"Rock Star" is a song by British-Australian recording artist

Reece Mastin Reece Mastin (born 24 November 1994) is an English-born Australian singer and songwriter who won the third season of ''The X Factor Australia'' in 2011. Mastin subsequently signed with Sony Music Australia. His debut single "Good Night" reache ...

, taken from his second studio album, '' Beautiful Nightmare'' (2012). It was released digitally on 5 October 2012, as the third single from the album. "Rock Star" was written by Mastin,

Brian Howes Brian Howes, also known as Howes, is a Canadian songwriter and record producer. Career Howes played in a British Columbia band, Young Guns, and later fronted the group DDT which blended punk, ska, and rap. The band was signed to Metallica drumme ...

and

Rune Westberg Rune Westberg is a Danish born songwriter, record producer, mixer and multi instrumentalist living and working in Los Angeles. He has written and produced for artists including Adam Lambert, Colbie Caillat, Daughtry, Prince Royce, Jesse & Joy, ...

, who also produced the song. "Rock Star" peaked at number 16 in Australia and number 14 in New Zealand. It was certified platinum by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA), denoting sales of 70,000 copies.

Composition and reception

"Rock Star" is a

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

song that features "American sounding

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

riffs A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accomp ...

". A writer for

Take 40 Australia ''Take 40 Australia'' was Australia's first and longest-running music countdown. It counted down the official top 40 singles on the ARIA chart on a weekly basis. It was broadcast nationally each week to over 1.2 million listeners. Starting in ...

likened the song's sound to

Wheatus Wheatus are an American rock band from Northport, New York, formed in 1995. They are known principally for their 2000 single "Teenage Dirtbag", which appeared in the films '' Loser'' and ''Bully'', as well as the HBO miniseries ''Generation Kil ...

and

Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World is an American rock band formed in 1993 in Mesa, Arizona. The band is composed of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch, and drummer Zach Lind. They h ...

. Cameron Adams of the ''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald S ...

'' noted that it "channels" Wheatus' "

Teenage Dirtbag "Teenage Dirtbag" is a song by American rock band Wheatus. It was released on June 20, 2000, as the lead single from their eponymous debut album (2000). The song was written by guitarist and vocalist Brendan B. Brown and was inspired by a child ...

" (2000)

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...

's "

Sk8er Boi "Sk8er Boi" (pronounced "skater boy") is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, released as the second single from her debut album, '' Let Go'' (2002). It was written by Lavigne and the Matrix (Scott Spock, Lauren Christy, and Graham ...

" (2002). Jamie Horne of ''

The Border Mail ''The Border Mail'' is a daily newspaper and online news brand published in Albury-Wodonga, Australia, serving the twin cities and the surrounding region. It was originally published as ''The Border Morning Mail and Riverina Times'' and later a ...

'' described "Rock Star" as "super-likable". Scott Murphy of Smurphy Reviews refereed the song as having "Beautiful lyrical execution". A writer for '' The Hot Hits'' wrote that the song "does not disappoint". "Rock Star" debuted at number 31 on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

dated 15 October 2012. The following week, it peaked at number 16. On the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

, the song debuted and peaked at number 14. "Rock Star" was certified platinum by the

(ARIA), denoting sales of 70,000 copies.

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Rock Star" premiered on

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

on 9 October 2012.

Track listing

*Digital download #"Rock Star" – 2:58 *CD single #"Rock Star" – 2:58 #"

Good Night Good Night or Goodnight may refer to: Film and television * ''Good Night'' (film), a 2008 short film from India * '' The Good Night'', a 2007 film * ''Good Night, and Good Luck'', a 2005 film * ''Good Night'', one of five mini-episodes from th ...

" (Acoustic) #"

Shut Up & Kiss Me "Shut Up & Kiss Me" is a song by British-Australian recording artist Reece Mastin, taken from his second studio album, '' Beautiful Nightmare'' (2012). It was released digitally and physically on 20 April 2012, as the lead single from the al ...

" (Acoustic) #"Message in a Bottle" (Acoustic)

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Beautiful Nightmare''. ;Locations *Mastered at

Studios 301 Studios 301 is an Australian recording studio and is both the longest-running professional recording studio in the southern hemisphere and the largest studio complex in Australia. History The studio was founded in 1926 under the Columbia Gra ...

in Sydney. ;Personnel *Songwriting –

*Production – Rune Westberg *Mixing – Rune Westberg *Mastering –

Leon Zervos Leon Zervos is a mastering engineer who has worked with many world-renowned artists, including Pink, Rihanna, Maroon 5, Beastie Boys, and Willie Nelson. Life and career Leon Zervos began his mastering career in 1982 at the then EMI Studi ...

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end chart

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Reece Mastin 2012 singles Reece Mastin songs 2012 songs Songs written by Brian Howes Songs written by Rune Westberg Sony Music Australia singles