Waiting for a Star to Fall

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"Waiting for a Star to Fall"
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Template:Infobox song/link by Boy Meets Girl
from the album Reel Life
B-side
  • "No Apologies"
  • "Restless Dreamer"
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GenrePop[1]
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LabelRCA
[[Songwriter|SongwriterTemplate:Pluralize from text]]
[[Record producer|ProducerTemplate:Pluralize from text]]Arif Mardin
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"Oh Girl"
(1985) 		"Waiting for a Star to Fall"
(589) 		"Bring Down the Moon"
(1988)
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"Waiting for a Star to Fall" is a song by American pop music duo Boy Meets Girl, written by the duo's members, Shannon Rubicam and George Merrill. They wrote the song after witnessing a falling star at a Whitney Houston concert and originally offered the song to Houston, but Arista Records CEO Clive Davis rejected it. American singer Belinda Carlisle then recorded a demo of the song but refused its inclusion on her 1987 album Heaven on Earth, so Rubicam and Merrill decided to record and release the song themselves.

"Waiting for a Star to Fall" was released in June 1988 as the lead single from Boy Meets Girl's second studio album, Reel Life (1988). The song became a chart hit in several countries, reaching number five on the US Billboard Hot 100, number one in Canada, number five in Ireland, and number nine in the United Kingdom. Since its release, it has been remixed and covered by many artists, including Cabin Crew and Sunset Strippers, who experienced concurrent success with their reworkings in 2005.

Background

"Waiting for a Star to Fall" was written by Shannon Rubicam and George Merrill, and was inspired by an actual falling star that Rubicam had seen during a Whitney Houston concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. The duo did not initially consider recording the song themselves, instead submitting it to Arista's CEO Clive Davis, in the hope that he would decide to use it on Houston's second studio album, Whitney. Even though Rubicam and Merrill had written Houston's previous hit "How Will I Know", Davis rejected "Waiting for a Star to Fall", suggesting that it did not suit her.[2] This then inspired Merrill and Rubicam to create Houston's 1987 hit "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)". Meanwhile, "Waiting for a Star to Fall" was then offered to and recorded by Belinda Carlisle for her 1987 release Heaven on Earth, at the insistence of her label, but Carlisle disliked it and refused to include it on the album.[3] This demo version has, however, circulated on an unofficial compilation of that album's outtakes.[4]

The tenor saxophone solo on the Boy Meets Girl version was provided in a session recording early in the career of Andy Snitzer, who later found success as a solo artist.[5]

Release and reception

Merrill and Rubicam decided to record the song themselves for their second album Reel Life. Released as a single on June 10, 1988,[citation needed] it became a hit in the United States, reaching number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and number five on the Billboard Hot 100.[6][7] Issued in the United Kingdom on November 14, 1988, the song reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart during January 1989, having entered the chart in December 1988.[8][9] It remains their sole top-40 hit in the UK.[10] The song also reached number 35 on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart in April 1989.[11] After the song was used as the closing theme to the 1990 movie Three Men and a Little Lady, the single was re-released with a new picture sleeve featuring the actors of the film. The re-release peaked at number 76 in the UK.[10]

Johnny Loftus of AllMusic remarked that the song was "just a classic", and that "the urgency as it drives toward its chorus is a clinic for durable songwriting."[12]

Music video

The video for the song, directed by Australian director Claudia Castle, features scenes of Merrill and Rubicam singing it on a beach and inside a house.[13] Also featured are scenes of a group of children playing with bubbles, including the couple's young daughter Hilary.[4]

Track listings

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Personnel

Personnel are lifted from the Reel Life liner notes.[22]

Charts

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Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Waiting for a Star to Fall"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Gold 400,000 

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Waiting for a Star to Fall"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States June 10, 1988 Page Template:Hlist/styles.css has no content.
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • cassette
 RCA [citation needed]
United Kingdom November 14, 1988 Page Template:Hlist/styles.css has no content.
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
 [8]
January 9, 1989 CD [35]
Japan January 21, 1989 Mini-CD [36]

