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{{short description|2012 Single from the American TV series, Smash}}
{{Infobox song <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Songs -->
{{Infobox song
| Name = Let Me Be Your Star
| name = Let Me Be Your Star
| Type =
| cover =
| Artist = [[Katharine McPhee]], [[Megan Hilty]] and [[Uma Thurman]].
| alt Artist =
| alt =
| type = single
| Album = [[The Music of Smash]]
| artist = [[Smash (American TV series)|Smash cast]] feat. [[Katharine McPhee]] & [[Megan Hilty]]
| A-side =
| album = [[The Music of Smash]],<br />[[Bombshell (Smash album)|Bombshell]]
| Recorded =
| released = January 16, 2012
| Released = <!-- {{Start date|2012|01|16}} -->
| Published =
| recorded = 2012
| Genre =
| studio =
| venue =
| Language = English
| genre = Pop
| Length = <!-- {{Duration|m=MM|s=SS}} -->
| length = 3:12 <small>(Album Version)</small>
| Writer = [[Marc Shaiman]]<br>[[Scott Wittman]]
| Composer = [[Marc Shaiman]]
| label = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
| writer = [[Marc Shaiman]], [[Scott Wittman]]
| Label = NBC Studios LLC
| producer = [[Marc Shaiman]]
| Producer =
| chronology = Smash cast
| Tracks =
| prev_title = [[The National Pastime]]
| prev =
| prev_no =
| prev_year = 2012
| next_title = [[History Is Made at Night (song)|History Is Made at Night]]
| track_no =
| next =
| next_year = 2012
| next_no =
| Misc =
}}
}}


"'''Let Me Be Your Star'''" is an original song introduced in the first episode of the first season of the musical TV series ''[[Smash (American TV series)|Smash]]'', entitled "[[Pilot (Smash)|Pilot]]". It was written by [[Marc Shaiman]] and [[Scott Wittman]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ascap.com/Home/ace-title-search/index.aspx|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306032310/https://www.ascap.com/Home/ace-title-search/index.aspx|url-status=dead|title=ASCAP Database Music Search - Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman songs|archive-date=6 March 2013|access-date=17 May 2022}}</ref> but in the show's universe, it was written by songwriting duo Tom Levitt ([[Christian Borle]]) and Julia Houston ([[Debra Messing]]) for the Marilyn Monroe musical they are working on, ''Bombshell''.
"'''Let Me Be Your Star'''" is an original song performed by characters Karen Cartwright ([[Katharine McPhee]]) and Ivy Lynn ([[Megan Hilty]]) in the musical TV series ''[[Smash (TV series)|Smash]]''. It was first sung in [[Pilot (Smash)|the pilot]], but has since been reprised numerous times as a duet, a solo by Karen or Ivy, or by Rebecca Duvall ([[Uma Thurman]]). The version on the album ''[[The Music of Smash]]'' is the pilot version. The song was released as a single by NBC Studios LLC on January 16, 2012 on iTunes.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/let-me-be-your-star-feat./id494310922 | title=Let Me Be Your Star (feat. Katharine McPhee & Megan Hilty) [From the TV Series "SMASH"] - Single | accessdate=April 28, 2012}}</ref> The publisher of the sheet music is Alfred Publishing Co.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.onlinesheetmusic.com/let-me-be-your-star-p429466.aspx | title=Let Me Be Your Star Sheet Music | accessdate=April 28, 2012}}</ref>


In the first episode, the song is performed by characters Karen Cartwright ([[Katharine McPhee]]) and Ivy Lynn ([[Megan Hilty]]) as they each prepare for and then audition for the role of Marilyn in front the production team.
While the song was written by [[Marc Shaiman]] and [[Scott Wittman]], in the television show the song is depicted as having been written by songwriting duo Julia Houston ([[Debra Messing]]) and Tom Levitt ([[Christian Borle]]) for a musical based on [[Marylin Monroe]]'s life entitled ''Bombshell''. The music is by Marc Shaiman. In the pilot, the song is in the key of G♭ major, has a tempo of 143 beats per minute,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0100439 | title=Let Me Be Your Star Katharine McPhee Digital Sheet Music | accessdate=April 28, 2012}}</ref> and is 03:13 long.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.last.fm/music/SMASH+Cast/_/Let+Me+Be+Your+Star | title=Smash Cast – Let Me Be Your Star (3:13) | accessdate=April 28, 2012}}</ref>

