Waiting on the Sky to Change

Prior to fronting the band Starset, Dustin Bates fronted the band Downplay.[3] The band released a series of albums across the 2000s and early 2010s, including the album Beyond the Machine in 2011.[3] For the album, Bates and Jasen Rauch wrote a song called "Waiting on the Sky to Change".[4] A few years later, Bates put the band on hold while he started up the band Starset.[5] While Bates found success with Starset in the 2010's, Rauch joined American rock band Breaking Benjamin around the same time. With the two bands popular and having a similar rock sound, the two bands toured together, including a tour in early 2022.[5][6] In July 2022, both bands began teasing a collaboration, eventually revealed to be a re-recorded version of the Downplay song "Waiting on the Sky to Change" featuring members of both Starset and Breaking Benjamin.[7][5]

While the new version often referred to as a cover version,[4][3][5] Bates noted that he didn't feel like the label was particularly accurate, considering the Downplay original had been written and recorded himself.[4][8] It was released on August 19, 2022.[4] The track debuted on multiple Billboard charts upon its release.[9]

Publications noted that the song was a melding of Starset and Breaking Benjamin's signature sounds while remaining faithful to the original Downplay version as well.[4][5] The first verse is sung by Bates, while the second verse is sung by Benjamin Burnley.[4]

• Starset
• Breaking Benjamin
• Judge and Jury (Howard Benson and Neil Sanderson)
• Joe Rickard – production, mixing
• Dustin Bates – production