Stars Are Blind

"Stars Are Blind"
Single by Paris Hilton
from the album Paris
Released June 5, 2006 (2006-06-05)
Format
Recorded 2004
Genre
Length 3:56
Label Warner Bros.
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
  • Fernando Garibay
  • Sheppard Solomon
Paris Hilton singles chronology
"Stars Are Blind"
(2006)		 "Turn It Up"
(2006)

"Stars Are Blind" is the debut single recorded by American recording artist Paris Hilton. It was released as the lead single from her debut album Paris on June 5, 2006. The song was written by Fernando Garibay, Sheppard Solomon and Ralph McCarthy, and produced by Garibay with additional production by Solomon. "Stars Are Blind" is a mid-tempo reggae song strongly influenced by contemporary R&B.

"Stars Are Blind" was well received by music critics. It peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

A remix featuring reggaeton singers Wisin y Yandel was released in Latin America, receiving heavy airplay and achieving club success in countries like Colombia, Ecuador, Chile and Venezuela.

Reception

Critical response

"Stars Are Blind" received positive reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic called it "a breezy track".[1] Sal Cinquemani from Slant says that "Paris's debut single, "Stars Are Blind" (which was commissioned to bridge the gap between the hip-hop and rock-inflected tunes on the album), has been the surprise of the summer, Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous" notwithstanding; it's a sunny, reggae-hued love song that has eclipsed new singles by some of music's biggest stars".[2] Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly called it "a summery island groove".[3] Alexis Petridis from The Guardian said that "on Stars Are Blind, the combination of tinny cod-reggae and your-call-is-being-held-in-a-queue vocal technique results in something so plasticky, it's perversely enjoyable". Mark Daniels from Yahoo! Music said, "Even the plinky R&B-reggae, never a good look, of single 'Stars Are Blind' manages to ingratiate itself eventually".[4] Ernest Baker from Complex listed the song was one of the "50 Awesome Guilty Pleasure Songs We're Ashamed to Like (But Not Really)", and stated that "the song was like a tropical escape from her tabloid headline persona. Instead, you had what seemed liked sincere emotions from the socialite incorporated into a ridiculously well-written record, over spot-on production. 'Stars Are Blind' was a flash in the pan, a fluke, but an incredible one. We'll never get something like this from Paris Hilton again". He finished saying that this was Hilton's greatest contribution to society.[5]

Chart performance

"Stars Are Blind" was one of the highest debuting singles in the U.S. in 2006, entering the Billboard Hot 100 at number 18[6] due to strong digital sales. It had previously debuted at number two on the U.S. Bubbling Under Billboard Hot 100 Chart (equivalent to #102 on the US Billboard Top 100).

"Stars Are Blind" debuted at No. 14 in Japan Hot 100 chart.[7]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Stars Are Blind" was shot in two days in May 2006, in Malibu, California, and was directed by Chris Applebaum.[8][9] The video for the song features many images of her walking and rolling around on the beach with a lover. It premiered on June 6, 2006 on MTV. "Shooting the music video was so much fun, and I had the best time doing it, and was so proud when it came out and everyone loved it so much", said Hilton.[10] The video was listed as one of the 50 worst videos of all time by NME at number 49. The magazine stated, "So this is what you can do when your daddy has buckets of money – pay someone to film you roll around in a bikini in the sand with a guy in order to distract us from the fact that you've been auto-tuned (quite poorly) to high heaven. Good on you, Paris Hilton – you successfully created something that sucked more than the song itself (which, frankly, we thought would be impossible to do).[11]

A second version of the video was shot for the European and Latin American countries, featuring Hilton's lover (played by Lucas Babin) from the beach as her photographer at a photoshoot. In this version, scenes from the beach are still present, but exist as Hilton's fantasies during the photoshoot. At the end of the video, she wins the affection of her photographer, but ends up just taking his keys and stealing his car. The second version premiered on Z100's website on July 5, 2006.[12]

In June 2007, the copyright holders of the 1970 song "Kingston Town", Sparta Florida Music Group, started legal action against Hilton and Warner Chappell Music for plagiarism due to alleged similarities between "Stars Are Blind" and "Kingston Town".[13][14] The two songs use the same chord progression in the verses. It has wrongly been ascribed that UB40 was the suing party, but that has been denied by the band themselves on their website.[15]

Track listing and formats

Standard single
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Stars Are Blind"  Fernando Garibay, Sheppard Solomon, Ralph McCarthy3:57
2."Stars Are Blind" (Tracy Does Paris Radio Remix) 3:34