The song has since been reprised numerous times in various episodes, both as solos and duets. For the first season, it was also sung by Karen and Ivy in the second episode "[[The Callback]]" and the seventh episode "[[The Workshop (Smash)|The Workshop]]", by Ivy in the sixth episode "[[Chemistry (Smash)|Chemistry]]", and by Rebecca Duvall ([[Uma Thurman]]) in the eleventh episode "[[The Movie Star]]" and the fourteenth episode "[[Previews (Smash)|Previews]]". In the second season, it was reprised by Karen and several female members of the ''Bombshell'' ensemble in the first episode "[[On Broadway (Smash)|On Broadway]]", and by Ivy in the eighth episode "[[The Bells and Whistles]]" and the eleventh episode "[[The Dress Rehearsal (Smash)|The Dress Rehearsal]]".

The song was originally released as a single to digital music retailers and is available on the cast albums ''[[The Music of Smash]]'' and ''[[Bombshell (Smash album)|Bombshell]]'' (the latter with an extended intro not heard on the show), with McPhee and Hilty's vocals from the "Pilot" episode.

The song has sold 48,000 digital downloads as of April 13, 2012.<ref name="Burlingame, Jon">{{cite news | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2012/04/13/building-into-a-smash-music-for-screens-spring-2012/ | title=Building into a 'Smash?': Music for Screens: Spring 2012 | newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]| date=April 13, 2012 | access-date=April 28, 2012 | author=Burlingame, Jon}}</ref>


==Production==
==Production==
Scott Wittman explained that they received notes on "Let Me Be Your Star" by NBC Entertainment President Bob Greenblatt. Greenblatt, who was nicknamed "Mr Freed" after the MGM producer of "Singin' in the Rain" and "Meet Me in St. Louis" said to the writing duo that "this has to be more universal in its story. It has to be about people who want something and fight for it."<ref name="Villarreal, Yvonne">{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-mar-04-la-ca-smash-music-20120304-story.html | title='Smash': Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman want to make viewers hum | newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=March 4, 2012 | access-date=April 28, 2012 | author=Villarreal, Yvonne}}</ref>
The synopsis of the number in the pilot, as described by [[AfterElton]], is "Karen and Ivy trade verses as they and the casting panel converge for the callback, finally forming an ersatz duet as they meet outside the building where the callback is being held."<ref name="afterelton">{{cite web | url=http://www.afterelton.com/tv/recaps/smash-101?page=0%2C4 | title="Smash" Series Premiere: "Let Me Be Your Star!" | date=February 7, 2012 | accessdate=April 28, 2012}}</ref> Vulture describes the song as a "propulsive non-diagetic duet/duel".<ref name="vulture">{{cite web | url=http://www.vulture.com/2012/02/smashs-show-within-the-show.html | title=New York Magazine Stage Critic Scott Brown Reviews Smash's Show-Within-the-Show | date=2/7/12 | accessdate=April 28, 2012 | author=Brown, Scott}}</ref> The song makes contextual sense in regards to the lives of both auctioneers, and Marylin Monroe herself.


The song fulfilled the writers' desire "to try and make each song somehow mirror what was going on in the episode." The song makes contextual sense in regards to the lives of both auditionees, and Marilyn Monroe herself.<ref name="Burlingame, Jon"/>
Scott Brown describes the song's reprise in the second episode, "[[The Callback]]", as "[Karen and Ivy] standing center stage 'in a pool of light'...around her, phantom blondes spit spoken torments between the musical phrases".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.vulture.com/2012/02/theater-critic-scott-brown-reviews-smashs-show-within-the-show-week-two.html | title=Theater Critic Scott Brown Reviews Smash’s Show-Within-the-Show for Week Two [UPDATED] | publisher=Vulture | date=2/14/12 | accessdate=April 28, 2012 | author=Brown, Scott}}</ref>

"Let Me Be Your Star", along with other pilot songs "The National Pastime" and "Beautiful", "fit into the storyline in a realist manner and each had a purpose to them". This is one reason why the series had been described as the "anti-glee".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.buddytv.com/articles/smash/is-smash-the-anti-glee-43952.aspx | title=Is 'Smash' the Anti-'Glee'? | website=Buddytv.com | date=February 13, 2012 | access-date=April 28, 2012 | author=Dodge, Jeff}}</ref>

