"Movie Star" is a song by Irish recording artist Róisín Murphy

Róisín Murphy

Róisín Marie Murphy is an Irish singer-songwriter and record producer, known for her electronic style.Murphy first came to note as part of the electronic music duo Moloko. Her partner in the band was then-boyfriend Mark Brydon. After the two ended their romantic relationship, Murphy released her...

 from her second solo studio album, Overpowered

Overpowered

Overpowered is the second solo studio album by Irish recording artist Róisín Murphy, released in Ireland on 12 October 2007 and in the United Kingdom and rest of Europe on 15 October 2007. The album was to be released in the United States in late 2008 or early 2009, but was cancelled by EMI due to...

. Written by Murphy, Paul "Seiji" Dolby (of Bugz in the Attic

Bugz in the Attic

Bugz in the Attic is a collective of DJs and producers based in West London, who are prominent in broken beat. The collective includes Orin Walters , Paul Dolby , Kaidi Tatham, Daz-I-Kue, Alex Phountzi , Cliff Scott, Mark Force, Matt Lord, and Mikey Stirton. The group also has a label, BitaSweet...

) and Mike Patto, and produced by Parrot & Dean, the song was released digitally in the United States as the album's fourth and final single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

.

Release

The track was set to be released as the album's fourth single on 21 July 2008, but has since been pushed back many times for a release in November. It was to be released as a double A-side single with a cover

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of Bryan Ferry

Bryan Ferry

Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...

's 1985 song "Slave to Love

Slave to Love

"Slave to Love" is the first single released from Roxy Music singer Bryan Ferry's 1985 release, Boys and Girls, and is one of his most popular solo hits. The single was released on 28 April 1985 and spent 9 weeks in the UK charts in 1985, peaking at number 10...

" to coincide with its use in the Gucci

Gucci

The House of Gucci, better known simply as Gucci , is an Italian fashion and leather goods label, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company PPR...

 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 on the iTunes Store

ITunes Store

The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...

 in the United States on 14 October 2008.

Critical reception

Heather Phares of Allmusic referred to "Movie Star" as "Murphy's spin on Goldfrapp

Goldfrapp

Goldfrapp are an English electronic music duo, formed in 1999 in London, England, that consists of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ....

'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 Media

Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

 agreed, saying the song "laces itself a little too tighly into Alison Goldfrapp

Alison Goldfrapp

Alison Elizabeth Margaret Goldfrapp is an English singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as the lead singer of the electronic music duo Goldfrapp. Goldfrapp has a soprano vocal range.-Early life:...

's glam pop corset." Digital Spy

Digital Spy

Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....

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

Dance-pop

Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...

 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

About.com

About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....

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

Eurodance

Eurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s or early 1990s primarily in Europe. It combines many elements from House, Techno, Hi-NRG and especially Italo-Disco...

 crossed with industrial

Industrial music

Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...

 which generates an urgent, grinding sound."

Music video

The original music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 was directed by Simon Henwood and features Murphy on a night out in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 with several drag queen

Drag queen

A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...

s and performers, including Jodie Harsh and Theo Adams

Theo Adams

Theo Adams , previously referred to as The-O, is a performance artist and director of the contemporary theatrical performance art group Theo Adams Company.-Personal life:...

. Some scenes are inspired by the work of John Waters

John Waters (filmmaker)

John Samuel Waters, Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, stand-up comedian, writer, journalist, visual artist, and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films...

, such as the attack by Lobstora from his 1970 film Multiple Maniacs

Multiple Maniacs

Multiple Maniacs is a 1970 comedy film by American cult filmmaker John Waters; his second feature film. The film features several actors who were part of the Dreamland acting troupe for Waters' films, including Divine, Mary Vivian Pearce, David Lochary, Mink Stole, Edith Massey, and Cookie...

and the appearance of Divine lookalikes.

Track listings

US iTunes EP

1. "Movie Star" – 4:01
2. "Movie Star" (Radio Edit) – 3:46
3. "Movie Star" (Jnrsnchz
   Junior Sanchez
   Junior Sanchez is a record producer, DJ, artist, and remixer. His remixing and production skills are in demand by artists, including Madonna, Gorrilaz, Daft Punk, Placebo, Shakira, Les Rythmes Digitales, and Róisín Murphy. Junior Sanchez has produced albums and tracks for Katy Perry, Ima Robot,...
   
    Cinespace Mix) – 8:28
4. "Movie Star" (Kid Gloves Remix) – 10:19

UK promo CD single

1. "Movie Star" (Radio Edit) – 3:46
2. "Movie Star" (Instrumental) – 3:59
3. "Slave to Love" – 3:40
4. "Slave to Love" (Instrumental) – 3:40

UK promo CD maxi single

1. "Movie Star" (Radio Edit) – 3:45
2. "Movie Star" – 3:59
3. "Movie Star" (Instrumental) – 3:59
4. "Movie Star" (Jnrsnchz Lax Mix) – 4:40
5. "Movie Star" (Jnrsnchz Cinespace Mix) – 8:31
6. "Movie Star" (Sam & Di Angelis 'She Is Beautiful' Remix) – 6:15
7. "Movie Star" (Sam & Di Angelis 'For Jodie Harsh' Remix) – 5:28
8. "Movie Star" (Kid Gloves Remix) – 10:22
9. "Movie Star" (Kid Gloves Dub) – 10:22
10. "Slave to Love" – 3:40
11. "Slave to Love" (Instrumental) – 3:40

Personnel

• Róisín Murphy – vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  
• Tom Elmhirst
  Tom Elmhirst
  Tom Elmhirst is a British specialist music producer and mix engineer. He began his career at SARM studios in the early 90s at a time when digital audio was already becoming mainstream. Elmhirst’s experiences at SARM and with Trevor Horn have clearly influenced his current working methods...
  
   – mixing
  Audio mixing (recorded music)
  In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
  
  
• Dean Honer – producer
  Record producer
  A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
  
  , synthesizer
  Synthesizer
  A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
  
  , programming, additional recording
• Ross Orton
  Ross Orton
  Ross Orton is a musician/songwriter/producer based in Sheffield, England.He is known for his work as drummer in Add N to and as part of electro trio Fat Truckers, and since that band's split in 2004 has formed the Cavemen songwriting/production duo with Pulp's Steve Mackey...
  
   – drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Parrot – producer, synthesizer, programming
  Programming (music)
  Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...
  
  
• Mike Patto – guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Seiji
  Bugz in the Attic
  Bugz in the Attic is a collective of DJs and producers based in West London, who are prominent in broken beat. The collective includes Orin Walters , Paul Dolby , Kaidi Tatham, Daz-I-Kue, Alex Phountzi , Cliff Scott, Mark Force, Matt Lord, and Mikey Stirton. The group also has a label, BitaSweet...
  
   – engineer
  Audio engineering
  An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
  
  

Charts

Chart (2008)	Peak position
US Hot Singles Sales	8
US Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes...	3