"Counting Stars" is a song by South Korean rapper

Be'O Yoo Chan-wook (; born April 27, 2000), known professionally as Be'O (; stylized in all caps), is a South Korean rapper and songwriter. He first garnered attention when he appeared on the rap competition TV show ''Show Me the Money 10'' in 2021. ...

featuring

Beenzino Lim Sung-bin (; born September 12, 1987), better known by the stage name Beenzino (Hangul: 빈지노), is a South Korean rapper. His stage name is a play on that of Boston rapper Benzino, combined with "빈" (pronounced "been") from his birt ...

. It was released on December 12, 2021, through FameUs Entertainment. It was nominated for Hip-hop Track of the Year at the

Korean Hip-hop Awards The Korean Hip-hop Awards (KHA; Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writi ...

and peaked at number one the Gaon Digital Chart.

Background

In October 2021, Be'O appeared on the rap competition TV show ''

Show Me the Money 10 The tenth season of the series ''Show Me the Money'' (known as Show Me the Money 10: The Original) premiered on October 1, 2021. It was broadcast every Friday at 23:00 (KST) on Mnet. The season featured four new producer teams Yumdda and Toil ...

'' and performed "Counting Stars" in round two. The YouTube video of him singing the song went viral and amassed more than 10 million views. After Beenzino mentioned him and the song on his Instagram live, Be'O contacted him first and asked for a collaboration.

Music and lyrics

According to '' IZM'', the hook singing "Counting Stars!" makes a strong impression. Be'O's trendy vocal captivates listeners and Beenzino's verse showing affection for his stepfather gives an urban vibe.

Critical reception

Lee Hong-hyeon of ''IZM'' rated "Counting Stars" 3 out of 5 stars. According to Lee, "although the mixing is causing controversy as it made the cool and clear voice of the performance version muffled and unclear, the song is good because there is no contrived accent nor pitch. It is a song where you can get immersed in the lofi mood comfortably." Critics of ''Music Y'' also rated the song 3 out of 5 stars. According to Kim Seong-hwan, the composition of the hook focusing on metaphors rather than rhymes such as "Counting stars / Pearls in the night sky / Better than your Louis Vuitton" makes listeners feel immersed in it. He concluded that it "shows the strength of the typical Korean popular hip hop." According to netizen voters of the Korean Hip-hop Awards, it "greatly contributed to the mainstream reception and development of hip-hop" with "Beenzino's feature adding fun and narrative".

Awards and nominations

Commercial performance

"Counting Stars" became the fastest song to reach number one on

Melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a " pepo". Th ...

in 2021. It later peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart and the

Gaon Download Chart The Circle Chart (), previously known as the Gaon Music Chart or the Gaon Chart (), tabulates the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in South Korea. It is produced by the Korea Music Content Association and sponsored by South Korea's ...

for two consecutive weeks.

Charts

References

{{Reflist 2021 songs Gaon Digital Chart number-one singles Korean-language songs South Korean hip hop songs