In the pilot, the song is "belted" by Karen and Ivy "while walking through Times Square on the way to their callback auditions".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.quchronicle.com/2012/02/rave-of-the-week-nbcs-smash-hit/ | title=RAVE of the week: NBC's 'Smash' hit | publisher=The Quinnipiac Chronicle | date=February 13, 2012 | access-date=April 28, 2012 | author=Epstein, Samantha}}</ref> [[AfterElton]] comments that "[they] trade verses as they and the casting panel converge for the callback, finally forming an ersatz duet as they meet outside the building where the callback is being held."<ref name="afterelton">{{cite web | url= http://www.thebacklot.com/smash-series-premiere-let-me-be-your-star/02/2012/|title="Smash" Series Premiere: "Let Me Be Your Star!"|website=thebacklot.com | date=February 7, 2012 | access-date=April 28, 2012}}</ref> Vulture describes the song as a "propulsive non-diagetic duet/duel".<ref name="vulture">{{cite web | url=http://www.vulture.com/2012/02/smashs-show-within-the-show.html | title=New York Magazine Stage Critic Scott Brown Reviews Smash's Show-Within-the-Show|website=Vulture.com | date=February 7, 2012 | access-date=April 28, 2012 | author=Brown, Scott}}</ref> Yvonne Villarreal of the Los Angeles Times describes the song as a "sweeping duet battle".<ref name="Villarreal, Yvonne"/>

Scott Brown describes the song's reprise in the second episode, "[[The Callback]]", as "[Karen and Ivy] standing center stage 'in a pool of light'...around her, phantom blondes spit spoken torments between the musical phrases".<ref name="Brown, Scott">{{cite web | url=http://www.vulture.com/2012/02/theater-critic-scott-brown-reviews-smashs-show-within-the-show-week-two.html | title=Theater Critic Scott Brown Reviews Smash's Show-Within-the-Show for Week Two [UPDATED] | website=Vulture.com | date=February 14, 2012 | access-date=April 28, 2012 | author=Brown, Scott}}</ref>

In the seventh episode "The Workshop", Ivy sings "Let Me Be Your Star" at the musical workshop "while the musical’s creators and other observers look on".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://popcrush.com/smash-teaser-features-broadway-legend-bernadette-peters/ | title='Smash' Teaser Features Broadway Legend Bernadette Peters | website=PopCrush.com | date=March 16, 2012 | access-date=April 28, 2012 | last=Shetler|first=Scott}}</ref>

In the eleventh episode "The Movie Star", Rebecca Duvall performs the song in a "breathy, ‘Marilyn’ voice". Roxanne Tellier of starpulse.com comments that "it’s really more talking than singing, and flat to boot". She describes the scene that the song taken place in as follows: "The production team looks at her and each other in shock. Derek cuts her off mid-note, and suggests they start working on blocking the scene. Tom and Julia tell Rebecca that she was ‘great’".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.starpulse.com/news/Roxanne_Tellier/2012/04/17/smash_recap_how_do_you_solve_a_problem | title='Smash' Recap: How Do You Solve A Problem Like Rebecca? | website=Starpulse.com | date=April 17, 2012 | access-date=April 28, 2012 | author=Tellier, Roxanne}}</ref> This sing-speak version of the song causes Julia to tongue-in-cheekly suggest "group suicide" as the next step in workshopping.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://tvline.com/2012/04/17/smash-recap-season-1-episode-11-the-movie-star/ | title=Smash Recap: Hey Now, You're a Stage Star | publisher=TVLine | date=April 17, 2012 | access-date=April 28, 2012 | author=Slezak, Michael}}</ref>

In the fifteenth episode "Bombshell", the final chorus of the musical's new finale, "[[Don't Forget Me (Smash song)|Don't Forget Me]]", segues into the concluding lyrics "And please let me be, let me be that star".


