"Starlight" is a song by the English rock band Muse. It was released in 2006 as the second single from their fourth studio album, Black Holes and Revelations (2006).
"Starlight" was written by Muse's vocalist, Matt Bellamy, and produced by Rich Costey. Bellamy said he wrote the song on a boat in bad weather. The bassist, Chris Wolstenholme, said it was about missing loved ones.[4] He described it as the hardest song on the album to record, and that it "was one of the songs we went around in circles with, and we recorded maybe six or seven different versions of it".[5]
Muse worked with Paul Minor on the music video, which was filmed in Los Angeles.[8] In the video, the band perform on the deck of the MS Ocean Chie, a handysizebulk carrier. Band members are also carrying flares, in an attempt to be rescued, but this fails and they are abandoned.[4]
Bellamy stated in an interview with The Sunday Mail that the band wanted to "create the idea of a band lost at sea because we see ourselves as being outside what's happening in the music scene" He also told the interviewer, Billy Sloan, that "it was an epic feeling playing on a huge platform with the sea all around us."[8]
Critical reception
MusicOMH stated that the song was "a track perfectly at home on drivetime radio" while saying it "showcases another side to the band's music and their staggering breadth of appeal."[9] Leeds Music Scene reviewer Maria Pinto-Fernandes gave "Starlight" a glowing review, with a score of four and a half stars out of five. In her review, she commented that "the band's musical arrangements on the track do not come into being just by accident." She also stated that the song was just as passionate when performed live as when heard on CD.[10]
A harsh review came from NME with the reviewer stating that the song "is a tune so chart-hungry it's virtually dry-humping JK and Joel's legs."[11] However, "Starlight" would become one of Muse's most well-known songs, gaining significant international radio airplay, and being performed live in practically all of Muse's live shows after its release.
Chart performance
"Starlight" entered the UK Singles Chart the week of 3 September at number 38 via digital downloads. The following week, and with the physical release in the United Kingdom, the single peaked at number 13. Since then, the single's chart position steadily declined, and it remained in the Top 75 after fifteen weeks, during the week of 11 December 2006. The next week, "Starlight" had fallen out of the Top 75.[12]
It was certified Platinum by RIAA for 1,000,000 paid downloads, but reached only #101 on the US Hot 100 as a result of minimal mainstream radio airplay (as noted below, it was a substantial hit on specialized modern rock radio stations).
"Starlight" has also peaked at number two on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, Muse's fourth highest-charting single to date on any major chart in the US. It also charted in at number nine on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2006.[13] It was also ranked at number four on Colombian radio station Radiónica's 2006 top 100.[14]
*The 'hidden track' on the DVD release is a short song. It is sung in a distorted falsetto voice with profane lyrics (largely variations of the word 'fuck' with some instruments in the background). Between fans it is often referred as "You Fucking Motherfucker", but in August 2018, Bellamy stated on his Twitter account that the actual lyrics of the song are "You Funky Motherfucker".[16][17] The cowbell click-track was left in the song.[citation needed]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
