Counting Stars

For other uses, see Counting Stars (disambiguation).
"Counting Stars"
Single by OneRepublic
from the album Native
Released June 14, 2013
Format
Recorded August 2012[1]
Genre
Length 4:17
Label
Writer(s) Ryan Tedder
Producer(s)
OneRepublic singles chronology
"If I Lose Myself"
(2013)		 "Counting Stars"
(2013)
Audio sample
file info · help
Music video
"Counting Stars" on YouTube

"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. Musically, it is a pop song with strong elements of folk music and R&B.[2] It was released as the album's third single on June 14, 2013 in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.

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 and over 7 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time.

The song's accompanying music video, directed by James Lees, features the band performing in the ground floor of a building (there are few basements in New Orleans) beneath an ongoing church congregation on the upper floor.[3] As of April 2015, the video has garnered over 760 million views on YouTube and is the fourteenth most-watched video of all time on the site.[4]

Background

Ryan Tedder started writing this song 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, "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." He added: "I debated playing it for Beyonce and putting it forward for her album, but it didn't feel like a song Beyonce would record. I immediately came up with the chorus idea, went home and for the next three months finished the Native album."[6]

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 – which is interspersed with scenes of several people in a religious revival service on the upper floor. At the end of the video, one of the people in the service falls 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.[7]

Commercial performance

"Counting Stars" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 18, 2014, and stayed there for two weeks, behind "Timber" by Pitbull featuring Kesha. It is tied with "Apologize" as their highest peaking single in the United States,[8] and is their third US top-ten hit. It has spent 25 consecutive weeks in the top ten and is currently fifth for the most total weeks on the Hot 100, with 68. It has topped the charts in Canada, Finland, Israel, Poland, Slovakia and the United Kingdom,[9] and charted within the top ten in 20 countries, including attaining top five placements in Australia, Germany, Ireland and New Zealand. The song has sold over 5.3 million copies in the US as of December 2014.[10] In the United Kingdom, "Counting Stars" spent 34 consecutive weeks inside the top 40 before exiting.[11] 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. On October 11, 2014, The Official Charts Company confirmed that Counting Stars has sold one million copies in the UK.[12]

Track listing

  1. "Counting Stars" – 4:17
  2. "Counting Stars" (Lovelife remix) – 3:55

Credits and personnel

Recording[14]
Personnel[14]

Covers

In June 2013, Ryan Tedder and Michelle Chamuel performed the song on the season finale of The Voice.[15] The song was covered by Skylar Astin, on the 2014 episode "City of Angels" of popular musical series Glee, as a medley with the Styx song "Mr. Roboto.".

It also was covered by Secondhand Serenade and included on the covers album The Cover Up, released by Brandon Metcalf's Destiny Nashville on April 22, 2014.[16] The Voice contestant Christina Grimmie and Sam Behymer sang the song during the sixth season of the show.[17] It was also covered by the pop-rock band R5 during a concert in London to their upcoming video album. It was featured the band The Vamps.[18]

Uses in popular culture

"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.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2013–14) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[19] 2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[20] 4
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[21] 22
Belgium Dance (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 50
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[22] 18
Belgium Dance (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] 15
Brazil (Billboard Brasil Hot 100)[23] 2
Brazil Hot Pop Songs[23] 1
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[24] 1
Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[25] 2
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[26] 10
Denmark (Tracklisten)[27] 3
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[28] 1
France (SNEP)[29] 7
Germany (Media Control Charts)[30] 3
Greece (Billboard Greece Digital Songs)[31] 4
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[32] 6
Hungary (Single Top 40)[33] 3
Ireland (IRMA)[34] 2
Israel (Media Forest)[35] 1
Italy (FIMI)[36] 8
Luxembourg Digital Songs (Billboard)[37] 5
Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)[38] 1
Mexico Anglo Chart (Monitor Latino)[39] 3
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[40] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[41] 2
Norway (VG-lista)[42] 4
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 20)[43] 1
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[44] 1
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[45] 1
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[46] 46
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[47] 4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[48] 6
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[49] 9
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[50] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[51] 2
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[52] 4
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[53] 1
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[54] 1
US Dance/Mix Show Airplay (Billboard)[55] 9
US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[56] 30
US Latin Airplay (Billboard)[57] 32
US Latin Pop Songs (Billboard)[58] 26
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[59] 1
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[60] 22
Venezuela Pop Rock General (Record Report)[61] 19

