"Lil Star" is the second international single from

Kelis Kelis Rogers-Mora (; born August 21, 1979), known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and a professionally trained chef. At age 14, she was admitted to New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Perform ...

' fourth studio album, ''

Kelis Was Here ''Kelis Was Here'' is the fourth studio album by American singer Kelis, released on August 22, 2006, by Jive Records. Originally titled ''The Puppeteer'', the album features production by Bangladesh, Raphael Saadiq, Max Martin, Sean Garrett, and ...

'' (2006). Released outside US (where "Blindfold Me" served as the second single), the single features

Cee-Lo Cee-lo is a gambling game played with three six-sided dice. There is not one standard set of rules, but there are some constants that hold true to all sets of rules. The name comes from the Chinese ''Sì-Wŭ-Liù'' (四五六), meaning "four-five ...

, who was at the time half of the duo

Gnarls Barkley Gnarls Barkley are an American soul duo, composed of singer-songwriter CeeLo Green and producer Danger Mouse. They released their debut studio album, ''St. Elsewhere'', in 2006. It contained their hit single "Crazy", which peaked at number two ...

. Following the moderate success of " Bossy", the single has proven to be a return to form for Kelis; it debuted at number eight in Ireland and was also a huge hit in the United Kingdom reaching number three on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The track was hailed by many music fans and critics as Kelis' "comeback" single, despite the fact "Bossy" was written specifically for Kelis' return to music.

Background and lyrics

"Lil Star" features Kelis singing about the times when she has self-doubt. "I can't be confident and bold and obnoxious all the time", Kelis says. "What kind of person would I be? I'm a human being and I have other sides, too. I'm not always secure and I'm not always confident. I have moments where I get self-conscious." The song was tentatively set to be released on January 8, 2007, but to allow time for promotion the release date was pushed back to February 19. However, on January 8, the song was added to the C List of

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Playlist, and has since been promoted to their A List, guaranteeing at least 20 plays a week. The

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syst ...

for "Lil Star" was filmed by

Marc Klasfeld Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director. He has directed over two hundred music videos for artists such as Slipknot, Sum 41, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Britney Spears, Kid Rock, Michael Bublé, Nelly, Foo Fighters, Kelly ...

, and has been on rotation since January 13, 2007 when it was added to British urban music channel

MTV Base MTV Base was a British pay television music channel from Paramount Networks UK & Australia that focused primarily on hip hop, R&B, grime, garage, reggae, funk, soul and dance music. It was launched as part of MTV's digital boutique of music ch ...

's videos roster. "Lil Star" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 37 on January 28, 2007. The following week, high download sales enabled an 18-position jump to number 19. On February 12, 2007 "Lil Star" moved into the UK top 15 at the number-13 position. During its fourth week in the top 40, the song es slid down two placto number 15. However, on February 26, 2007, in the fifth week on the UK chart it moved from number 15 to the top three. "Lil Star" landed at number three on the UK Singles Chart in the week of its physical release.

Chart performance

"Lil Star" made its debut on the

at number eighty-four on January 21, 2007 based on downloads alone five weeks before its release and climbed the charts rapidly to number thirty-seven within a matter of weeks due to strong download sales. Several weeks later it managed to make its initial peak at number thirteen based on downloads sales. After its official release it peaked at number three, becoming the first single from ''Kelis Was Here'' to reach the top three in the UK, and became Kelis' highest-charting single since 2004's "

Millionaire A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. In countries that use the short scal ...

". "Lil Star" also entered several other UK charts including the

UK R&B Singles Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...

where it peaked at number one, the UK Airplay Chart where it peaked at number three, the

UK Official Download Chart The UK Singles Downloads Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the music industry. Since July 2015, the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, with the chart date given as the following Thursday. The main chart co ...

where it reached number nine, and the UK iTunes Top 100 countdown where it peaked at number eleven. To date, "Lil Star" remains one of Kelis' best-selling singles in the UK where it sold over 118,000 copies. "Lil Star" also peaked at number eight in Ireland, her highest-peaking single since " Milkshake" back in 2003. "Lil Star" found similar success in Eastern Europe; it peaked at number four in Slovenia, number seven in Hungary, and number eighteen in Slovakia. Although "Lil Star" performed well in European countries such as the UK and Ireland, it became a commercial failure in Germany, peaking at number ninety-nine, Kelis' lowest-charting single there to date. "Lil Star" was to be released in Australia as the second single from ''Kelis Was Here'', with its video having been aired on music programs around Australia, but for unknown reasons it did not happen and instead " I Don't Think So" was released.

Music video

The

for "Lil Star" was filmed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in December 2006 and directed by

, who had previously worked with Kelis on " Bossy" and " Blindfold Me" earlier in 2006. In the video Kelis is walking down a street in a large

space suit A space suit or spacesuit is a garment worn to keep a human alive in the harsh environment of outer space, vacuum and temperature extremes. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, ...

-style coat, then singing to the stars. The stars take the formation of Cee-Lo and Kelis as they both sing, all wrapped up in a very mellow and calm atmosphere, relating to the song's theme. It premiered on

MTV UK MTV is a British pay television channel focusing on reality TV and music programming operated by Paramount Networks UK & Australia. The channel launched as part of MTV Networks Europe localisation strategy in 1997. MTV UK (previously MTV UK & ...

on January 13, 2007.

Track listings

;UK CD 1 #"Lil Star" (Radio Edit) #"80's Joint" ;UK CD 2 #"Lil Star" (Album Version) #"Lil Star" (Linus Loves Remix) #"Lil Star" (Soundboy Remix) #"Lil Star" (Future Cut Throw Back Mix) #"Lil Star" (Video) ;12" single *Side A: #"Lil Star" (Main) #"Lil Star" (Instrumental) *Side B: #"Lil Star" (Main) #"Lil Star" (A Capella) ;Promo remixes CD #"Lil Star" (Linus Loves Remix featuring Cee-Lo) #"Lil Star" (Linus Loves Dub featuring Cee-Lo) #"Lil Star" (Future Cut Remix featuring Cee-Lo) #"Lil Star" (Soundbwoy Remix featuring Cee-Lo) #"Lil Star" (Soundbwoy Instrumental) #"Lil Star" (Al Usher 12" Mix featuring Cee-Lo)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2000s ballads 2006 songs 2007 singles Kelis songs CeeLo Green songs Music videos directed by Marc Klasfeld Contemporary R&B ballads Songs written by CeeLo Green Songs written by Kelis