This song is about a girl who is experimenting with love and still trying to be careful because her past loves were "suicide," but she knows her new love is so much more than an experiment.
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Suggestion credit:
Shannon - Lynbrook, NY
Paris Hilton is a notorious hotel heiress who is mainly known as a socialite, but has also experimented with acting and singing. "Stars Are Blind" was her first single, and it generally exceeded the low expectations of critics and became a hit. The song was helped along by a reggae beat provided by producer Fernando Garibay and a video where Paris is frolicking on the beach. Garibay wrote it with the songwriters Ralph McCarthy and Sheppard Solomon.
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Suggestion credit:
Mike - Santa Barbara, CA
According to the song's producer, Fernando Garibay, the song was targeted to Gwen Stefani, but it was never pitched to her because she had a bigger commitment: she was having a baby. Instead, it went to Paris Hilton, who was starting a music career after three seasons starring in the reality show The Simple Life.
Paris Hilton built a reputation for becoming famous despite having no discernible talent, and was roundly mocked in the media. So when she released this song, you can imagine this patter from disc jockeys:
Paris Hilton has released a song! It's called "Stars Are Blind." Let's hope they're also deaf!
To avoid this pre-judgment, Hilton's very savvy media team encouraged radio stations to play the song without naming the artist, and letting listeners take a guess. The phones lit up: Britney Spears? Jessica Simpson?
When it was revealed to be Paris Hilton, the general consensus was, she's actually a decent singer, not that vocally different from the pop stars on the airwaves.
"Stars Are Blind" was a #1 Dance hit and made a strong showing on the US Hot 100, climbing to #18. It charted around the world and went to #1 in a few countries, including Hungary and Slovakia.
The next single, "Turn It Up," as also a #1 Dance hit. Both songs were included on Hilton's debut album, Paris, which primed her for a successful run in music. Paris, though, was more interested in her other media ventures, including The Simple Life, so she didn't tour and didn't release another album until 2024, when she returned with Infinite Icon, executive produced by Sia.
The song garnered a lot of attention for its melodic similarities to UB40's
1989 cover of Lord Creator's 1970 song "Kingston Town." In June 2007, Sparta Florida Music Group, the copyright holders of the reggae standard, started legal action. The case was settled out of court.
At the time, it was wrongly stated that UB40 were the suing party. However, UB40's Ali Campbell told
NME the resemblances between the two songs were blatant. "It really was a total lift," he said. "When I heard it, I said what almost everybody does: 'Wow! That's more or less 'Kingston Town' all the way through.'"
"Stars Are Blind" coruscated back into popular culture when it was used in the 2020 movie Promising Young Woman in a scene where Carey Mulligan and Bo Burnham have a very romantic-comedy moment singing the song in a pharmacy. According to Mulligan, they had a lot of fun with the song, and the crew was humming it for a week afterwards.
Paris Hilton recorded an updated version titled "Stars Are Blind (Paris' Version)." Hilton laid down fresh vocals and teamed up again with Fernando Garibay. She released it exclusively to Amazon Music on December 30, 2022.
Amber Hay made a very popular YouTube video called
Paris In Jail that used the music to this song. Her version pokes fun at Hilton's legal issues.
Hilton sang "Stars Are Blind" at a few showcases and TV appearances, but didn't play a full concert until June 7, 2023 in Los Angeles at the Fonda Theatre, where she was joined on the song by Kim Petras.
Hilton showed up on the NBC special
Miley's New Year's Eve Party on December 31, 2022, where she sang "Stars Are Blind." Sia was also on the show and encouraged Paris to make another album, which ended up being
Infinite Icon in 2024. One of the tracks, "
BBA," features Megan Thee Stallion.
