Blackstar (song)
"Blackstar" | |
---|---|
Single by David Bowie | |
from the album Blackstar | |
Released | 19 November 2015 |
Recorded | 2015 |
Studio |
|
Genre | |
Length | 9:57 |
Label |
|
Songwriter(s) | David Bowie |
Producer(s) |
|
Blackstar track listing | |
7 tracks
| |
Music video | |
"Blackstar" on YouTube |
"Blackstar" (stylised as "★")
Production and composition
"Blackstar" is an
The song was originally over eleven minutes long, but after learning that iTunes would not post singles over ten minutes in length, Bowie and Visconti edited it down to 9:57, making it Bowie's second-longest track behind "Station to Station". Bowie did not want to confuse listeners by releasing different single and album versions.[11]
Release
"Blackstar" was released on 19 November 2015, as a digital download[12] and in 2017 as a 12" single in Japan only. In addition to its release on the album of the same name, the track was used as the opening music for the television series The Last Panthers.[13]
Music video
The music video for "Blackstar" is a surreal ten-minute short film directed by
The film was shot in September 2015 in a studio in
Similarities have been drawn between Bowie's song and Elvis Presley's song "Black Star" which contains the lyrics "When a man sees his black star, he knows his time...has come."[20]
The repeated line "at the centre of it all" is also present in Aleister Crowley's The Book of Lies.[21]
The choreography, notably that of the three dancers featured in an attic sequence, was drawn from other media, including Max Fleischer's
The official video for "Blackstar" won the Best Art Direction award at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards.[23]
Critical reception
Ryan Dombal of
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Blackstar" | 9:57 |
Japan 12" single
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Blackstar" | 9:57 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Lazarus" (radio edit) | 4:05 |
2. | "I Can't Give Everything Away" (radio edit) | 4:25 |
Personnel
Personnel adapted from Blackstar liner notes.[28]
Musicians
- David Bowie – vocals, acoustic guitar, mixing, production, string arrangements
- Tim Lefebvre – bass
- Mark Guiliana – drums, percussion
- Donny McCaslin – flute, saxophone, woodwinds
- Ben Monder – guitar
- Jason Lindner – piano, organ, keyboards
Technical
- Tony Visconti – production, strings, engineering, mixing engineer
- Joe LaPorta – mastering engineer
- Kevin Killen – engineering
- Erin Tonkon – assistant engineer
- Joe Visciano – assistant engineer
- Kabir Hermon – assistant engineer
- Tom Elmhirst – mixing engineer
Charts
Chart (2015–16) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[29] | 69 |
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[29] | 84 |
Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia)[30] | 37 |
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[31] | 53 |
France ( SNEP)[32]
|
45 |
Germany ( Official German Charts)[33]
|
97 |
Hungary (Single Top 40)[34] | 16 |
Ireland (IRMA)[35] | 62 |
Italy ( FIMI)[36]
|
31 |
Japan ( Japan Hot 100)[37]
|
55 |
Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard)[38] | 8 |
Netherlands ( Single Top 100)[29]
|
44 |
Portugal (AFP)[39] | 5 |
Spain ( PROMUSICAE)[40]
|
84 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[41] | 50 |
Switzerland ( Swiss Hitparade)[29]
|
20 |
61 | |
US Billboard Hot 100[43] | 78 |
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[44] | 13 |
Release history
Region | Date | Format | Label |
---|---|---|---|
United States[12] | 19 November 2015 | Digital download |
|
Italy[45] | Contemporary hit radio | Columbia |
References
- ^ ★ Blackstar – CD, David Bowie & Artist Arena, archived from the original on 28 February 2016,
★ (pronounced "Blackstar")
- ^ "Nominees And Winners – GRAMMY.com". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
- ^ "The Longest & Shortest Hot 100 Hits: From Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce & David Bowie to Piko-Taro". Billboard. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
- ^ "Tool's New Single Makes Chart History; 'Ænima' Album Re-Enters Billboard 200 At No. 10". Blabbermouth.net. 12 August 2019. Archived from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- ^ Pitchfork. Archivedfrom the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- Consequence of Sound. Archivedfrom the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- Rolling Stone. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
What they accomplished was a sound unlike anything else in music history, a combination of jazz, electronics, progressive rock...