==Critical reception==
==Critical reception==
AfterElton describes the pilot version of the song as "genius", and "blend[s] an amazing cocktail of determination and confidence with need and desire". It made comparisons with the "The Music and the Mirror" from [[A Chorus Line]], "Tonight" from [[West Side Story]], and "Walk Through the Fire" from the musical Buffy episode "Once More, With Feeling".<ref name="afterelton" /> Scott Shetler of PopCrush gave the song a rating of 4 stars, commenting "McPhee and Hilty sound terrific while belting out identical notes over most of the final chorus, finishing with a bang with a brief moment of harmony on the final, drawn-out note."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://popcrush.com/smash-let-me-be-your-star/ | title='Smash' Cast, 'Let Me Be Your Star' – Song Review | publisher=PopCrush | date=February 6, 2012 | accessdate=April 28, 2012 | author=Scott Shetler}}</ref> Scott Brown of Vulture describes the song as the "best number" of the pilot, and compares the "driving, pop-injected act-ender" to "Defying Gravity" form Wicked. He comments that of all the original songs featured in the pilot, this one sounded the least "Shaimanesque", although he was confident that it would end up in the musical regardless. He says that while the song has "energy and lift", it has a repetative "downward-gliding melody line". He adds that "the scene itself is cut for maximum 'things are happening! Happening right now!' urgency", and drawn a comparison with his "favourite lyric" the musical episode of Community "Everything's cooler when cameras are spinning / Singing and dancing in unison-in-in-ing".<ref name="vulture" /> It has been described as a "show-stopp[er]"<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.hollywoodlife.com/2012/02/06/smash-series-premiere-review-katharine-mcphee-marilyn-monroe/?v02 | title=‘Smash’ Series Premiere Recap: Who Should Play Marilyn Monroe? | publisher=HollywoodLife | date=7 February, 2012 | accessdate=April 28, 2012 | author=Swift, Andy}}</ref> and "an instant musical theatre classic".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rideaumusic.com/product-299713 | title=Let Me Be Your Star | publisher=Rideau Music | accessdate=April 28, 2012}}</ref> One of the staff of AfterEllen commented that they had "lost count of how many times they'd watched or listened to [the song]".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.afterellen.com/TV/recaps/smash-episode-1?page=0%2C4 | title="Smash" Series Premiere: “Let Me Be Your Star!” | publisher=AfterEllen | date=February 7, 2012 | accessdate=April 28, 2012}}</ref>
"Let Me Be Your Star" has received critical acclaim. AfterElton describes the pilot version of the song as "genius, blending an amazing cocktail of determination and confidence with need and desire". It made comparisons with "The Music and the Mirror" from ''[[A Chorus Line]]'', "[[Tonight (West Side Story song)|Tonight]]" from ''[[West Side Story]]'', and "Walk Through the Fire" from the musical ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' episode "[[Once More, with Feeling (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Once More, with Feeling]]".<ref name="afterelton" /> Scott Brown of Vulture describes the song as the "best number" of the pilot, and compares the "driving, pop-injected act-ender" to "[[Defying Gravity (song)|Defying Gravity]]" from ''[[Wicked (musical)|Wicked]]''. He comments that of all the original songs featured in the pilot, this one sounded the least "Shaimanesque", although he was confident that it would end up in the musical regardless. He says that while the song has "energy and lift", it has a repetitive "downward-gliding melody line". He adds that "the scene itself is cut for maximum 'things are happening! Happening right now!' urgency", and draws a comparison with his "favourite lyric" from the musical episode of Community "Everything's cooler when cameras are spinning / Singing and dancing in unison-in-in-ing".<ref name="vulture" /> It has been described as a "show-stopp[er]",<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.hollywoodlife.com/2012/02/06/smash-series-premiere-review-katharine-mcphee-marilyn-monroe/?v02 | title='Smash' Series Premiere Recap: Who Should Play Marilyn Monroe? | website=HollywoodLife.com | date=7 February 2012 | access-date=April 28, 2012 | author=Swift, Andy}}</ref> "an instant musical theatre classic",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/instruments/Accordion-Sheet-Music/900003?aff_id=527869|title=Accordion Sheet Music |website=Sheetmusicplus.com|access-date=17 May 2022}}</ref> and the reason for an "explosive finale" to the pilot.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120130/120130_smash_tv/20120130/?hub=CP24Entertainment | title='Smash' blends drama with original songs | publisher=CP24 | date=January 30, 2012 | access-date=April 28, 2012}}</ref> Jarett Wieselman of TheInsider.com comments that the pilot had "as energizing a denouement as [he's] ever seen" thanks to "Let Me Be Your Star", and adds that the song could be "Smash's very own [[Don't Stop Believin']]", i.e., Smash's unofficial theme song in the same way that Don't Stop Believin' is Glee's.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.theinsider.com/tv/49473_Smash_pilot_review/index.html | title=Is 'Smash' Anything To Sing About? | date=February 6, 2012 | access-date=April 28, 2012 | author=Wieselman, Jarett | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418212639/http://www.theinsider.com/tv/49473_Smash_pilot_review/index.html | archive-date=April 18, 2012 }}</ref> MIX fm described the song as "attention-getting" and "stunning".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mix.fm/Entertainment/Music-News.aspx | title=Chris Brown to Release Fortune in July | publisher=MIX fm | access-date=April 28, 2012 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502004603/http://mix.fm/Entertainment/Music-News.aspx | archive-date=May 2, 2012 }}</ref>