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2006) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[16] 7
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[17] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[18] 18
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[19] 28
Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[20] 6
Denmark (Tracklisten)[21] 5
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[22] 5
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[23] 6
France (SNEP)[24] 34
Germany (Official German Charts)[25] 7
Hungary (Single Top 40)[26] 1
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[27] 7
Italy (FIMI)[28] 5
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 4
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[30] 12
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[31] 20
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[32] 12
Norway (VG-lista)[33] 6
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[34] 1
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[35] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[36] 3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[37] 5
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[38] 5
US Billboard Hot 100[39] 18
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[40] 16
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[41] 1
Venezuela Pop Rock (Record Report)[42] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (2006) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[43] 77

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[44] Gold 15,000[45]
United States (RIAA)[46] Gold 559,000[47]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Preceded by
"C'est La Vie" by Kim English		 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs number-one single
August 26, 2006 		Succeeded by
"Lost" by Roger Sanchez

Release history

Country Release date format
Worldwide June 5, 2006 Digital download
United States June 6, 2006 Top 40/Mainstream radio
Australia July 8, 2006 Digital download
United Kingdom July 31, 2006

References

  1. ↑ Paris> Paris Hilton Album<> Allmusic Review
  2. ↑ Paris Hilton
  3. ↑ Paris - Music Review
  4. ↑ Yahoo! Music Album Review Paris Hilton - Paris
  5. ↑ http://www.complex.com/music/2013/03/50-awesome-guilty-pleasure-songs-were-ashamed-to-like-but-not-really/
  6. ↑ Clover Hope, "Furtado Earns Second No. 1 Of The Week", Billboard.com, June 29, 2006.
  7. ↑ http://top40-charts.com/chart.php?cid=16&date=2006-08-26
  8. ↑ http://www.contactmusic.com/pages/parishiltonx14x06x06
  9. ↑ http://www.mtv.com/news/1533187/paris-hiltons-debut-merges-hip-hop-reggae-rod-stewart/
  10. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/5777963/remember-the-time-paris-hilton-looks-back-on-stars-are-blind
  11. ↑ http://www.nme.com/list/50-worst-music-videos-ever/253198/article/253201#uQuX2X3aYFGIIFYv.99
  12. ↑ Z100.com Retrieved on 05-22-07
  13. ↑ UB40 sue Paris Hilton over copyright
  14. ↑ Paris in UB40 rip-off row
  15. ↑ Press Statement: PARIS HILTON & UB40
  16. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Paris Hilton – Stars Are Blind". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  17. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Paris Hilton – Stars Are Blind" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  18. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Paris Hilton – Stars Are Blind" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  19. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Paris Hilton – Stars Are Blind" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  20. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200637 into search.
  21. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Paris Hilton – Stars Are Blind". Tracklisten.
  22. ↑ "Paris Hilton – Chart history" European Hot 100 for Paris Hilton.
  23. ↑ "Paris Hilton: Stars Are Blind" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  24. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Paris Hilton – Stars Are Blind" (in French). Les classement single.
  25. ↑ "Musicline.de – Paris Hilton Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  26. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  27. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  28. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Paris Hilton – Stars Are Blind". Top Digital Download.
  29. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 32, 2006". Irish Singles Chart.
  30. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Paris Hilton search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  31. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Paris Hilton – Stars Are Blind" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  32. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Paris Hilton – Stars Are Blind". Top 40 Singles.
  33. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Paris Hilton – Stars Are Blind". VG-lista.
  34. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2006-08-06". Scottish Singles Top 40.
  35. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200635 into search.
  36. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Paris Hilton – Stars Are Blind". Singles Top 100.
  37. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Paris Hilton – Stars Are Blind". Swiss Singles Chart.
  38. ↑ "Paris Hilton: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
  39. ↑ "Paris Hilton – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Paris Hilton.
  40. ↑ "Paris Hilton – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Paris Hilton.
  41. ↑ "Paris Hilton – Chart history" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for Paris Hilton.
  42. ↑ "Pop Rock" (in Spanish). Record Report. 2006-07-15. Archived from the original on 2006-07-16.
  43. ↑ "The ARIA Report 2006" (PDF). ARIA Charts (ARIA). 2006.
  44. ↑ "Danish single certifications – Paris Hilton – Stars Are Blind". IFPI Denmark. Click on næste to go to page if certification from official website
  45. ↑ "Paris Hilton: certifications RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  46. ↑ "American single certifications – Paris Hilton – Stars Are Blind". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  47. ↑ "Paris Hilton to Release Second Album on Cash Money, Feature Lil Wayne". Billboard (magazine). Retrieved May 22, 2013.
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