Starry Night (Mamamoo song)

"Starry Night" (Korean: 별이 빛나는 밤; RR: Byuli bichnaneun bam) is a song by South Korean girl group Mamamoo. It was released on March 7, 2018, as the second single from the group's seventh EP Yellow Flower, the first EP in a series of releases focusing on each member.^[1] A dance-pop and Latin-inspired track, "Starry Night" was written by Moonbyul, Park Woo-sang, and Kim Do-hoon, with music and arrangement performed by the latter two. The song peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and earned the group their first-ever music recording certification, after surpassing 100 million streams according to the Gaon Music Chart.

"Starry Night"
Single by Mamamoo
from the EP Yellow Flower
Language	Korean
Released	March 7, 2018
Studio	RBW Studio
Genre	K-pop
Length	3:32
Label	RBW
Songwriter(s)	Moonbyul Park Woo-sang Kim Do-hoon
Producer(s)	Park Woo-sang Kim Do-hoon
Mamamoo singles chronology
"Paint Me" (2018) "Starry Night" (2018) "Rainy Season" (2018)
Music video
"Starry Night" on YouTube

Background and release

In January 2018, Mamamoo released the digital single "Paint Me", a precursor to their upcoming album project titled 'Four Seasons, Four Colors', in which the group would release four EPs, each focusing on one member and a corresponding season.^[2] The next month, the group released the first teasers for the first EP in the series, Yellow Flower.^[3] "Starry Night" was released as the second single from Yellow Flower on March 7, 2018, alongside the release of the EP itself.^[4][5]

On August 7, 2019, the re-recorded Japanese-language version of the song was released as part of the group's debut Japanese album, 4colors, by JVCKenwood Victor Entertainment.^[6] On September 15, 2021, an orchestral remix of the song was released as part of their debut compilation album I Say Mamamoo: The Best.^[7]

Composition

Sonically a dance-pop and K-pop track, "Starry Night" is a dance track featuring "Latin-inspired strings."^[8] The song is composed in the key of A minor and at a tempo of 124 BPM, running for three minutes and 31 seconds.^[5][9]

Critical reception

"Starry Night" was met with positive critical reception upon release, with Hong Dam-young of The Korea Herald calling it "dramatic" and "dynamic."^[4] CelebMix stated that it "confirmed and lived up to the expectations of the fans and the critics" in a year when many K-pop acts were experimenting with Latin music."^[8]

Commercial performance

A commercial success, "Starry Night" debuted at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart, earning 44.7 million index points in its first week.^[10] It remained at that position for four consecutive weeks, before dropping to number four for the issue dated April 7, 2018.^[11] The song was the highest-performing song of March 2018, earning 219 million index points in that time frame.^[12] It was the 13th highest-performing song of 2018 on the chart and was the fourth highest-performing song by a girl group, with over 818 million index points earned in 2018.^[13] The song earned a further 77 million points in 2019.^[14] "Starry Night" also peaked at number one on the Billboard Korea K-pop Hot 100 and number eight on Billboard World Digital Songs Sales.^[15]

In November 2018, "Starry Night" earned the group their first platinum certification from the Gaon Music Chart and Korean Music & Content Association for surpassing 100 million domestic streams.^[16] It was certified for 2.5 million digital downloads in July 2019.^[17]

Music video

The music video was filmed in New Zealand, including at Bethels Beach in West Auckland (pictured).

The music video for "Starry Night" was directed by Won Ki-hong.^[18] It was shot entirely in New Zealand.^[19] Like with their music video for previous single "Paint Me", the music video was posted to both the group's official channel and the 1theK distributor channel.^[20][21] As of February 2022, the music video has a combined total of 201.4 million views across both channels.

Accolades

Awards and nominations for "Starry Night"

Year	Awards	Category	Result
2018	Gaon Chart Music Awards	Song of the Year – March	Nominated
	Golden Disc Awards	Digital Song Bonsang	Won
	Melon Music Awards	Song of the Year	Nominated
		Best Female Dance	Nominated
	Mnet Asian Music Awards	Song of the Year	Nominated
		Best Vocal Performance – Group	Nominated
	Seoul Music Awards	Digital Song Bonsang	Won

Music program awards

Program	Date
The Show	March 13, 2018
	March 20, 2018
Show Champion	March 14, 2018
M Countdown	March 15, 2018
	March 22, 2018
Music Bank	March 16, 2018
Inkigayo	March 18, 2018
	March 25, 2018
	April 1, 2018

Track listings

Digital download^[5]

1. "Starry Night" – 3:31

Digital download – Japanese version^[6]

1. "Starry Night" (Japanese version) – 3:31

Digital download – remix^[7]

1. "Starry Night" (orchestra version) – 3:34

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Starry Night" Chart (2018) Peak position South Korea (Gaon)[10] 2 South Korea (K-pop Hot 100)[22] 1 US World Digital Songs (Billboard)[23] 8

Monthly charts Monthly chart performance for "Starry Night" Chart (2018) Peak position South Korea (Gaon)[24] 1

Year-end charts 2018 year-end chart performance for "Starry Night" Chart (2018) Position South Korea (Gaon)[25] 13

Release history

Release history and formats for "Starry Night"

Region	Date	Format	Version	Label	Ref.
Various	March 7, 2018	Digital download streaming	Korean	RBW Kakao M	[5]
Japan	August 7, 2019		Japanese	Victor Entertainment	[6]
Various	September 15, 2021		Remix	RBW Kakao Entertainment	[7]

References

1. Kim, D. (February 19, 2018). "MAMAMOO Drops Group Teaser For Comeback With "Yellow Flower"". Soompi. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
2. Jai, Arie (February 21, 2018). "[Review] Mamamoo Gets Colorful With 'Paint Me'". Asia 24/7. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
3. Kim, D. (February 19, 2018). "MAMAMOO Drops Group Teaser For Comeback With "Yellow Flower"". Soompi. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
4. Ham, Dam-young (March 8, 2018). "Mamamoo gets mellow, returns with yellow spring vibe". The Korea Herald. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
5. "Yellow Flower by MAMAMOO on Apple Music". Apple Music. March 7, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
6. "4COLORS by MAMAMOO on Apple Music". Apple Music. August 7, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
7. "I SAY MAMAMOO: THE BEST by MAMAMOO on Apple Music". Apple Music.
8. "Mamamoo: A Year In Review (2018)". CelebMix. January 7, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
9. "Key & BPM for Starry Night by MAMAMOO". TuneBat. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
10. "Starry Night on the Gaon Digital Chart".
11. "2018년 14주차 Digital Chart".
12. "March 2018 Gaon Digital Chart".
13. "2018 Gaon Digital Chart".
14. "Gaon Yearly Jisu 2019 (see #292)". {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
15. "Mamamoo Chart History: K-Pop 100". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
16. "가온 인증(Gaon Certification)". Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
17. "가온 인증(Gaon Certification)". Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
18. "Mamamoo: Starry Night (2018)". IMDb. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
19. "K-pop girl group Mamamoo release New Zealand music video 'Starry Night'". Newshub. March 12, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
20. "[MV] MAMAMOO - Starry Night". March 7, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2021 – via YouTube.
21. "[MV] MAMAMOO(마마무) _ Starry Night(별이 빛나는 밤)". YouTube. 1theK. March 7, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
22. "Mamamoo Chart History: K-Pop 100". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
23. "Mamamoo Chart History: World Digital Song Sales". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
24. "March 2018 Gaon Digital Chart".
25. "2018 Gaon Digital Chart".