Starry Eyed (Ellie Goulding song)

When asked what "Starry Eyed" was about, Goulding told Digital Spy:

It's about letting go. As opposed to all the sad and depressing things I write about, I decided to write something about the joining together of people in some kind of euphoric state—be it at a festival, at a show or in a club. I wanted a song that would reach out to people of every background and every enjoyment, whether you enjoy a natural high, taking drugs, drinking or whatever. Because I'm essentially a pop artist I wanted to write a song that everyone can relate to.{{cite web |last=Levine |first=Nick |url=http://www.digitalspy.com/music/interviews/a192550/ones-to-watch-ellie-goulding/ |title=Ones To Watch: Ellie Goulding |work=Digital Spy |date=30 December 2009 |access-date=10 July 2017}}

"Starry Eyed" was featured in the 2010 superhero film Kick-Ass and on its soundtrack.{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/kick-ass-mw0001987897 |title=Kick-Ass – Original Soundtrack |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=6 May 2011}} The song was used in the MTV teen drama series Teen Wolf and Awkward,{{cite web |url=http://soundtrack.mtv.com/post/teen-wolf-songs-from-the-show-episode-103/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111201050817/http://soundtrack.mtv.com/post/teen-wolf-songs-from-the-show-episode-103/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 December 2011 |title=Teen Wolf Episode 3 Music |publisher=MTV Soundtrack |date=13 June 2011 |access-date=10 January 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://soundtrack.mtv.com/post/music-from-the-season-finale-episode-of-awkward/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003141740/http://soundtrack.mtv.com/post/music-from-the-season-finale-episode-of-awkward |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 October 2011 |title=Music from the Season Finale Episode of Awkward |publisher=MTV Soundtrack |date=27 September 2011 |access-date=10 January 2014}} as well as during a segment of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in November 2011.{{cite episode |series=Victoria's Secret Fashion Show |series-link=Victoria's Secret Fashion Show |network=CBS |date=29 November 2011}}

Nick Levine wrote for Digital Spy that the song "manages to be folky, poppy and dancey all at the same time, twinkly but not twee, and otherworldly without losing its universal appeal."{{cite web |last=Levine |first=Nick |title=Ellie Goulding: Here's what the fuss is about |url=http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a197897/ellie-goulding-heres-what-the-fuss-is-about/ |work=Digital Spy |date=20 January 2010 |access-date=10 July 2017}} NME critic Mark Beaumont cited "Starry Eyed" as one of the album's "spangliest tracks" along with "Under the Sheets", commenting that it "finds Ellie love-struck and breathless [...] to disco diva beats and looped soul wails, sounding like an angelic Cheryl Cole."{{cite web |last=Beaumont |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Beaumont (journalist) |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/reviews-ellie-goulding-11086 |title=Album review: Ellie Goulding – 'Lights' (Polydor) |work=NME |date=28 February 2010 |access-date=10 July 2017}}

"Starry Eyed" debuted at number four on the UK Singles Chart, selling 49,118 copies in its first week.{{cite web |url=http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/derulo-and-gaga-take-chart-honours/041986 |title=Derulo and GaGa take chart honours |work=Music Week |date=1 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110230847/http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/derulo-and-gaga-take-chart-honours/041986 |archive-date=10 January 2014 |url-status=live |access-date=10 January 2014}} The song spent two additional weeks at number four, selling 45,579 copies in its second week and 39,942 copies in its third week.{{cite web |url=http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/tinie-tempah-and-ellie-goulding-debut-atop-the-charts/042038 |title=Tinie Tempah and Ellie Goulding debut atop the charts |work=Music Week |date=8 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214105519/http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/tinie-tempah-and-ellie-goulding-debut-atop-the-charts/042038 |archive-date=14 December 2013 |url-status=live |access-date=10 January 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/boyzone-and-tinie-tempah-top-charts/042110 |title=Boyzone and Tinie Tempah top charts |work=Music Week |date=15 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214214523/http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/boyzone-and-tinie-tempah-top-charts/042110 |archive-date=14 December 2013 |url-status=live |access-date=10 January 2014}} "Starry Eyed" was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 17 March 2017.

