"Starlight" is a song recorded by South Korean singers

Taeyeon Kim Tae-yeon (; born March 9, 1989), known mononymously as Taeyeon, is a South Korean singer. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which went on to become one of the best-selling artists in South Korea and on ...

and

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for Taeyeon's second extended play ''

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'' (2016). The song was released on June 25, 2016, by

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...

as the EP's lead single. The song's lyrics were penned by Jam Factory's Lee Seu-ran, while its music was composed by Jamil "Digi" Chammas, Taylor Mckall, Tay Jasper, Adrian McKinnon, Leven Kali,

Sara Forsberg Sara Maria Forsberg (born 2 May 1994), known professionally as SAARA (formerly Smo, Smoukahontas, or Smokahontas), is a Finnish singer, songwriter, YouTube personality, and television presenter. As a singer, Forsberg was signed to Capitol Record ...

, and MZMC. "Starlight" is a pop and R&B song that features synthesizers in its instrumentation. Its lyrics detail a romantic relationship. The single received generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, who were favorable towards its musical styles and Dean's appearance. It peaked at number five on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart and charted at number six on the US '' Billboard''

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. A music video for the song was directed by Im Seong-gwan and was released simultaneously with the release of the song. Filmed in

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, the visual depicts Taeyeon and Dean as a loving couple. Although Taeyeon never performed the song live on music shows, "Starlight" achieved the number-one spot on

KBS2 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...

's ''

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'' on July 8, 2016. The track was included on the setlist of Taeyeon's concert series Butterfly Kiss, taking place in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

and

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in July and August 2016.

Background and composition

Taeyeon officially debuted as a solo singer in October 2015 with the extended play '' I'', which was a commercial success, peaking at number two on South Korea's Gaon Album Chart and has sold over 140,000 copies in the country. Following the success of ''I'', Taeyeon released a single for

S.M. Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...

's digital music platform

SM Station SM Station is a digital music project by South Korean record label SM Entertainment. It undertook to release one digital single every Friday starting from February 3, 2016. The project's first season ended on February 3, 2017, with 52 songs. Its ...

titled "

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", which was a number-one hit on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart. As her popularity consolidated, S.M. Entertainment announced on June 17, 2016, that Taeyeon's second extended play ''

'' would be released on June 28. It was also announced that "Starlight" featuring alternative R&B singer

would be released as the EP's lead single on June 25. "Starlight" is a midtempo 1990s

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pop and R&B song which features "bright" synthesizers in its instrumentation. Meanwhile, a writer from

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wrote that "Starlight" drew influences from R&B and

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. The song's lyrics detail a romantic relationship with the lyrics "You are my starlight, shine on my heart / When I’m with you, it feels like I’m dreaming all day / You are my starlight, I get so happy / Your love is like a gift."

Reception

The single received generally positive reviews from

, who praised the song's musical styles. Jung So-young from OSEN (Online Sports and Entertainment News) described the song as having a "pleasant" feeling.

Promotion

Taeyeon embarked on a series of concerts titled Butterfly Kiss. The concert took place in

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on July 9–10, 2016, and in

at the KBS Hall on August 6–7, 2016. "Starlight" was included on the setlist of the show, which consisted of 22 songs in total. In August 2019, she performed this song with NCT Jaehyun at 2019 SMTOWN Live in Tokyo

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the CD liner notes of ''Why''. * Recorded at S.M. Blue Ocean Studio * Lyrics by Lee Seu-ran () ( Jam Factory (music publisher)) * Composed by Jamil "Digi" Chammas, Taylor McKall, Tay Jasper, Adrian Mckinnon, Leven Kali,

, MZMC * Arranged by Jamil "Digi" Chammas, Taylor McKall, Tay Jasper, Leven Kali * Administered by MARZ Music Group, LLC and MZMC Publishing

Charts

Accolades

Music program awards

Notes

References

{{Dean (South Korean singer) 2016 songs 2016 singles Dean (South Korean singer) songs Taeyeon songs Korean-language songs SM Entertainment singles Songs written by Sara Forsberg