Rock Star (N.E.R.D song)

"Rock Star"
Single by N*E*R*D
from the album In Search Of...
Released July 29, 2002
Format CD single
Genre Alternative rock, funk rock
Length 4:29 (In Search Of... electronic version)
4:19 (In Search Of... rock version)
Label Virgin
Writer(s) N*E*R*D
Producer(s) The Neptunes
N*E*R*D singles chronology
"Lapdance"
(2001)
"Rock Star"
(2002)
"Provider"
(2002)

"Rock Star" is a song by American funk rock group N*E*R*D. It was released as the second single from their debut studio album In Search Of... (2001). The song, the second single off the album, performed better in the United Kingdom than their previous single "Lapdance", peaking at number 15. It also became the group's first single to chart in Australia.

The song acted as a "second first single" of sorts, as it followed the group's debut "Lapdance," but was the first single to be released from the second, more streamlined version of In Search Of that featured a live-instrument makeover courtesy of Spymob rather than The Neptunes' trademark synths and electronic drum kits.

Music video

The song originally had a clip shot by famed urban video director Hype Williams, but was shelved and remains unreleased.

Usage in other media

The song features in the films The Guard, Bringing Down the House and Blue Crush.

The Jason Nevins Remix of the song has been featured in numerous video games such as Burnout Dominator, Burnout Paradise, Mat Hoffman Pro BMX 2, and Forza Motorsport 2 as well as movie trailers for The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and the 2004 film Taxi, and was featured in an Apple iPod advert. The Jason Nevins Club Blaster Edit has appeared in SSX3.

An edited version of it was also used as the theme song for NFL's 2002 game NFL Fever, with Pharrell's part replaced with the words NFL Fever. The song also appears in the music video game Band Hero.

The original version appears in the video game True Crime: Streets of LA.

A portion of "Rock Star" also appears in an episode (Season 3, Episode 4: "Zoso") of the television series Californication, as well as an episode of Northern Irish comedy Pulling Moves.

It placed at #46 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2002 in Australia, which is the world's largest annual music poll.

Track listing

  1. "Rock Star" (Jason Nevins remix edit)
  2. "Rock Star" (Formerly Rock Star Poser)
  3. "Rock Star" (Nevin's Classic Club Blaster - edited mix)
  4. "Rock Star" (video)

Charts

Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[1] 32
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[2] 74
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[3] 15

References


  1. "Australian-charts.com – N.E.R.D. – Rock Star". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  2. "Dutchcharts.nl – N.E.R.D. – Rock Star" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  3. "N*E*R*D: Artist Chart History" UK Singles Chart.