Scott Brown comments that in the reprise in "The Callback", the song is more suited to the slower tempo, and adds that it "gives those long phrases a chance to breathe and doesn't force them to carry a whole lot of driving rhythmic energy". <ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.vulture.com/2012/02/theater-critic-scott-brown-reviews-smashs-show-within-the-show-week-two.html | title=Theater Critic Scott Brown Reviews Smash’s Show-Within-the-Show for Week Two [UPDATED] | publisher=Vulture | date=2/14/12 | accessdate=April 28, 2012 | author=Brown, Scott}}</ref>
Scott Brown comments that in the reprise in "The Callback", the song is more suited to the slower tempo, and adds that it "gives those long phrases a chance to breathe and doesn't force them to carry a whole lot of driving rhythmic energy".<ref name="Brown, Scott"/> JJ of TV Is My Pacifier said "“Let Me Be Your Star” got a reprise with a more sober orchestration making it a lot more sensitive. I liked the change from the version we heard at the end of the pilot."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.tvismypacifier.com/?p=21626 | title=Recap/Review – Smash – "The Callback" – 2/13/12 | publisher=TV Is My Pacifier | date=February 15, 2012 | access-date=February 9, 2013 | author=}}</ref>


TV Fanatic notes that in episode 11, "[[The Movie Star]]", Rebecca Duvall's version of "Let Me Be Your Star" was "horrendous", and adds "all Tom and Julia could say was 'great' — ha! And, even that single word pained them to say". <ref>{{cite web | url=http://comatosenews.com/2012/04/smash-review-the-movie-star/ | title=Smash Review: “The Movie Star” | date=April 17, 2012 | accessdate=April 28, 2012}}</ref> JJ comments that she "fails to deliver".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.tvismypacifier.com/?p=22978 | title=Recap/Review – Smash – “The Movie Star” – 4/16/12 | date=April 18, 2012 | accessdate=April 28, 2012}}</ref>
TV Fanatic notes that in episode 11, "[[The Movie Star]]", Rebecca Duvall's version of "Let Me Be Your Star" was "[appropriately] horrendous", and adds "all Tom and Julia could say was 'great' — ha! And, even that single word pained them to say".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://comatosenews.com/2012/04/smash-review-the-movie-star/ | title=Smash Review: "The Movie Star" | date=April 17, 2012 | access-date=April 28, 2012 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140115043509/http://comatosenews.com/2012/04/smash-review-the-movie-star/ | archive-date=January 15, 2014 }}</ref> JJ comments that she "fails to deliver".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.tvismypacifier.com/?p=22978 | title=Recap/Review – Smash – "The Movie Star" – 4/16/12|website=Tvismypacifier.com | date=April 18, 2012 | access-date=April 28, 2012}}</ref> Marianne Schaberg of Character Grades said that Duvall's version at the workshop "felt like we were watching a repeat of Lana Del Rey on ''SNL''. Yikes."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://charactergrades.com/smash-the-movie-star/ | title=Smash. The Movie Star. | publisher=Character Grades | date=April 17, 2012 | access-date=April 28, 2012 | author=Schaberg, Marianne | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708020226/http://charactergrades.com/smash-the-movie-star/ | archive-date=July 8, 2012 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' names the song the best song of the series, noting, "The gold standard of ''Smash'' originals, this dueling diva-off capped off the spectacular pilot and set the stakes for what seemed like a phenomenal season to come. Ivy and Karen's powerhouse vocals belied their intense vulnerability as they vied to play Marilyn, and the stunning climax landed them in the heart of Times Square — just two girls with huge dreams"<ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://ew.com/gallery/smash-songs-10-bombshells-and-5-bombs/ | magazine=Entertainment Weekly | title='Smash' Songs: 10 Bombshells (and 5 Bombs) | date=May 26, 2013}}</ref>

==Accolades==
On July 19, 2012, the song was nominated for a [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics]]. In December 2012, it was also nominated for a [[Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media]]. The song lost in both categories.

==Other performances==
Megan Hilty performed the song on ''[[New Year's Eve with Carson Daly|NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly]]'' on December 31, 2011.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://meganhiltyonline.com/archives/Siteupdates/010112NYE.php | title=New Year's Eve, Tinker Bell, and Smash Screenings | date=January 1, 2012 | access-date=April 28, 2012 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205180654/http://www.meganhiltyonline.com/archives/Siteupdates/010112NYE.php | archive-date=February 5, 2012 }}</ref>

