"Movie Star" is a song by Irish singer

Róisín Murphy Róisín Marie Murphy ( , ; born 5 July 1973) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and record producer. She first became known in the 1990s as one half of the pop duo Moloko alongside English musician Mark Brydon. After the breakup of Moloko, she em ...

from her second studio album, ''

Overpowered ''Overpowered'' is the second solo studio album by Irish singer and songwriter Róisín Murphy. It was released on 15 October 2007 by EMI Records. Receiving widespread critical acclaim, the album was more commercially successful than its predece ...

'' (2007). It was written by Murphy, Paul "Seiji" Dolby and Mike Patto, while production was handled by Parrot & Dean. The song was released digitally in the United States on 14 October 2008 as the album's fourth and final single.

Release

The track was set to be released as the album's fourth single on 21 July 2008, but was then pushed back many times for a release in November. It was to be released as a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

single with a cover of

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ' ...

's 1985 song "

Slave to Love "Slave to Love" is the first single released from Roxy Music singer Bryan Ferry's 1985 release, '' Boys and Girls''. The song is one of Ferry's most popular solo hits. The single was released on 28 April 1985 and spent nine weeks in the UK cha ...

" to coincide with its use in the

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrance ...

Pour Homme advertising campaign. On 4 December 2008, it was announced that the European and UK release of the single had been cancelled. Nevertheless, "Movie Star" was released digitally in the United States on 14 October 2008.

Critical reception

Heather Phares of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

referred to "Movie Star" as "Murphy's spin on

Goldfrapp Goldfrapp are an English electronic music duo from London, formed in 1999. The duo consists of Alison Goldfrapp (vocals, synthesiser) and Will Gregory (synthesiser). Despite favourable reviews and a short-listing for the Mercury Prize, their ...

's glossy glam pop (and the only time she seems in danger of being overpowered by someone else's sound on the album)." Stephen Trouss of

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

agreed, saying the song "laces itself a little too tightly into

Alison Goldfrapp Alison Elizabeth Margaret Goldfrapp (born 13 May 1966) is an English musician and record producer, known as the vocalist of English electronic music duo Goldfrapp. Early life Goldfrapp was born on 13 May 1966, in Enfield, London, the youngest o ...

's glam pop corset."

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

music editor Nick Levine, however, wrote that the song is "possibly Murphy's most immediate moment yet, a trancey

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

epic with a chorus that reaches for the stars. The lyrics, which tell the tale of an ambitious starlet desperate to 'break into cinema', are sharp and amusing too." Jax Spike from

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...

viewed the track as "a departure in conception and more reminiscent of something closer to early 90s

eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...

crossed with

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

which generates an urgent, grinding sound."

Music video

The music video for "Movie Star" was directed by Simon Henwood and features Murphy on a night out in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

with several

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...

s and performers, including Jodie Harsh and

Theo Adams Theo Adams (born 29 September 1989 in London, England), is a performance artist and director of the contemporary theatrical performance group Theo Adams Company. Biography Education Adams studied at Fine Arts College, Hampstead. He left the f ...

. Some scenes are inspired by the work of

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his Cinema of Transgression, transgressive cult films, including ''Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), ''Pink Flamin ...

, such as the attack by ''Lobstora'' from his 1970 film ''

Multiple Maniacs ''Multiple Maniacs'' is a 1970 independent American black comedy horror film composed, shot, edited, written, produced, and directed by John Waters, as his second feature film and first "talkie". It features several actors who were part of the ...

'' and the appearance of

Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

lookalikes.

Track listings

*;US digital EP #"Movie Star" – 4:01 #"Movie Star" (radio edit) – 3:46 #"Movie Star" ( Jnrsnchz Cinespace Mix) – 8:28 #"Movie Star" (Kid Gloves Remix) – 10:19 *;UK promotional CD-R maxi single #"Movie Star" (radio edit) – 3:45 #"Movie Star" – 3:59 #"Movie Star" (instrumental) – 3:59 #"Movie Star" (Jnrsnchz Lax Mix) – 4:40 #"Movie Star" (Jnrsnchz Cinespace Mix) – 8:31 #"Movie Star" (Sam & Di Angelis 'She Is Beautiful' Remix) – 6:15 #"Movie Star" (Sam & Di Angelis 'For Jodie Harsh' Remix) – 5:28 #"Movie Star" (Kid Gloves Remix) – 10:22 #"Movie Star" (Kid Gloves Dub) – 10:22 #"

" – 3:40 #"Slave to Love" (instrumental) – 3:40 *;UK promotional CD single #"Movie Star" (radio edit) – 3:46 #"Movie Star" (instrumental) – 3:59 #"Slave to Love" – 3:40 #"Slave to Love" (instrumental) – 3:40 *;Danish promotional CD-R maxi single #"Slave to Love" (album version) – 3:40 #"Slave to Love" (instrumental) – 3:41 #"Movie Star" (Junior Sanchez Space Mix) – 8:31 #"Movie Star" (Junior Sanchez Laz Mix) – 4:40 #"Movie Star" (Kid Gloves Dub) – 10:24 #"Movie Star" (Kid Gloves Vocal Mix) – 10:22 #"Movie Star" (Sam and Di Angelis 'She Is Beautiful' Remix) – 6:15 #"Movie Star" (Sam and Di Angelis 'For Jodie Harsh' Remix) – 5:28

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''

''. *

– vocals, songwriting *

Tom Elmhirst Tom Elmhirst (born 8 June 1971) is a British mix engineer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Beck, David Bowie, Cage the Elephant, Lady Gaga, Residente, and Amy Winehouse, among many others. Elmhirst has received numerous accolades a ...

– mixing * Dean Honer – additional recording, production, programming, synthesiser *

Ross Orton Ross Orton is a musician/songwriter/ producer based in Sheffield, England. Orton is known for his work as drummer in Add N to (X) and as part of electro trio Fat Truckers, and since that band's split in 2004 has formed the Cavemen songwriting/prod ...

– drums * Parrot – producer, programming, synthesiser * Mike Patto – guitar, songwriting *

Seiji Seiji (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese ski jumper *, Japanese racing driver *, Japanese politician *, Japanese film directo ...

– engineering, songwriting

Charts

References

{{authority control 2007 songs 2008 singles Róisín Murphy songs Songs written by Róisín Murphy Electroclash songs