  107. "Pop Songs – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  108. "Billboard Global 200 – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  109. "Top 1000 Singles + EPs Digitais: Semanas 01 a 52 de 2021" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  110. "ARIA Top 100 Singles Chart for 2022". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  111. "Billboard Global 200 – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  112. "2019 ARIA End of Decade Singles Chart". ARIA. January 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  113. Copsey, Rob (December 11, 2019). "The UK's Official Top 100 biggest songs of the decade". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  114. "Decade-End Charts: Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  115. "Greatest of All Time Adult Pop Songs : Page 1". US Adult Pop Songs. March 18, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  116. "GREATEST OF ALL TIME POP SONGS: Page 1". Billboard. August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  117. "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  118. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  119. "Austrian single certifications – OneRepublic – Counting Stars" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  120. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2014". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  121. "Canadian single certifications – Onerepublic – Counting Stars". Music Canada. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  122. "Danish single certifications – OneRepublic – Counting Stars". IFPI Danmark.
  123. "Disques: Les 20 titres les plus vendus en France au 1er semestre 2014" (in French). Ozap. July 15, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  124. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (OneRepublic; 'Counting Stars')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  125. "Italian single certifications – OneRepublic – Counting Stars" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved January 9, 2015. Select "2017" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Counting Stars" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  126. "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved April 29, 2014. Type One Republic in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Counting Stars in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
  127. "Dutch single certifications – One Republic – Counting Stars" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved October 14, 2021. Enter Counting Stars in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2014 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  128. "New Zealand single certifications – OneRepublic – Counting Stars". Recorded Music NZ.
  129. "Portuguese single certifications – OneRepublic – Counting Stars" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  130. "Spanish single certifications" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved August 24, 2022. Select Canciones under "Categoría", select 2015 under "Año". Select 1 under "Semana". Click on "BUSCAR LISTA".
  131. "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 2, 2015 | Sverigetopplistan" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved August 25, 2022. Scroll to position 91 to view certification.
  132. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (OneRepublic; 'Counting Stars')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  133. "British single certifications – OneRepublic – Counting Stars". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  134. "American single certifications – OneRepublic – Counting Stars". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  135. "Danish single certifications – OneRepublic – Counting stars". IFPI Danmark.
  136. "Spanish single streaming certifications" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Select Streaming under "Categoría", select 2014 under "Año". Select 52 under "Semana". Click on "BUSCAR LISTA".
  137. "OneRepublic announce Never Ending Summer Tour". Live Nation Entertainment. February 28, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  138. "OneRepublic in radio da venerdì con "Counting Stars". La nuova mega hit al primo posto di iTunes UK".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.