Northern Star (song)

"Northern Star"
Single by Melanie C
from the album Northern Star
B-side
Released 29 November 1999
Format CD single
Recorded London, England
Genre
Length 4:08 (Single version)
4:41 (Album version)
5:31 (Full version)
Label Virgin
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Marius De Vries
Certification Silver
Melanie C singles chronology
"Goin' Down"
(1999)		 "Northern Star"
(1999)		 "Never Be the Same Again"
(2000)
Audio sample
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Music video
"Northern Star" on YouTube

"Northern Star" is a song by British singer-songwriter, Melanie C. It is the title track from her debut solo album and it was released as the second single in the winter of 1999. It was written by Melanie C and Rick Nowels. The song was produced by Marius De Vries and received positive reception from music critics. The single charted at number four in the UK Singles Chart, becoming her third top five single. It reached the top ten in Italy and Sweden. In the United Kingdom, the single sold over 200,000 copies.

Composition

According to the sheet music published by Musicnotes.com by Hal Leonard Corporation, "Northern Star" is composed in the key of A major, and is written in the time signature of common time. It is set in a moderate tempo of 101 beats per minute, with Chisholm's voice spanning from B5 to E♭3. The song has a basic sequence of Dm–Am–B♭–C as its chord progression.[1]

Music video

The music video for "Northern Star" starts off looking into a starry sky at night gradually moving down, looking out to sea towards a large star, with Melanie walking down a rocky coast surrounded by a desert. She then walks in between two train tracks and as the chorus begins, two trains drive at high speed in opposite directions, later there is a brief scene in a cave with miners. Then Melanie walks through a somewhat Arctic-like area which blends into an urban setting which instantly changes into a sandy beach. During the instrumental she is seen walking through a forest and crossing over a river during daytime, later back in an urban building set. The video ends with her back on the coast at night.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Northern Star".

UK CD1 / Australian CD

  1. "Northern Star" (single version) – 4:10
  2. "Follow Me" – 4:47
  3. "Northern Star" (full version) – 5:31
  4. "Northern Star" (music video)

UK CD2

  1. "Northern Star" (single version) – 4:10
  2. "Northern Star" (acoustic version) – 2:53
  3. "Something's Gonna Happen" – 3:59

UK Cassette

  1. "Northern Star" (single version) – 4:10
  2. "Follow Me" – 4:47
  3. "Northern Star" (full version) – 5:31

Official versions

Live performances

Melanie C performed the song on the following concert tours:

Charts

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[2] 82
Eurochart Hot 100[3] 31
scope="row" Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[4] 16
Germany (GfK Entertainment)[5] 50
scope="row" Italy (FIMI)[6] 17
Scottish Singles Chart[7] 5
scope="row" Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[8] 7
scope="row" Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[9] 75
scope="row" UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[10] 4

References

  1. ↑ Chisholm, Melanie; Nowels, Rick (1999). "Digital Sheet Music – Melanie C – Northern Star". Musicnotes.com. Hal Leonard Corporation.
  2. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  3. ↑ "Billboard: Eurochart Hot 100". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.) 111 (51). 18 December 1999. ISSN 0006-2510.
  4. ↑ "Melanie C: Northern Star" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  5. ↑ "Chartverfolgung – Single – Melanie C". Musicline.de. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  6. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Melanie C – Northern Star". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  7. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/scottish-singles-chart/19991128/41
  8. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Melanie C – Northern Star". Singles Top 60. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  9. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Melanie C – Northern Star". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  10. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1999-12-04" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 October 2011.