Broadway star [[Andrew Rannells]] (''[[The Book of Mormon (musical)|The Book of Mormon]], [[Falsettos]],'' ''[[Hairspray (musical)|Hairspray]]'', ''[[Hamilton (musical)|Hamilton]],'' [[Hedwig and the Angry Inch (musical)|''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'']], and ''[[Jersey Boys]]'') performed a portion of the song in the persona of his ''[[Girls (TV series)|Girls]]'' character, Elijah Krantz, during a ''Girls'' episode in which Elijah auditions for a fictional Broadway show.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.vulture.com/2017/03/let-me-be-your-star-smash-girls-elijah-rendition.html | title="Girls Panders Directly to Smash Fans With Elijah's Rendition of 'Let Me Be Your Star'" by Jackson McHenry|website=Vulture.com | date=March 26, 2017 | access-date=October 5, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.playbill.com/article/watch-andrew-rannells-sing-on-last-weeks-episode-of-girls | title="Watch Andrew Rannells Sing This Signature Smash Song on HBO's Girls" by Ruthie Fierberg |website=Playbill.com| date=March 30, 2017 | access-date=October 5, 2017}}</ref>

==Release history==
{|class=wikitable
|-
!Region
!Date
!Format
!Label
|-
|rowspan="3"|United States
|January 16, 2012<ref>{{cite web |url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/let-me-be-your-star-smash/id494310922 |title=ITunes - Music - Let Me be Your Star (SMASH Cast Version) &#91;feat. Katharine McPhee & Megan Hilty&#93; - Single by SMASH Cast |website=itunes.apple.com |access-date=6 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212142550/http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/let-me-be-your-star-smash/id494310922 |archive-date=12 February 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|Digital download - Digital Single
|rowspan="3"|Columbia Records
|-
|February 6, 2012<ref>https://www.amazon.com/Smash-Version-Featuring-Katharine-McPhee/dp/B0074F4C3A/ref=pd_sim_dmusic_a_2 {{dead link|date=May 2022}}</ref>
|Digital download - Digital Single
|-
|May 1, 2012<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/The-Music-SMASH-Cast/dp/B007P6VM04|title=The Music of SMASH|website=Amazon.com|year=2012}}</ref>
|Digital download - Digital Album
|}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Smash}}
{{Katharine McPhee}}

{{authority control}}


[[Category:Smash (TV series)]]
[[Category:Songs from Smash (TV series)]]
[[Category:2012 singles]]
[[Category:2012 singles]]
[[Category:Songs written by Scott Wittman]]
{{2010s-single-stub}}
[[Category:Songs written by Marc Shaiman]]
[[Category:2012 songs]]
[[Category:Katharine McPhee songs]]
[[Category:Female vocal duets]]
[[Category:Songs written for television series]]

Latest revision as of 19:25, 10 December 2024

"Let Me Be Your Star"
Single by Smash cast feat. Katharine McPhee & Megan Hilty
from the album The Music of Smash,
Bombshell
ReleasedJanuary 16, 2012
Recorded2012
GenrePop
Length3:12 (Album Version)
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman
Producer(s)Marc Shaiman
Smash cast singles chronology
"The National Pastime"
(2012) 		"Let Me Be Your Star"
(2012) 		"History Is Made at Night"
(2012)

"Let Me Be Your Star" is an original song introduced in the first episode of the first season of the musical TV series Smash, entitled "Pilot". It was written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman,[1] but in the show's universe, it was written by songwriting duo Tom Levitt (Christian Borle) and Julia Houston (Debra Messing) for the Marilyn Monroe musical they are working on, Bombshell.

In the first episode, the song is performed by characters Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) and Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) as they each prepare for and then audition for the role of Marilyn in front the production team.

The song has since been reprised numerous times in various episodes, both as solos and duets. For the first season, it was also sung by Karen and Ivy in the second episode "The Callback" and the seventh episode "The Workshop", by Ivy in the sixth episode "Chemistry", and by Rebecca Duvall (Uma Thurman) in the eleventh episode "The Movie Star" and the fourteenth episode "Previews". In the second season, it was reprised by Karen and several female members of the Bombshell ensemble in the first episode "On Broadway", and by Ivy in the eighth episode "The Bells and Whistles" and the eleventh episode "The Dress Rehearsal".

The song was originally released as a single to digital music retailers and is available on the cast albums The Music of Smash and Bombshell (the latter with an extended intro not heard on the show), with McPhee and Hilty's vocals from the "Pilot" episode.

