| "Superstar" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byLupe Fiasco featuringMatthew Santos | ||||
| from the albumLupe Fiasco's The Cool | ||||
| Released | September 25, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | 2006 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:49 (album version) 3:59 (radio version) | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters |
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| Producer | Soundtrakk | |||
| Lupe Fiasco singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Superstar" onYouTube | ||||
"Superstar" is a song performed byrapperLupe Fiasco featuringMatthew Santos. It is the first single off his 2007 albumLupe Fiasco's The Cool.iTunes released "Superstar" on September 25, 2007 along with a radio version of "Dumb It Down."
On November 5, 2007 the official video was released and it was directed byHype Williams. It premiered onBET's106 & Park on November 23 and on February 19 it moved up to the number one spot on the countdown. As of December 31, it appeared at number 84 on BET'sNotarized: Top 100 Videos of 2007 countdown.The song is featured on the soundtracks ofNFL Tour andNHL 2K10.[3] Star baseball playerHanley Ramírez used the song as his walk-up music atFlorida Marlins home games. "Superstar" peaked at number ten on theBillboard Hot 100. Outside of the United States, "Superstar" peaked within the top ten of the charts in the Republic of Ireland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
In the song, Lupe yells "FREE CHILLY" which is a reference to another song on his album. The song "Free Chilly" is about Lupe's business partner "Chilly" who was sentenced to 44 years in jail during the recording of "The Cool".
Most critics were positive towards the single. Complex ranked it at 95 on their 100 best songs of the 2000s. Bill Lamb, representing the music website About.com, awarded the song four-and-a-half stars, and gave primary praise to "Lupe Fiasco's dense lyrical meditation on life in the spotlight", "Matthew Santos' haunting vocals", and the "immediate setup of the melodic hook";[4] however, he did emphasize Santos' vocal delivery to be similar to that ofColdplay frontmanChris Martin — of which both Fiasco and Santos are reportedly fans — citing it asboth a positive and negative characteristic of the song.[5] Pitchfork, in an otherwise positive outlook, expressed a similar sentiment: "The hooky first single [is] "Superstar", with Fiasco protégé Matthew Santos (who has probably heard a few Coldplay albums) playingAdam Levine to Fiasco'sKanye West",[6] thus comparing the song's style to that of "Heard 'Em Say", a Kanye West song released in 2005. However, music editor Nick Levine argues that "the hazy, gospel-inflected chorus, sung by Chicago folkie Matthew Santos, is just as memorable, suggesting everyone but Kanye should be quaking in his diamond-studdedReeboks."[7] Blues&Soul felt that the song "blended Lupe's characteristic easy vocal flow with a pleasantly lumbering piano-led beat, a soulful hook, and the odd sample and sound effect."[8] In a review for Yahoo Music, Jaime Gill wrote: "'Superstar' is a melancholy look at celebrity, with Fiasco delivering a languid rap about the insecurities that linger behind fame's brittle armour. Its set to a low-key piano part and a piercing, haunting chorus sung by one Matthew Santos. In one brilliant line, Lupe describes the luxuries of celebrity while skewering its loneliness: "chauffeur, chauffeur, come and take me away." It may be too subtle, slow and sad to be a hit in today's hip hop climate, which would be deeply depressing."[9]
"Superstar" peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Pop Charts, and number ten on theBillboard Hot 100, becoming Lupe Fiasco's first top ten song on the chart.[10] It also surpassed the success of his first single on theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at number 19, and was his first song to appear on theRhythmic Top 40, peaking at number eight.
In the United Kingdom, "Superstar" was moved toBBC Radio 1's A-List after being made Record of the Week by bothSara Cox andJo Whiley on December 27, 2007. As a result, the song debuted at number seven on theUK Singles Chart solely on downloads on January 13, 2008 – for the week ending date January 19, 2008 – before climbing to its peak of number four on the chart following its physical CD release the following week. It became Lupe Fiasco's highest-charting song in Britain to date, outperforming both of his previous biggest hits, "Kick, Push" and "Daydreamin'", both of which peaked within the top 30 of the UK Singles Chart.
The song was nominated forBest Rap/Sung Collaboration at theGrammy Awards of 2009. It was also nominated for 2008 Teen Choice Music: Rap/Hip-Hop Song award. Additionally, "Superstar" was thetheme song ofFox8'sFootball Superstar.
The video depicts aMercedes-Benz S-Class stopping at the red carpet. Two girls leave the car. Director Hype Williams[citation needed] manages to slip in two characters from Lupe Fiasco's The Cool.The Cool with his characterizing skeleton hand and The Streets with her dollar signs in her eyes. The Cool apparently sold his soul to The Game for fame and fortune. In return, The Game's wife The Streets made him The Coolest and gave him the Mercedes as well as his bling and the gold key he has around his neck. Santos also appears in the video in a dark smoke room with shades on. The Video itself has been nominated for a MTV's VMA for Best Hip Hop Video.
There is an official remix to the song, featuringMatthew Santos,Young Jeezy &T.I. A recent performance on MTV was made, withPatrick Stump ofFall Out Boy performing the vocals of the end of the song.[11][12]
A third version of the song was performed byFiasco andSantos onBBC Radio in the United Kingdom, and featured an entirelyacoustic instrumental without anypercussion accompaniment. It was unofficially released on the internet[13] and later officially released (20 October 2008) on BBCRadio 1's Live Lounge – Volume 3.
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[35] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[36] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[37] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
