Waiting for a Star to Fall

"Waiting for a Star to Fall" is a song released by the pop duo Boy Meets Girl in 1988. It was a worldwide hit and became their signature song. Since its release, it has been remixed and covered by many artists, including Cabin Crew and Sunset Strippers.

Background
"Waiting for a Star to Fall" was written by Shannon Rubicam and George Merrill, and was inspired by an actual falling star that Rubicam had seen during a Whitney Houston concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. The duo did not initially consider recording the song themselves, instead submitting it to Houston's manager Clive Davis, in the hope that he would decide to use it on her next album. Even though Rubicam and Merrill had written Houston's previous hits "How Will I Know" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", Davis rejected "Waiting for a Star to Fall", suggesting that it did not suit her. The song was then offered to and recorded by Belinda Carlisle for her 1987 release Heaven on Earth, at the insistence of her label, but Carlisle disliked it and refused to include it on the album. This version has, however, circulated on an unofficial compilation of that album's outtakes.

The tenor saxophone solo on the Boy Meets Girl version was provided in a session recording early in the career of Andy Snitzer, who later found success as a solo artist.

Release and reception
Merrill and Rubicam decided to record the song themselves for their second album Reel Life. Released as a single on June 10, 1988, it became a hit in the United States, slowly climbing the charts and eventually reaching number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart and number five on the Billboard Hot 100. Released in the United Kingdom on November 30, 1988, the song reached number nine on the UK charts during January 1989, having entered the chart in December 1988. It also reached number 35 on Australia's ARIA Charts in April 1989.

The song was used as the closing track to the 1990 movie Three Men and a Little Lady, and the single was re-released as a movie tie-in, with a new picture sleeve featuring the actors of the film. It peaked at number 76 in the UK.

The video game Grand Theft Auto IV included the song in the playlist for the in-game radio station Vice City FM.

Johnny Loftus of AllMusic remarked that the song was "just classic", and that "the urgency as it drives toward its chorus is a clinic for durable songwriting."

Music video
The video for the song, directed by Australian director Claudia Castle, features scenes of Merrill and Rubicam singing it on a beach and inside a house. Also featured are scenes of a group of children playing with bubbles, including the couple's young daughter Hilary.

Personnel
George Merrill: lead vocals, piano, synthesizer, bass guitar, drum programming
John Goux: guitar
Denny Fongheiser: drums
Michael Jochum: additional drums
Andy Snitzer: saxophone
Shannon Rubicam, Susan Boyd: vocals
Joe Mardin: synthesizer

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Covers and remixes

The song has been covered and remixed several times. The most commercially successful versions came in 2005, when Australian musical group Cabin Crew remixed the song as "Star to Fall" (or "Star2Fall") but were refused the sampling of the original lyrics by Sony BMG. Liking what Cabin Crew had done, however, George Merrill agreed to re-record the vocals. Cabin Crew's version peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart in March 2005. Meanwhile, Sony BMG had British musical group Sunset Strippers remix the original track under the title "Falling Stars", which was released a week after the Cabin Crew version and reached number three on the UK Singles Chart.

Charts

"Star to Fall"
Weekly charts

Year-end charts

"Falling Stars"
Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other covers
 The track "In My Arms" by British electronic musician Mylo sampled the song and was featured on Mylo's album Destroy Rock & Roll. His version also sampled Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes" and made it to number 13 in the United Kingdom in 2005.
 In 2007, German hardstyle musician Dan Winter recorded a remix titled "Carry Your Heart".
 In 2012, Italian Melodic Rock band Lionville covered the song on their album Lionville II.
 In December 2013, a folk cover of the song by Icelandic singer Yohanna surfaced on the Internet.
 In March 2014, a folk cover of the song by English singer Diana Vickers surfaced on the Internet.
 In September 2017, Australian singer George Maple interpolated the song as part of her single "Hero"

References

External links
 Full lyrics at Boy Meets Girl Music Boy Meets Girl Music

Category:1988 songs
Category:1988 singles
Category:2005 singles
Category:Boy Meets Girl (band) songs
Category:Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one singles
Category:Songs written by Shannon Rubicam
Category:Songs written by George Merrill (songwriter)
Category:RCA Records singles
Category:Data Records singles
Category:Kontor Records singles