Year-end charts

Chart (2013) Position
Australia (ARIA)[62] 8
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[63] 70
Germany (Media Control AG)[64] 21
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[65] 38
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[66] 11
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[67] 9
US Billboard Hot 100[68] 63
Chart (2014) Position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[69] 3
Italy (FIMI)[70] 13
United Kingdom (Official Charts Company)[71] 44
US Billboard Hot 100[72] 5
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[73] 42

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[74] 6× Platinum 420,000^
Belgium (BEA)[75] Gold 15,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[76] 6× Platinum 480,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[77] Gold 15,000^
Germany (BVMI)[78] Platinum 300,000^
Italy (FIMI)[79] 3× Platinum 90,000*
Mexico (AMPROFON)[80] 2× Platinum 90,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[81] 2× Platinum 30,000*
Sweden (GLF)[82] 5× Platinum 200,000x
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[83] Platinum 30,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[84] 2× Platinum 1,200,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[85] Gold 5,300,000[10]
Streaming
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[86] 3× Platinum 5,400,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[87] 2× Platinum 20,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales/streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history

Regions Dates Format(s) Label(s)
Austria[13] June 14, 2013 CD single
Germany[13]
Switzerland[13]
United States[88] October 8, 2013 Radio (Top 40)

See also

References

  1. ↑ OneRepublic - Counting Stars (Track By Track) on YouTube
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Baca, Ricardo (2013-03-29). "OneRepublic goes "Native" making music for the masses". The Denver Post.
  3. ↑ "Counting Stars | OneRepublic | Music Video". MTV. Viacom Media Networks. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  4. ↑ "Most Viewed Videos of All Time (Over 100 million views)". YouTube. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Ryan Tedder's #Hangout". 4Music. 19 August 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  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. ↑ "OneRepublic on Twitter". Twitter.
  8. ↑ "Music: Top 100 Songs - Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.
  9. ↑ "OneRepublic reclaim UK singles top spot with Counting Stars". officialcharts.com.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "The Big 9 in 2014: Interscope". HITS Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. December 10, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  11. ↑ "2014-04-12 Top 40 Official Singles Chart UK Archive". Official Charts. 2014-04-12. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
  12. ↑ "OneRepublic’s Counting Stars passes one million sales: Ryan Tedder reveals the story behind the song". officialcharts.com.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 "ONEREPUBLIC | Counting Stars (2-Track): OneRepublic – Diskografie". Universal Music Group. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Native (CD booklet). OneRepublic. United States: Mosley Music Group, Interscope Records. 2013.
  15. ↑ "Michelle Chamuel and OneRepublic Sing 'Counting Stars' on The Voice 2013 Finale". wetpaint.com. June 18, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  16. ↑ RJ Frometa. "Destiny Nashville Launches Label with 'The Cover Up' feat. Secondhand Serenade, Amy Stroup, Elenowen & more". Ventsmagazine.com. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
  17. ↑ Slezak, Michael (March 31, 2014). "The Voice Recap: Signed, Sealed and Stolen". TVLine. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  18. ↑ "The Vamps and R5 perform OneRepublic's 'Counting Stars' in London - Watch". Sugarscape. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
  19. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – OneRepublic – Counting Stars". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  20. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – OneRepublic – Counting Stars" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Ultratop.be – OneRepublic – Counting Stars" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Ultratop.be – OneRepublic – Counting Stars" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Hot 100 Billboard Brasil - weekly". Billboard Brasil. April 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
  24. ↑ "OneRepublic Album & Song Chart History" Canadian Hot 100 for OneRepublic.
  25. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201349 into search.
  26. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201420 into search. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  27. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – OneRepublic – Counting Stars". Tracklisten.
  28. ↑ "OneRepublic: Counting Stars" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  29. ↑ "Lescharts.com – OneRepublic – Counting Stars" (in French). Les classement single.
  30. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – OneRepublic – Counting Stars". GfK Entertainment.
  31. ↑ "Greece Digital Songs – June 7, 2014". Prometheus Global Media. 7 June 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014. (subscription required)
  32. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  33. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  34. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 32, 2013". Irish Singles Chart.
  35. ↑ "One Republic – Counting Stars Media Forest". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest.
  36. ↑ "Top Digital Download - Classifica settimanale WK 6 (dal 03-02-2014 al 09-02-2014)" (in Italian). FIMI.