- ^ Ahlgrim, Carrie (13 December 2019). "The 113 best songs of the past decade, ranked". Insider. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
The titular lead single from his final album is a 10-minute Baroque masterpiece...
- ^ McCormick, Neil (20 November 2015). "David Bowie's new song, Blackstar, review: 'Major Tom is dead. Bowie lives'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 28 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (20 November 2015). "David Bowie's Blackstar video: a gift of sound and vision or all-time low?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ Greene, Andy (23 November 2015). "The Inside Story of David Bowie's Stunning New Album, Blackstar". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ a b "Blackstar". Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2016 – via Amazon.
- ^ "David Bowie: 7 Things We Already Know About His 2016 Album 'Blackstar'". NME. 26 October 2015. Archived from the original on 27 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ Elisa Lasowski, queen of ‘Versailles,’ talks about history, television and fashion Archived 23 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine; Los Angeles Times; Marcie Medina; 30 September 2016
- ^ a b Joffe, Justin (19 November 2015). "BEHIND "BLACKSTAR": AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHAN RENCK, THE DIRECTOR OF DAVID BOWIE'S TEN-MINUTE SHORT FILM". Noisey. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ "David Bowie's last days: an 18-month burst of creativity". The Guardian. 15 January 2016. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ^ Savage, Mark (10 January 2017). "David Bowie: Ten things we've learned since his death". BBC. Archived from the original on 17 December 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2017. That cites an interview which was only available in the UK on the date of access. Whately, Francis, ed. (7 January 2017). "Bowie: The Last Five Years". BBC2. Archived from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
- ^ McGeorge, Alistair (25 November 2015). "David Bowie denies claims his new song Blackstar was 'inspired by ISIS'". Mirror. Archived from the original on 28 December 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (18 December 2015). "David Bowie's Blackstar album: 'An unexpected left turn that deepens the mystery' – first-listen review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- ^ Rogers, Jude (21 January 2016). "The final mysteries of David Bowie's Blackstar – Elvis, Crowley and 'the villa of Ormen'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 February 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- ISBN 9781785655333. Archivedfrom the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ Lau, Melody (23 November 2015). "Johan Renck, director of David Bowie's 'Blackstar' video, calls collaborative process 'a dream'". CBC Music. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
- ^ French, Megan (26 July 2016). "David Bowie Receives Four Posthumous 2016 VMA Nominations". US Weekly. Archived from the original on 27 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- ^ "Best Music Videos of 2015". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ Coscarelli, Joe (14 January 2016). "'Black Star': David Bowie's Connection to Elvis Presley". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
- ^ Ratliff, Ben (13 January 2016). "Popcast: Love, Death and David Bowie". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
When a man sees his black star/he knows his time, his time has come.
- ^ "PAZZ+JOP 2016". Village Voice. 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 26 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ^ "Blackstar" single liner notes.
- ^ a b c d "Ultratop.be – David Bowie – ★ [Blackstar]" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – David Bowie – ★ [Blackstar]" (in French). Ultratip. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ "David Bowie Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- Les classement single. Archivedfrom the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts – Offizielle Deutsche Charts". Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- ^ "Chart Track: Week 2, 2016". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "Top Digital – Classifica settimanale WK 2 (dal 2016-01-08 al 2016-01-14)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "David Bowie Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Overseas" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. 18 January 2016. Archived from the original on 19 February 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
- ^ Hung, Steffen. "portuguesecharts.com - Portuguese Charts - Singles - 02.02.2016". portuguesecharts.com. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
- ^ "David Bowie - ★ [Blackstar] (Song)". Spanish Charts. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- ^ "Sverigetopplistan - Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Archived from the original on 26 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "David Bowie Scores First Top 40 Hot 100 Single Since 1987 With 'Lazarus'". Billboard. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
- ^ "David Bowie Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
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