City of Stars

For other uses, see City of Stars (disambiguation).

"City of Stars" is a song performed by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in the film La La Land (2016). The music of the song was composed by Justin Hurwitz while the lyrics were provided by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.^[2] The song won numerous awards, including the award for Best Original Song at both the 74th Golden Globe Awards and 89th Academy Awards.

"City of Stars"
Hollywood remix cover
Single by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone
from the album La La Land: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Released	March 3, 2017[1]
Recorded	2016
Genre	Show tunes jazz pop
Length	2:25
Label	Interscope
Composer(s)	Justin Hurwitz
Lyricist(s)	Benj Pasek Justin Paul

Another version of the song was also released as a 'Hollywood remix' but was not used in the original film.^[3] "City of Stars" was released as a single in Italy on March 3, 2017.^[1]

Context

In the film, the song is first sung by Gosling alone as the character of Sebastian as he sings and dances on the Hermosa Beach Pier. Later in the film, it is reprised by Sebastian and Mia (Stone) during a montage of him getting ready to tour with Keith's (John Legend) band, as well as Mia quitting her job at a coffee shop and renting out a theater for her one-woman play.

Inspiration

Justin Hurwitz, the composer of the song, discussed the writing of the song:^[4]

[The song] started at the piano with me just working on demos for Damien, sending him ideas until something really sparked. It's so funny that that and "Audition" are the two songs that people seem to be responding to the most, at least so far, because they had similar processes in the sense that they had probably the least amount of fussing at the piano demo stage. [...] I was just composing it from an emotional place and thinking about the tone. I would say the tone is hopeful, but melancholy at the same time. And it kind of goes back-and-forth between cadencing in major and cadencing in minor, because I think that’s kind of what the song is about. You have these great moments and then you have these less great moments in life and in Los Angeles and we see it happen in the story. I was thinking about that idea a little bit and just trying to compose a melody that I thought was shapely and beautiful. I guess it has some jazz inflections, because it’s something Sebastian plays on the piano.

Music video

The music video was uploaded to YouTube channel on Apr 17, 2017, and has gained more than 31 million views as of April 2024.

Accolades

Main article: List of accolades received by La La Land

Accolades for "City of Stars"

Awards
Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Result	Ref.
Hollywood Music in Media Awards	November 17, 2016	Best Song – Feature Film	Won	[5][6]
Critics' Choice Awards	December 11, 2016	Best Song	Won	[7]
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association	December 18, 2016	Best Song	Won	[8]
Houston Film Critics Society	January 6, 2017	Best Original Song	Won	[9][10]
Golden Globe Awards	January 8, 2017	Best Original Song	Won	[11]
Satellite Awards	February 19, 2017	Best Original Song	Won	[12]
Academy Awards	February 26, 2017	Best Original Song	Won	[13]
Grammy Award	January 28, 2018	Best Song Written for Visual Media	Nominated	[14]

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "City of Stars"

Chart (2017)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[15]	68
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[16]	30
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[17]	20
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[18]	89
France (SNEP)[19]	44
Greece Digital Songs (Billboard)[20]	3
Hong Kong (Metro Radio)[21]	1
Hungary (Single Top 40)[22]	8
Ireland (IRMA)[23]	57
Italy (FIMI)[24]	51
Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard)[25]	2
Japan Radio Songs (Billboard)[26]	1
Portugal (AFP)[27]	45
Scotland (OCC)[28]	29
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[29]	14
South Korea International Chart (Gaon)[30]	2
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[31]	48
UK Singles (OCC)[32]	53
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[33]	8
US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[34]	45
US Jazz Digital Songs (Billboard)[34] Solo version	1

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "City of Stars"

Chart (2017)	Position
Hungary (Single Top 40)[35]	72

Certifications

Certifications for "City of Stars"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[36]	Gold	30,000‡
France (SNEP)[37]	Platinum	200,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[38]	Gold	25,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[39]	Platinum	60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[40]	Silver	200,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

• La La Land (soundtrack)
• "Another Day of Sun"
• "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)"

References

1. Aldi, Giorgia (February 27, 2017). "Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone - City of Stars (Radio Date: 03-03-2017)" (in Italian). EarOne. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
2. Tapley, Kristopher (November 17, 2016). "Listen to 'City of Stars' From the 'La La Land' Soundtrack, Arriving Dec. 9". Variety. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
3. "Hollywood Remix of 'City of Stars'". YouTube Music.
4. Tapley, Kristopher (August 31, 2016). "'La La Land' Composer Justin Hurwitz Details the Film's Songwriting Process". Variety. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
5. "Justin Timberlake & Alexandre Desplat Among Winners At Hollywood Music In Media Awards". Deadline (published November 18, 2016). 18 November 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
6. McNary, Dave (November 2, 2016). "'La La Land' Scores Three Hollywood Music in Media Nominations". Variety. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
7. "La La Land Leads with 12 Nominations for the 22nd Annual Critics' Choice Awards". Critics' Choice. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
8. "2016 StLFCA Annual Award Nominations". St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
9. "Houston Film Critics Nominations for 2016 Films". MovieAwardsPlus.com. December 13, 2016. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
10. "Houston Film Critics Society Nominations – 'The Nice Guys' and Rebecca Hall Get a Deserved Boost". AwardsCircuit.com. December 13, 2016. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
11. "Golden Globes 2017: The Complete List of Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
12. Kilday, Gregg (November 29, 2016). "Satellite Awards Nominees Revealed". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
13. Sheehan, Paul (January 24, 2017). "Oscar nominees list: 2017 Academy Award nominations". GoldDerby. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
14. "60th GRAMMY Awards: Full Nominees List". Grammys. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
15. "Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone – City of Stars" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
16. "Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone – City of Stars" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
17. "Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone – City of Stars" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
18. "Ryan Gosling Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
19. "Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone – City of Stars" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
20. "Greece Digital Song Sales, 4 February 2017". billboard.com. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
21. "Metro Radio Chart (International) - Week: 6". Metro Broadcast Corporation. Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
22. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
23. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Ryan Gosling". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
24. "Classifica settimanale WK 6" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
25. "Billboard Japan Hot Overseas" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
26. "Billboard Japan Radio Songs" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. 13 March 2017. Archived from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
27. "Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone – City of Stars". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
28. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
29. "Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone – City of Stars" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
30. "Gaon Digital Chart – Issue date: 2016.12.11 – 2016.12.17". Gaon Chart. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
31. "Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone – City of Stars". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
32. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
33. "Ryan Gosling Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
34. Aniftos, Rania (December 18, 2023). "Ryan Gosling & Mark Ronson Tease 'I'm Just Ken' Holiday Version". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
35. "Single Top 100 - eladási darabszám alapján - 2017". Mahasz. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
36. "Brazilian single certifications – Ryan Gosling – City of Stars" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
37. "French single certifications – Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone – City of Stars" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
38. "Italian single certifications – Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone – City of Stars" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
39. "Spanish single certifications – Ryan Gosling / Emma Stone – City of Stars". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
40. "British single certifications – Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone – City of Stars". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 8, 2021.