The song has sold 48,000 digital downloads as of April 13, 2012.[2]

Production

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Scott Wittman explained that they received notes on "Let Me Be Your Star" by NBC Entertainment President Bob Greenblatt. Greenblatt, who was nicknamed "Mr Freed" after the MGM producer of "Singin' in the Rain" and "Meet Me in St. Louis" said to the writing duo that "this has to be more universal in its story. It has to be about people who want something and fight for it."[3]

The song fulfilled the writers' desire "to try and make each song somehow mirror what was going on in the episode." The song makes contextual sense in regards to the lives of both auditionees, and Marilyn Monroe herself.[2]

"Let Me Be Your Star", along with other pilot songs "The National Pastime" and "Beautiful", "fit into the storyline in a realist manner and each had a purpose to them". This is one reason why the series had been described as the "anti-glee".[4]

In the pilot, the song is "belted" by Karen and Ivy "while walking through Times Square on the way to their callback auditions".[5] AfterElton comments that "[they] trade verses as they and the casting panel converge for the callback, finally forming an ersatz duet as they meet outside the building where the callback is being held."[6] Vulture describes the song as a "propulsive non-diagetic duet/duel".[7] Yvonne Villarreal of the Los Angeles Times describes the song as a "sweeping duet battle".[3]

Scott Brown describes the song's reprise in the second episode, "The Callback", as "[Karen and Ivy] standing center stage 'in a pool of light'...around her, phantom blondes spit spoken torments between the musical phrases".[8]

In the seventh episode "The Workshop", Ivy sings "Let Me Be Your Star" at the musical workshop "while the musical’s creators and other observers look on".[9]

In the eleventh episode "The Movie Star", Rebecca Duvall performs the song in a "breathy, ‘Marilyn’ voice". Roxanne Tellier of starpulse.com comments that "it’s really more talking than singing, and flat to boot". She describes the scene that the song taken place in as follows: "The production team looks at her and each other in shock. Derek cuts her off mid-note, and suggests they start working on blocking the scene. Tom and Julia tell Rebecca that she was ‘great’".[10] This sing-speak version of the song causes Julia to tongue-in-cheekly suggest "group suicide" as the next step in workshopping.[11]

In the fifteenth episode "Bombshell", the final chorus of the musical's new finale, "Don't Forget Me", segues into the concluding lyrics "And please let me be, let me be that star".

Critical reception

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"Let Me Be Your Star" has received critical acclaim. AfterElton describes the pilot version of the song as "genius, blending an amazing cocktail of determination and confidence with need and desire". It made comparisons with "The Music and the Mirror" from A Chorus Line, "Tonight" from West Side Story, and "Walk Through the Fire" from the musical Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Once More, with Feeling".[6] Scott Brown of Vulture describes the song as the "best number" of the pilot, and compares the "driving, pop-injected act-ender" to "Defying Gravity" from Wicked. He comments that of all the original songs featured in the pilot, this one sounded the least "Shaimanesque", although he was confident that it would end up in the musical regardless. He says that while the song has "energy and lift", it has a repetitive "downward-gliding melody line". He adds that "the scene itself is cut for maximum 'things are happening! Happening right now!' urgency", and draws a comparison with his "favourite lyric" from the musical episode of Community "Everything's cooler when cameras are spinning / Singing and dancing in unison-in-in-ing".[7] It has been described as a "show-stopp[er]",[12] "an instant musical theatre classic",[13] and the reason for an "explosive finale" to the pilot.[14] Jarett Wieselman of TheInsider.com comments that the pilot had "as energizing a denouement as [he's] ever seen" thanks to "Let Me Be Your Star", and adds that the song could be "Smash's very own Don't Stop Believin'", i.e., Smash's unofficial theme song in the same way that Don't Stop Believin' is Glee's.[15] MIX fm described the song as "attention-getting" and "stunning".[16]

Scott Brown comments that in the reprise in "The Callback", the song is more suited to the slower tempo, and adds that it "gives those long phrases a chance to breathe and doesn't force them to carry a whole lot of driving rhythmic energy".[8] JJ of TV Is My Pacifier said "“Let Me Be Your Star” got a reprise with a more sober orchestration making it a lot more sensitive. I liked the change from the version we heard at the end of the pilot."[17]

TV Fanatic notes that in episode 11, "The Movie Star", Rebecca Duvall's version of "Let Me Be Your Star" was "[appropriately] horrendous", and adds "all Tom and Julia could say was 'great' — ha! And, even that single word pained them to say".[18] JJ comments that she "fails to deliver".[19] Marianne Schaberg of Character Grades said that Duvall's version at the workshop "felt like we were watching a repeat of Lana Del Rey on SNL. Yikes."[20]

Entertainment Weekly names the song the best song of the series, noting, "The gold standard of Smash originals, this dueling diva-off capped off the spectacular pilot and set the stakes for what seemed like a phenomenal season to come. Ivy and Karen's powerhouse vocals belied their intense vulnerability as they vied to play Marilyn, and the stunning climax landed them in the heart of Times Square — just two girls with huge dreams"[21]

Accolades

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On July 19, 2012, the song was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. In December 2012, it was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media. The song lost in both categories.

