All Star (song)

"All Star" is a song by American rock band Smash Mouth. It was released on May 4, 1999 as the second single from their album Astro Lounge, and is one of the group's most successful songs, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Composition
"All Star" is composed in the key of F-sharp major with a tempo of 104 beats per minute. According to a 2017 interview, songwriter Greg Camp was interested in exploring several layers of meaning with the stripped-down song: the social battle cry, the sports anthem, the fanbase affirmation, the poetic lyricism, the sweeping melody, the inclusion, the artistic music videos, and more.

Music video
The music video (directed by McG) features cameos by William H. Macy, Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Diane Rehm, Paul Reubens, Kel Mitchell, Janeane Garofalo, Doug Jones, and Dane Cook from the film Mystery Men (1999), which prominently featured the song.

Commercial performance
The song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. In Canada, it peaked at No. 2 on the RPM singles chart.

Personnel

 * Musicians
 * Steve Harwell – lead vocals
 * Greg Camp – guitars, additional keyboards, backing vocals
 * Paul De Lisle – bass, backing vocals
 * Kevin Coleman – drums, backing vocals


 * Production
 * Jacquire King – remixing, mixing, recording, Pro-Tools
 * Eric Valentine – producer, engineer, mixer
 * Bruce Dickinson -- producer, engineer

In popular culture

 * In addition to Mystery Men, it was heavily used in the Shrek franchise to promote the series, especially the first film during the opening credits, while introducing the title character. Devotion towards the song has been considered a factor in the Internet's obsession towards the series and titular character.
 * The song has been used in Digimon: The Movie and Inspector Gadget.
 * Smash Mouth appears in the ending of the 2001 film Rat Race performing the song.
 * The song has been used in a number of YouTube remixes in the form of Internet memes.
 * The song featured in the 2008 video game Guitar Hero: On Tour as a playable track.

European CD single

 * 1) "All Star"
 * 2) "Walkin' on the Sun"
 * 3) "Why Can't We Be Friends?"
 * 4) "Can't Get Enough of You Baby"

CD1

 * 1) "All Star"
 * 2) "Walkin' On the Star" (Sun E Delight Remix)
 * 3) "The Fonz"

CD2

 * 1) "All Star"
 * 2) "Walkin' On the Sun"
 * 3) "Can't Get Enough of You Baby"
 * 4) "Walkin' on the Sun" (Video)