  37. ↑ "Luxembourg Digital Songs - July 27, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  38. ↑ "Mexico Ingles Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  39. ↑ "Top 20 Ingles: Del 10 Al 16 de Febrero del 2014" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. RadioNotas. February 17, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  40. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – OneRepublic search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  41. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – OneRepublic – Counting Stars". Top 40 Singles.
  42. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – OneRepublic – Counting Stars". VG-lista.
  43. ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 20. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  44. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2013-10-12". Scottish Singles Top 40.
  45. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201341 into search.
  46. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201429 into search. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
  47. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – OneRepublic – Counting Stars" Canciones Top 50.
  48. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – OneRepublic – Counting Stars". Singles Top 60.
  49. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – OneRepublic – Counting Stars". Swiss Singles Chart.
  50. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2013-10-12" UK Singles Chart.
  51. ↑ "OneRepublic Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for OneRepublic.
  52. ↑ "OneRepublic Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Adult Alternative Songs for OneRepublic.
  53. ↑ "OneRepublic Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Adult Contemporary for OneRepublic.
  54. ↑ "OneRepublic Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for OneRepublic.
  55. ↑ "OneRepublic Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay for OneRepublic.
  56. ↑ "OneRepublic Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for OneRepublic.
  57. ↑ "OneRepublic Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Latin Airplay for OneRepublic.
  58. ↑ "OneRepublic Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Latin Pop Songs for OneRepublic.
  59. ↑ "OneRepublic Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Pop Songs for OneRepublic.
  60. ↑ "OneRepublic Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Rhythmic Songs for OneRepublic. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  61. ↑ "Pop Rock General". Record Report (in Spanish). R.R. Digital C.A. 28 September 2013. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  62. ↑ "2013 Year End Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
  63. ↑ "Best of 2013: Canadian Hot 100". Prometheus Gobal Media. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  64. ↑ "Top 100 Singles Jahrescharts 2013" (in German). VIVA. Viacom International Media Networks. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  65. ↑ "MAHASZ Rádiós TOP 100 - radios 2013" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  66. ↑ "Top Selling Singles of 2013". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  67. ↑ Lane, Daniel (1 January 2014). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Singles Of 2013". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  68. ↑ "Best of 2013 – Hot 100 Songs". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  69. ↑ "Canadian Hot 100 - Year End 2014". Prometheus Gobal Media. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  70. ↑ "FIMI - Classifiche Annuali 2014 "TOP OF THE MUSIC" FIMI-GfK: un anno di musica italiana" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  71. ↑ Copsey, Rob (31 December 2014). "The Official Top 100 Biggest Songs of 2014 revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  72. ↑ "Hot 100 Songs – Year End 2014". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  73. ↑ "Adult Alternative Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  74. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  75. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2014". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  76. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – OneRepublic – Counting Stars". Music Canada.
  77. ↑ "Certificeringer - OneRepublic - Counting Stars" (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  78. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (One Republic; 'Counting Stars')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  79. ↑ "Italian single certifications – OneRepublic – Counting Stars" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved January 9, 2015. Select Online in the field Sezione. Enter OneRepublic in the field Filtra. The certification will load automatically
  80. ↑ "Certificaciones – One Republic" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  81. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – OneRepublic – Counting Stars". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand.
  82. ↑ "OneRepublic - Counting Stars" (in Swedish). Grammofon Leverantörernas Förening. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  83. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (OneRepublic; 'Counting Stars')". Hung Medien.
  84. ↑ "British single certifications". British Phonographic Industry.
  85. ↑ "American single certifications – OneRepublic – Counting Stars". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  86. ↑ "Certificeringer - OneRepublic - Counting Stars". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  87. ↑ "Canciones - 29-12-2014 a 4-1-2015" (PDF) (in Spanish). PROMUSICAE. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  88. ↑ "Top 40/M Future Releases - Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates ...". archive.is.