Covers and remixes

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"Star to Fall"
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Template:Infobox song/link by Cabin Crew
Released2005
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LabelVicious Grooves
[[Songwriter|SongwriterTemplate:Pluralize from text]]
[[Record producer|ProducerTemplate:Pluralize from text]]
  • Ben Garden
  • Rob Kittler
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"Star to Fall"
(2005) 		"Can't Stop It"
(2008)

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"Falling Stars"
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Template:Infobox song/link by Sunset Strippers
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LabelDirection
[[Songwriter|SongwriterTemplate:Pluralize from text]]
[[Record producer|ProducerTemplate:Pluralize from text]]Sunset Strippers

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The song has been covered and remixed several times. The most commercially successful versions came in 2005, when Australian musical group Cabin Crew remixed the song as "Star to Fall" (or "Star2Fall") but were refused the sampling of the original lyrics by Sony BMG. Liking what Cabin Crew had done, however, George Merrill agreed to re-record the vocals.[38] Meanwhile, Sony BMG had British musical group Sunset Strippers remix the original track under the title "Falling Stars". Both versions peaked within the top five of the UK Singles Chart in March 2005.

Charts

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Weekly chart performance for "Star to Fall"
Chart (2005) Peak
position
Australian Club Chart (ARIA)[39] 4
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[40] 16
Hungary (Editors' Choice Top 40)[41] 28
Ireland Dance (IRMA)[42] 1
Year-end chart performance for "Star to Fall"
Chart (2005) Position
Australian Club Chart (ARIA)[43] 38
UK Singles (OCC)[44] 80
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Weekly chart performance for "Falling Stars"
Chart (2005) Peak
position
Australian Club Chart (ARIA)[45] 34
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[46] 10
Ireland Dance (IRMA)[47] 1
Year-end chart performance for "Falling Stars"
Chart (2005) Position
UK Singles (OCC)[44] 46

Other versions

  • The track "In My Arms" by British electronic musician Mylo sampled the song and was featured on Mylo's album Destroy Rock & Roll. His version also samples Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes" and made it to number 15 in the United Kingdom in 2005.[48]
  • In December 2012, a rock version of the song was released by the band Lionville on their album Lionville II.[49]
  • In December 2013, a stripped back indie version of the song was released by the English band Young Kato. It was featured on the Made in Chelsea soundtrack.[50]
  • Also in December 2013, a folk cover of the song by Icelandic singer Yohanna surfaced on the Internet.[51]
  • In March 2014, a folk cover of the song by English singer Diana Vickers surfaced on the Internet.[52]
  • In September 2017, Australian singer George Maple interpolated the song as part of her single "Hero".[53]
  • On December 31, 2020, the international rock/metal musical project "At The Movies" released a cover version of the song on YouTube.[54]

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The 100 Best Songs of 2005: Staff Picks". Billboard. April 15, 2025. Retrieved June 1, 2025. ...Boy Meets Girl's 'Waiting for a Star to Fall' [is one] of the most undeniable mega-pop hits of the '80s...
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Spears, Steve (September 15, 2017). "Why didn't anybody want to record 'Waiting For a Star to Fall?'". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Zimbio (June 14, 2013). "28 Musicians Who Turned Down Hit Songs". Business Insider. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Belinda Carlisle - Waiting for a Star To Fall. March 2, 2010. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."SmoothViews - Keeping Smooth Jazz in Sight". www.smoothviews.com.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference usac was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference hot100 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."New Singles". Music Week. November 12, 1988. p. 31.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference uk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Johnny Loftus. "Reel Life – Boy Meets Girl – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
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  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Waiting for a Star to Fall (Japanese mini-CD single liner notes). RCA Records. 1989. R10D-108.
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  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Nanda Lwin (1999). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. ISBN 1-896594-13-1.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."RPM 100 Singles" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49, no. 11. January 14, 1989. p. 6. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
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  26. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ísland Top 10". DV. February 17, 1989. p. 40. ISSN 1021-8254.
  27. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Playlist Report: RAI - Italy" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 2. January 14, 1989. p. 6.
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  34. ^ Script error: No such module "cite". Select singles in the Formats field. Type Waiting for a Star to Fall Boy Meets Girl in the "Search:" field.
  35. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."New Singles". Music Week. January 7, 1989. p. 23.
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  54. ^ At The Movies - Waiting For A Star To Fall on YouTube

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