The music video, directed by Ross Cooper and Bugsy Riverbank Steel of OneInThree, was filmed at Finsbury Town Hall in London and released on 20 January 2010.{{cite web |last=Knight |first=David |url=http://www.promonews.tv/videos/2010/01/27/ellie-goulding’s-starry-eyed-oneinthree |title=Ellie Goulding's Starry Eyed by OneInThree |publisher=Promo News |date=27 January 2010 |access-date=24 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212204437/http://www.promonews.tv/videos/2010/01/27/ellie-goulding%E2%80%99s-starry-eyed-oneinthree |archive-date=12 February 2015 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://elliegoulding.com/#/news/watch-the-starry-eyed-video/ |title=Watch The 'Starry Eyed' Video |publisher=EllieGoulding.com |date=20 January 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713083414/http://elliegoulding.com/%23/news/watch-the-starry-eyed-video/ |archive-date=13 July 2012 |access-date=4 February 2010}} It sees Goulding in various costumes and settings of the venue as well as two acrobatic backup dancers dressed in fringe leotards. The video uses a visual styling effect used generally in sporting analysis called StroMotion which created the unique look of Goulding and the dancer's echoes, reverses and reverberations as they dance to the song.

A second music video, directed by Dugan O'Neal, was filmed at Painshill Park in Surrey, England, and released on 28 July 2011 for the US market.{{cite web |last=Knight |first=David |url=http://www.promonews.tv/videos/2011/08/03/ellie-goulding-starry-eyed-us-version-dugan-oneal |title=Ellie Goulding 'Starry Eyed (US Version)' by Dugan O'Neal |publisher=Promo News |date=3 August 2011 |access-date=24 February 2015}} It features Goulding stargazing in the countryside with her on-screen boyfriend, with special effects used to make stars appear to whirl around her.{{cite web |url=http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a332379/ellie-goulding-debuts-us-version-of-starry-eyed-video/ |title=Ellie Goulding debuts US version of 'Starry Eyed' video |work=Digital Spy |date=29 July 2011 |access-date=10 July 2017}} Goulding is also seen in a Cystal Grotto wearing a silver dress, sporting blue eye contacts, and dancing around while lip-syncing. Towards the end of the video, Goulding and her boyfriend go to a tree where he places her hand on a tree in front of them, making geometric lines appear on the tree. When she looks back for her boyfriend, he turns around in a hood, and is hollow but filled with the night sky that zooms into, and show Goulding in a peach-yellow dress singing the last part of the song. The American version of the video also features product placement for Beats by Dr. Dre headphones and Mini Cooper, which can both be seen being used by Goulding within the first 26 seconds of the video.{{cite web |author=Erik |url=http://brandsandfilms.com/2011/08/americanization-of-music-videos-ellie-gouldings-starry-eyes/ |title=Americanization of music videos: Ellie Goulding's Starry Eyes |publisher=Brands & Films |date=12 August 2011 |access-date=30 April 2012}}

English band You Me at Six covered the song on the Live Lounge segment of BBC Radio 1's The Jo Whiley Show on 18 May 2010.{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/sessions/2010-05-18_youmeatsix |title=Live Lounge – You Had Me at Six |publisher=BBC Radio 1 |date=18 May 2010 |access-date=19 May 2010}} Their version reached number 104 on the UK Singles Chart for the week ending 18 September 2010.{{cite web |url=http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/100918cluk.txt |title=CHART: CLUK Update 18.09.2010 (wk36) |publisher=The Zobbel Website |access-date=24 February 2011}}

American singer Bridgit Mendler recorded an acoustic version of the song for her video series titled The Hurricane Sessions, with the music video released on YouTube on 8 May 2013.{{cite web |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/08/bridgit-mendler-covers-el_n_3239993.html |title=Bridgit Mendler Covers Ellie Goulding's 'Starry Eyed' (VIDEO) |work=HuffPost|date=8 May 2013 |access-date=10 January 2014}} Sam Lansky of Idolator commented that Mendler's "husky voice works nicely with the song, especially toward the end, as it gets a little more emotive."{{cite web |last=Lansky |first=Sam |url=http://www.idolator.com/7457378/bridgit-mendler-starry-eyed-ellie-goulding-cover/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131001003822/http://www.idolator.com/7457378/bridgit-mendler-starry-eyed-ellie-goulding-cover/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 October 2013 |title=Bridgit Mendler Performs Ellie Goulding's "Starry Eyed" For 'Hurricane Sessions': Watch |publisher=Idolator |date=9 May 2013 |access-date=23 November 2013 }} The Huffington Post opined that her cover "show[s] off" her vocal range and added, "By slowing it down, Bridgit's version of the song sounds more intimate and relaxing, making it the perfect song for a 'rainy day' soundtrack." "Starry Eyed" was included on the set list of Mendler's Summer Tour in 2013.{{cite web |last=Rubin |first=Julia Lynn |url=http://www.hngn.com/articles/10773/20130823/bridgit-mendler-second-album-summer-tour-2013-im-miley-cyrus.htm |title=Bridgit Mendler Second Album and Summer Tour 2013: 'I'm Not Miley Cyrus, I'm My Own Person' (PHOTOS/AUDIO) |publisher=Headlines & Global News |date=23 August 2013 |access-date=10 January 2014}} She also performed the song on the breakfast show The Strawberry Alarm Clock on the Dublin-based radio station FM104 on 30 October 2013.{{cite news |url=http://www.fm104.ie/Blogs/Strawberry-Alarm-Blog/November-2013/BRIDGIT-MENDLER-Starry-Eyed-LIVE-in-FM104 |title=BRIDGIT MENDLER {{!}} Starry Eyed {{!}} LIVE in FM104 |newspaper=FM104 |date=14 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230010252/http://www.fm104.ie/Blogs/Strawberry-Alarm-Blog/November-2013/BRIDGIT-MENDLER-Starry-Eyed-LIVE-in-FM104 |archive-date=30 December 2013 |access-date=23 November 2013}}

