Paris Hilton’s illustrious career has taken a turn over the last few years. The girl once dubbed as being “famous, for being famous”, can now lay claim to so many incredible career accomplishments. She's CEO of over 30 product lines, the head of a billion dollar fragrance empire and one of the highest paid female DJ’s in the world. Not to mention she is widely recognised as the OG “influencer”, inventor of Kim Kardashian and most recently, she has been praised for being instrumental in bringing new government legislation in the US, helping to regulate treatment centres for troubled teens. This came around after Paris bravely revealed - in her YouTube Originals documentary ‘This Is Paris’ - details of her own experience as a young girl, being physically and mentally abused at one those centres.
However, 15 years ago in 2006, when Paris’ debut single ‘Stars Are Blind’ was released to the world – things were looking very different for the young Hilton Hotel heiress, and gorgeous blonde reality TV star.
Due to her famous surname, Paris had been a target of the showbiz tabloid’s for years before she came to know Worldwide fame in 2003 on Fox’s reality show ‘The Simple Life’ - alongside childhood BFF Nicole Richie. Over 5 seasons of this groundbreaking and hilarious hit show, the pair lived on a farm, travelled across America in a camper van, became business interns, housewives and even Summer Camp counsellors. And the world instantly fell in love with dynamic duo Paris and Nicole. Both playing the roles of hilarious babyvoiced and carefree besties. However, during the shows run, Paris’ private life was made very public, when she was the victim of revenge porn. A DVD was released of Paris engaging in sexual acts with her then boyfriend in a hotel room. (NB: we won’t name him or the film, because he doesn’t deserve to even feature in this article.) Then, after the third season of ‘The Simple Life’, Paris and Nicole had a major falling out, and it was one of the biggest tabloid feuds of the decade. Suddenly, Paris’ fan base were split down the middle and had to make a decision – were they Team Paris, or Team Nicole?
Earlier in 2006, pop star P!NK took a cheap shot at Paris, in the video for her hit song ‘Stupid Girls’. As a fan of both P!NK and Paris, it was something that didn't sit well with me, even at the time. Having recently watched that music video again, it really hasn’t aged well at all. At the time, I remember it actually made me disappointed in P!NK – who I admired at that time, for her solidarity towards other women and female artists. To make fun of the humiliation of a woman, someone who was the victim of revenge porn, then parody this in a music video. It felt like the worst kind of mean girl bullying. Ironically, P!NK thought she was making fun of such mean girls in this very video. If anything, it left me even more on Team Paris than ever - and willing her to come out fighting to prove them all wrong.
Behind the scenes, both Paris and Nicole were working on music projects with various writers and producers. They discussed these projects in several TV and radio interviews. Many at the time sneered at Paris’ suggestion of a music venture. Instead, they saw more potential in a hit coming from Nicole, being that her dad is legend Lionel Richie. Once again, Paris was underestimated. We are still yet to hear any official music from Nicole. However, Paris knew she had a dazzling smash hit up her sleeve...and the world was not ready.
‘Stars Are Blind’ was officially released on June 5th 2006 by Warner Music with an album to follow. The track was Written and Produced by Fernando Garibay (Britney Spears, Ricky Martin) and Shep Solomon (Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears) and was generally well received by music critics. Highly respected music publication Pitchfork gave their appraisal of the song by saying “picture it: you’re standing in the outdoor area of a bar, elbow-to-elbow with your fellow revellers. Whatever song is playing – you weren’t paying attention to it – ends. And the reggae intro of ‘Stars Are Blind’ slinks on. Now you’re paying attention. And the nights sparkle brightens.” You still want to underestimate her?
The song instantly transports us to Paris’ sexy world. Then, in the video directed by Chris Applebaum, to a beach where we could all dance around palm trees, or lay on the sand with a bronzed hunk. It was the most carefree, yet aspirational song of that year. Paris’ layered breezy vocals suited the production perfectly. The song was a big hit all over the world, reaching number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Billboard Dance Chart. Also, reaching the top 5 across most of Europe that Summer. It peaked at number 5 on the official UK chart and went number 1 in Scotland and Lithuania. It was the perfect lead single for her debut album ‘Paris’.
‘Stars Are Blind’ has continued to remain relevant over the last 15 years, and is a go-to for many of us in those Summer months looking to heat up our Spotify playlists. It even received praise from Lady Gaga back in 2010. “Mother Monster” told Paris in an interview that she “always thought Stars Are Blind was one of the greatest records ever. Honestly, it’s a great pop record.” More recently the song was featured in a pivotal scene in the award winning Carey Mulligan movie ‘Promising Young Woman’ - where the two main characters dance to the song in a pharmacy. The writer Emerald Fennell has since said she chose that song because she thinks it's incredible, and that Paris is a woman who is too often overlooked for her smart savvy.
15 years may have passed, but the sparkle from this song remains bright. Back in 2006 Ernest Baker from Complex, listed ‘Stars Are Blind’ as one of his “50 Awesome Guilty Pleasure Songs We’re Afraid to Like (But Not Really)” and commented that the song was “a fluke, but an incredible one.” He then finished off by saying “we’ll never get something like this from Paris Hilton again.”
Upon reading that quote my eyes rolled so far back, I almost blinded myself. When will these people learn? Underestimate her at your peril. Paris has been releasing bangers consistently for years since Stars Are Blind. But, even if what he says is true - who needs dozens of hits, when 1 is so iconic that it has the staying power of 15 years? That’s hot.
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