"Stars in the Sky" is a song by American musician

Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and fashion designer. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Cudi would move to New Yo ...

. It was created for the film ''

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 1992 platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute (STI) for the Sega Genesis. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic as he attempts to stop Doctor Eggman from stealing the Chaos Emeralds to power his space stationnamed T ...

'' (2022) and was released as a single in promotion for the film on March 25, 2022. The song was written by Cudi himself, alongside

Lil Nas X Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his country rap single " Old Town Road", which first achieved viral popula ...

and producers Splititupbenji,

Take a Daytrip Take a Daytrip is an American record production and songwriting duo composed of Denzel Baptiste (born January 9, 1993) and David Biral (born February 22, 1993). They are best known for producing singles such as Sheck Wes' "Mo Bamba", Lil Nas X ...

, and

Dot da Genius Oladipo Omishore, known professionally as Dot da Genius is an American record producer and audio engineer from Brooklyn, New York City. He first gained recognition in 2008 for producing "Day 'n' Nite" by American musician Kid Cudi, with whom he ...

Background

"Stars in the Sky" was released at midnight on March 25, 2022, the song was available for

pre-save A pre-save is a digital pre-order, usually of an album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed i ...

on music streaming services the day prior. On April 28, 2022, an early version of the song titled "STARZ", with additional vocals from

, and a different instrumental from the final version, was leaked online.

Reception

Tom Breihan of

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

, says that song "is a bleepy, uptempo dance-pop track produced by Take a Daytrip and Dot da Genius. It’s got Cudi singing some very happy melodies through a whole lot of Auto-Tune, and it definitely sounds like a song from a kids’ movie." Breihan also says: "A pretty weird look for Kid Cudi! But maybe it’ll be a hit! The song’s video plunges Cudi into the ''Sonic'' universe."

Music video

The

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 ...

was directed by William Lebeda for Picturemill. The video displays Kid Cudi in a recording studio recording the song, but he is interrupted by a message from

Doctor Robotnik Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik is the main antagonist of Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Eggman was created and designed by Naoto Ohshima as part of many design choices for Sega's new mascot. After the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog, Ohshi ...

on his cell phone, who invites Cudi to join him. Cudi apparently accepts and leaves the studio, where he finds the Eggmobile, Robotnik's vehicle. Then Cudi starts the vehicle and starts flying off at high speed while continuing to sing the song, in addition to the video clip showing footages (some hitherto unpublished) of ''

'', both in its original filmage version and in a

16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two mos ...

recreation. In the final moments of the music video, in the Labyrinth Zone, Cudi discovers Robotnik's true intention to have called him, to help the doctor steal the

Master Emerald is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformer ...

. The musician teams up with

Sonic Sonic or Sonics may refer to: Companies *Sonic Drive-In, an American drive-in fast-food restaurant chain *Sonic (ISP), an Internet provider and CLEC, serving more than 100 California communities *Sonic Foundry, a computer software company whic ...

and Tails to stop Robotnik, who is already in Green Hills, inside a giant robot resembling himself, which is powered by the power of the emerald. Cudi also builds a mech that resembles himself and with one punch, destroys Robotnik's robot, and later, celebrates with a

fist bump A fist bump (also known as a bro fist or power five) is a gesture similar in meaning to a handshake or high five. A fist bump can also be a symbol of giving respect or approval, as well as companionship between two people. It can be followed ...

with Tails and Sonic, who gives the musician one of his powered quills and opens a ring portal so Cudi can return to the recording studio.

Live performances

On April 9, 2022, Cudi performed a medley of "Stars in the Sky" and " Pursuit of Happiness" at the

Kids' Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice) is an annual American children's awards ceremony show that is produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in late March or early April, the show honors ...

for the first time.

Track listing

*Digital download #Stars In The Sky — 3:05

References

External links

* {{Kid Cudi songs 2022 songs 2022 singles Kid Cudi songs Republic Records singles Songs written by Kid Cudi Songs written by Dot da Genius Works based on Sonic the Hedgehog Songs written for films Song recordings produced by Take a Daytrip Songs written by Lil Nas X Animated music videos American electronic songs American pop songs