All the Stars

"All the Stars" is a song recorded by American rapper Kendrick Lamar and American singer SZA. Written by Lamar, SZA, Sounwave, and Al Shux and produced by the latter two,[2][3][4] the song was released on January 4, 2018, as the lead single to the soundtrack album of the film Black Panther.[3][5] Its release coincided with Top Dawg Entertainment's announcement that its president, Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, and Lamar himself would be producing the Black Panther soundtrack album.[3][6][7] Marvel Studios confirmed the news and revealed that Lamar was hand-picked by Black Panther's director, Ryan Coogler, to produce the soundtrack album. The song appeared in the movie during the end credits.[8]

Not to be confused with All of the Stars.

"All the Stars"
Single by Kendrick Lamar and SZA
from the album Black Panther: The Album
Released	January 4, 2018 (2018-01-04)
Recorded	2017
Genre	Pop-rap
Length	3:55 (single version) 3:52 (album version)
Label	Top Dawg Aftermath Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Kendrick Duckworth Mark Spears Al Shuckburgh Solána Rowe Anthony Tiffith
Producer(s)	Sounwave Al Shux
Kendrick Lamar singles chronology
"Love" (2017) "All the Stars" (2018) "Don't Don't Do It" (2018[1])
SZA singles chronology
"The Weekend" (2017) "All the Stars" (2018) "Broken Clocks" (2018)
Music video
"All the Stars" on YouTube
Audio sample
file help

"All the Stars" received numerous accolades and nominations including a nomination for Best Original Song at the 76th Golden Globe Awards and the 91st Academy Awards, as well as receiving four nominations at the 61st Grammy Awards including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

"All the Stars" won Best Song at the African-American Film Critics Association, while its video won Best Visual Effects at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards.

Background

Lamar first hinted at his involvement with the Black Panther soundtrack album in the music video for his song "Love", released on December 22, 2017.[3][9] In the video, at about 1:54 into the song, a clapperboard is shown with the words "B.Panther Soundtrack Coming Soon".[10] Lamar subsequently announced his involvement on January 4, 2018, along with the release of "All the Stars".[3][6]

Release

Upon its release, Lamar announced his praise for Black Panther and its director, Ryan Coogler, writing "the magnitude of [the] film showcases a great marriage of art and culture. I'm truly honored to contribute my knowledge of producing sound and writing music alongside Ryan and Marvel's vision."[5][6]

Reception

"All the Stars" received positive reviews from critics. Jon Blistein of Rolling Stone praised the song, calling Lamar's verse "defiant" and SZA's verse "enthralling" and "filled with vocal turns".[7] However, Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork gave the song a negative review, calling it "generic" and "pales in comparison to [Lamar and SZA's] recent works".[11] Pearce further wrote that the song is "full of heavy-handed plotting and everyman cliches" and is "so nondescript that it reeks of compromise, devoid of personality or any true vision."[11] Although Pearce complimented Lamar and SZA's performances and the "slick production", he ultimately wrote that "'All the Stars' is uncharacteristically conservative for these two stars, all in service of a bigger picture."[11]

In December 2018, Billboard ranked "All the Stars" as the 15th best song of the year.[12]

Chart performance

In the week ending January 20, 2018, "All the Stars" debuted at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100.[13] During its fifth week on the chart, it managed to rise to number 31 on the Hot 100,[14] and in the week ending March 3, 2018, the single reached number seven on the Hot 100.[15] It is Lamar's second top ten hit on the chart in 2018, following his collaboration with the Weeknd on "Pray for Me", which reached number seven in early February. It also became SZA's second top ten hit on the chart following her collaboration with Maroon 5 on the hit single "What Lovers Do".[16] On the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, "All the Stars" debuted at number 19 and stayed in the top 20 for three weeks. In its fifth week, it rose to number five on the chart.