Other performances

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Megan Hilty performed the song on NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly on December 31, 2011.[22]

Broadway star Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon, Falsettos, Hairspray, Hamilton, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Jersey Boys) performed a portion of the song in the persona of his Girls character, Elijah Krantz, during a Girls episode in which Elijah auditions for a fictional Broadway show.[23][24]

Release history

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Region Date Format Label
United States January 16, 2012[25] Digital download - Digital Single Columbia Records
February 6, 2012[26] Digital download - Digital Single
May 1, 2012[27] Digital download - Digital Album

References

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  1. ^ "ASCAP Database Music Search - Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman songs". Archived from the original on 6 March 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b Burlingame, Jon (April 13, 2012). "Building into a 'Smash?': Music for Screens: Spring 2012". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Villarreal, Yvonne (March 4, 2012). "'Smash': Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman want to make viewers hum". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  4. ^ Dodge, Jeff (February 13, 2012). "Is 'Smash' the Anti-'Glee'?". Buddytv.com. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  5. ^ Epstein, Samantha (February 13, 2012). "RAVE of the week: NBC's 'Smash' hit". The Quinnipiac Chronicle. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  6. ^ a b ""Smash" Series Premiere: "Let Me Be Your Star!"". thebacklot.com. February 7, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  7. ^ a b Brown, Scott (February 7, 2012). "New York Magazine Stage Critic Scott Brown Reviews Smash's Show-Within-the-Show". Vulture.com. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  8. ^ a b Brown, Scott (February 14, 2012). "Theater Critic Scott Brown Reviews Smash's Show-Within-the-Show for Week Two [UPDATED]". Vulture.com. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  9. ^ Shetler, Scott (March 16, 2012). "'Smash' Teaser Features Broadway Legend Bernadette Peters". PopCrush.com. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  10. ^ Tellier, Roxanne (April 17, 2012). "'Smash' Recap: How Do You Solve A Problem Like Rebecca?". Starpulse.com. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  11. ^ Slezak, Michael (April 17, 2012). "Smash Recap: Hey Now, You're a Stage Star". TVLine. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  12. ^ Swift, Andy (7 February 2012). "'Smash' Series Premiere Recap: Who Should Play Marilyn Monroe?". HollywoodLife.com. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  13. ^ "Accordion Sheet Music". Sheetmusicplus.com. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  14. ^ "'Smash' blends drama with original songs". CP24. January 30, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  15. ^ Wieselman, Jarett (February 6, 2012). "Is 'Smash' Anything To Sing About?". Archived from the original on April 18, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  16. ^ "Chris Brown to Release Fortune in July". MIX fm. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  17. ^ "Recap/Review – Smash – "The Callback" – 2/13/12". TV Is My Pacifier. February 15, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  18. ^ "Smash Review: "The Movie Star"". April 17, 2012. Archived from the original on January 15, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  19. ^ "Recap/Review – Smash – "The Movie Star" – 4/16/12". Tvismypacifier.com. April 18, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  20. ^ Schaberg, Marianne (April 17, 2012). "Smash. The Movie Star". Character Grades. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  21. ^ "'Smash' Songs: 10 Bombshells (and 5 Bombs)". Entertainment Weekly. May 26, 2013.
  22. ^ "New Year's Eve, Tinker Bell, and Smash Screenings". January 1, 2012. Archived from the original on February 5, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  23. ^ ""Girls Panders Directly to Smash Fans With Elijah's Rendition of 'Let Me Be Your Star'" by Jackson McHenry". Vulture.com. March 26, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  24. ^ ""Watch Andrew Rannells Sing This Signature Smash Song on HBO's Girls" by Ruthie Fierberg". Playbill.com. March 30, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  25. ^ "ITunes - Music - Let Me be Your Star (SMASH Cast Version) [feat. Katharine McPhee & Megan Hilty] - Single by SMASH Cast". itunes.apple.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  26. ^ https://www.amazon.com/Smash-Version-Featuring-Katharine-McPhee/dp/B0074F4C3A/ref=pd_sim_dmusic_a_2 [dead link‍]
  27. ^ "The Music of SMASH". Amazon.com. 2012.
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