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• UK CD single

1. "Starry Eyed" – 2:58
2. "Starry Eyed" (Russ Chimes Remix) – 5:10
3. "Starry Eyed" (Little Noise Session) – 3:03

• UK digital EP

1. "Starry Eyed" – 2:57
2. "Starry Eyed" (Russ Chimes Remix) – 5:08
3. "Starry Eyed" (Little Noise Session) – 3:03
4. "Starry Eyed" (Penguin Prison Remix featuring Theophilus London) – 5:10

• UK limited-edition 10" single{{cite AV media notes |title="Starry Eyed" |type=UK limited edition 10" single liner notes |others=Ellie Goulding |publisher=Polydor Records |year=2010 |id=2732867}}

:A. "Starry Eyed" – 2:58

• German CD single

1. "Starry Eyed" – 2:57
2. "Fighter Plane" – 4:25

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• German digital EP

1. "Starry Eyed" – 2:57
2. "Starry Eyed" (Russ Chimes Remix) – 5:08
3. "Starry Eyed" (Little Noise Session) – 3:03
4. "Starry Eyed" (Penguin Prison Remix featuring Theophilus London) – 5:10
5. "An Introduction to Ellie Goulding" (video) – 2:34

• US digital EP – The Remixes

1. "Starry Eyed" (Penguin Prison Remix) – 5:09
2. "Starry Eyed" (Jakwob Remix) – 4:35
3. "Starry Eyed" (Russ Chimes Remix) – 5:08
4. "Starry Eyed" (Monsieur Adi Remix) – 4:42
5. "Starry Eyed" (AN21 and Max Vangeli Remix) – 8:14

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of Lights.{{cite AV media notes |title=Lights |type=CD liner notes |others=Ellie Goulding |publisher=Polydor Records |year=2010 |id=2732799}}

• Ellie Goulding – songwriting, vocals
• Seye Adelekan – acoustic guitar, backing vocals
• Alan Clarke – photography
• Jonny Lattimer – songwriting
• Naweed – mastering
• Starsmith – bass, drum programming, keyboards, production
• Mark 'Spike' Stent – mixing

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Norway|artist=Ellie Goulding|title=Starry Eyed|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2010|certyear=2013|date=11 April 2013|access-date=10 July 2017}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Ellie Goulding|title=Starry Eyed|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2010|certyear=2017|id=9992-2980-1|date=17 March 2017|access-date=10 July 2017|refname="BPI"|salesamount=775,000|salesref={{cite news|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/ellie-gouldings-biggest-singles-on-the-official-chart-revealed__24581/|title=Ellie Goulding's biggest singles on the Official Chart revealed|last=Griffiths|first=George|date=13 April 2023|publisher=Official Charts|access-date=27 October 2023}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Ellie Goulding|title=Starry Eyed|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2011|certyear=2018|date=25 October 2018|access-date=26 October 2018}}

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{{Reflist|30em}}

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{{Bridgit Mendler}}

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Category:2010 songs

Category:2010 singles

Category:Cherrytree Records singles

Category:Ellie Goulding songs

Category:Interscope Records singles

Category:Polydor Records singles

Category:Song recordings produced by Starsmith

Category:Songs written by Ellie Goulding

Category:Songs written by Jonny Lattimer