Worldwide, the song peaked at number one in Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, and Slovakia. The song reached the top ten in Australia, Canada, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Music video

The music video for the song was released to Lamar's Vevo channel on YouTube on February 6, 2018. It was directed by Dave Meyers and the Little Homies.[17]

The video features themes and images of Afrocentrism and Afrofuturism, referencing the visual language of the film. The beginning of the video references to the Middle Passage, with appearances of Fulani hats, La Sape, Pantsula, Kufi caps, traditional African masks, and Kandake at the end.[18][19]

Copyright infringement

In February 2018, British-Liberian artist Lina Iris Viktor claimed that images of her 24-karat gold patterned artwork were used in the music video without her permission.[20]

Awards and nominations

Year	Organization	Award	Result
2018	Teen Choice Awards	Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Song	Nominated
	MTV Video Music Awards	Best Visual Effects	Won
	iHeartRadio MMVAs	Best Collaboration	Nominated
	BreakTudo Awards	Best Collaboration	Nominated
	UK Music Video Awards	Best Urban Video: International	Nominated
	Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Best Original Song: Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Film	Won
2019	Houston Film Critics Society	Best Original Song	Nominated
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Original Song	Nominated
	Georgia Film Critics Association	Best Original Song	Nominated
	Critics' Choice Awards	Best Song	Nominated
	African-American Film Critics Association	Best Song	Won
	Black Reel Awards	Outstanding Original Song	Won
	Grammy Awards	Record of the Year	Nominated
		Song of the Year	Nominated
		Best Rap/Sung Performance	Nominated
		Best Song Written for Visual Media	Nominated
	Academy Awards	Best Original Song	Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Original Song	Nominated
	Guild of Music Supervisors Awards[21]	Best Song/Recording Created for a Film	Nominated
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration	Won
		Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album	Nominated
	PLAY - Portuguese Music Awards	Best International Song	Won

Personnel

Credits adapted from digital booklet.[22]

Performers

• Kendrick Lamar – vocals
• SZA – vocals

Technical

• Matt Schaeffer – record engineering, mix engineering
• Mike Bozzi – master engineering
• Sam Ricci – record engineering
• James Hunt – record engineering
• Lorenzo Richards - record engineering

Production

• Sounwave – production
• Al Shux – production

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2018) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[23] 2 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[24] 25 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[25] 21 Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[26] 11 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[27] 7 Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[28] 31 Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[29] 12 Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[30] 9 Denmark (Tracklisten)[31] 12 France (SNEP)[32] 21 Germany (Official German Charts)[33] 27 Hungary (Single Top 40)[34] 33 Hungary (Stream Top 40)[35] 6 Ireland (IRMA)[36] 3 Italy (FIMI)[37] 34 Malaysia (RIM)[38] 1 Mexico Inglés (Billboard)[39] 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[40] 29 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[41] 20 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[42] 2 Norway (VG-lista)[43] 7 Portugal (AFP)[44] 2 Scotland (Official Charts Company)[45] 18 Singapore (RIAS)[46] 1 Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[47] 7 Slovenia (SloTop50)[48] 47 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[49] 59 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[50] 9 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[51] 18 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[52] 5 UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[53] 2 US Billboard Hot 100[54] 7 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[55] 5 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[56] 15 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[57] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2018) Position Australia (ARIA)[58] 17 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[59] 92 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[60] 40 Denmark (Tracklisten)[61] 55 Estonia (IFPI)[62] 24 Ireland (IRMA)[63] 25 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[64] 16 Portugal (AFP)[65] 23 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[66] 52 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[67] 38 US Billboard Hot 100[68] 47 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[69] 25 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[70] 17 Chart (2019) Position Portugal (AFP)[71] 431

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[72]	3× Platinum	210,000
Belgium (BEA)[73]	Gold	15,000^*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[74]	Platinum	40,000
Canada (Music Canada)[75]	2× Platinum	160,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[76]	Platinum	90,000
Italy (FIMI)[77]	Platinum	50,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[78]	Platinum	30,000^*
Portugal (AFP)[79]	Platinum	10,000
Sweden (GLF)[80]	Platinum	8,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[81]	Platinum	600,000
United States (RIAA)[82]	2× Platinum	281,000[83]
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
United States	January 4, 2018	Digital download streaming	Top Dawg Aftermath Interscope
	January 9, 2018	Rhythmic contemporary radio		[84]
Italy	January 19, 2018	Contemporary hit radio	Universal	[85]
United States	February 27, 2018		Top Dawg Aftermath Interscope	[86]

See also

• List of number-one songs of 2018 (Malaysia)
• List of number-one songs of 2018 (Singapore)
• Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2018

References

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4. "All The Stars / Kendrick Lamar TIDAL". Tidal. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
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External links

• "All the Stars" Music video on YouTube
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics