"Northern Star" is a song by British singer-songwriter

Melanie C Melanie Jayne Chisholm (12 January 1974 - 25 December 2022), better known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer-songwriter and media personality. She is best known as one of the five members of the Spice Girls, during which time she was ni ...

. It is the title track from her debut solo album and was released as the album's second single on 22 November 1999. It was written by Melanie C and Rick Nowels. The song was produced by Marius De Vries and received positive reception from music

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

s. The single charted at number four on the UK Singles Chart, becoming her third top-five single. It additionally reached the top 20 in Finland, Italy, and Sweden. In the United Kingdom, the single sold 216,000 copies as of June 2017.

Composition

According to the sheet music published by Musicnotes.com by Hal Leonard Corporation, "Northern Star" is composed in the key of

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

, and is written in the time signature of common time. It is set in a moderate tempo of 101 beats per minute, with Chisholm's voice spanning from B₅ to E₃. The song has a basic sequence of Dm–Am–B–C as its chord progression. The single lasts just over four minutes, being edited from the full track, which lasts almost five and a half minutes.

Music video

The music video for "Northern Star" was shot in England on 8–9 September 1999. It starts off looking into a starry sky at night gradually moving down, looking out to sea towards a large star, with

walking down a rocky coast surrounded by a desert. She then walks in between two train tracks and as the chorus begins, two trains drive at high speed in opposite directions, later there is a brief scene in a cave with miners. Then Melanie C walks through a somewhat Arctic-like area which blends into an urban setting which instantly changes into a sandy beach. During the instrumental she is seen walking through a forest and crossing over a river during daytime, later back in an urban building set. The video ends with her back on the coast at night.

Track listings

* UK CD1 and Australian CD single # "Northern Star" (single version) # "

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" # "Northern Star" (full version) # "Northern Star" (video) * UK CD2 # "Northern Star" (single version) # "Something's Gonna Happen" # "Northern Star" (acoustic version) * UK cassette single # "Northern Star" (single version) # "Follow Me" # "Northern Star" (full version) * European CD single # "Northern Star" (single version) # "Follow Me"

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the '' Northern Star'' album booklet. Studios * Recorded at various studios in Los Angeles, London, and Glasgow * Mixed at O'Henry's Sound Studio (

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

) * Mastered at

Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...

(New York City) Personnel * Melanie Chisholm – writing * Rick Nowels – writing * Marius De Vries – production * Patrick McCarthy – mixing * Ted Jensen – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1999 singles 1999 songs Melanie C songs Song recordings produced by Marius de Vries Songs written by Melanie C Songs written by Rick Nowels Virgin Records singles