| Starburster | |
| Cover: | Starburster.jpeg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Fontaines D.C. |
| Album: | Romance |
| Genre: | |
| Length: | 3:41 |
| Label: | XL |
| Composer: |
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| Producer: | James Ford |
| Prev Title: | Roman Holiday |
| Prev Year: | 2022 |
"Starburster" is a song by Irish rock band Fontaines D.C. It was released on 17 April 2024 as the lead single from the band's fourth studio album Romance.
The song was the band's first entry on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 59.
The song was written about a panic attack that frontman Grian Chatten suffered at London's St Pancras station.[1]
NME described "Starburster" as a "pensive art-rock beast that fuses elements of electronica and hip-hop".[2] Consequence labeled it "trip-hop-infused" with "hip-hop-esque production" that frames Fontaines D.C. "as much more than just a gang of Irish rockers."[3] Rolling Stone believed it to be a "funky, disco-rock track".[4] Clash wrote of its construction: "An elegant string loop precedes tasteful piano before being consumed by a bulky trip-hop beat."[5]
The band debuted the song live on 7 May 2024 during their performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[6]
NME gave "Starburster" a five-star review, praising how it "captures that shock of trying to grasp reality amidst all the chaos." The Irish Times rated it four stars out of five, comparing it to Shygirl, The Prodigy and Björk's song "Army of Me".[7] Consequence bestowed the "Song of the Week" honor to the track for its "remarkably well-constructed composition, one that pushes the band into new, unexpected places."
The official music video was released with the song, directed by Aube Pierre. It features Grian Chatten performing mundane daily activities while wounded and sometimes wearing a mask. Towards the end of the video, he kicks his football into an unattended garage of a grocery shop, which he proceeds to explore, and discovers that a door in the building takes him to various film studios. Chatten uses the garage to appear in various music video shoots. At the end of the video, a bald man closes and locks the door of the garage.[8]
Little Mix member Jade Thirlwall made an uncredited cameo in the video as a red-haired woman in an angel-themed video shoot that Chatten visits. On 19 July 2024, three months after the release of "Starburster", Thirlwall released her debut solo single, "Angel of My Dreams", the video of which was also directed by Pierre at the same time as "Starburster". As such, the video for "Angel of My Dreams" features the same scene, with Chatten making a cameo as one of the angel dancers.
"Starburster" debuted at No. 62 on the UK Singles Chart, the band's first entry.[9]