“Lost Stars” by Adam Levine, Wednesday, August 2, 2023

The 2013 film Begin Again features a soundtrack mostly of two singers: Actress Keira Knightly and Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine. Begin Again is the second film in Irish Writer/director John Carney's music films. Starting with 2007's Once and following up Begin Again with Sing Street, music plays an integral part in Carney's films. And of the three films, only Begin Again is set in America. However, the "English-styled" or perhaps "Irish-styled" plot, makes the movie feel unlike a film that Americans are not as accustomed to enjoying. In America, the film made $65.7 million, the most successful of Carney's films.

YESTERDAY I SAW A LION KISS A DEER. The film, however, may or may not be remembered by American audiences. But South Korea is said to be the best market for music dramas. While PG-13 comedies like Barbie don't do well in the Korean box office, Action and Superhero, Horror, Science Fiction, and Animations from America are quite successful. But songs about music seem to be the most successful. In September 2014, Begin Again was even named the most-watched indie film in Korea according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film grossed nearly $25 million USD, which considering the country's population of nearly 50 million people, the film proportionally did much, much better than in the U.S. In 2017, the South Korean network JTBC even aired a busking series in which famous Korean singers played acoustic renditions of famous songs in cities abroad. The name of the show, Begin Again, is most likely after the blockbuster film in Korea. And of course, when a music movie is as big as Begin Again, the soundtrack was huge in Korea. You couldn't avoid hearing "Lost Stars" by either Keira Knightly or Adam Levine when shopping. Other tracks from the movie were also played in coffee shops.

LET’S GET DRUNK ON OUR TEARS. Being in Korea as Begin Again became a cultural phenomenon, I thought that the movie and the soundtrack were big back home. But in America, "Lost Stars," --not even the version featured in the film but a duet with The Voice contestant Matt McAndrew--hit number 83 on Billboard's Hot 100. This version was also a minor hit in Canada. The song fared worse in the UK and France. The only place where "Lost Stars" was a hit was South Korea, where the Adam Levine version reached #2 on the Gaon chart and Keira Knightly's version reached #21, and even the awful Into the Night Remix played in the film as the "main version" that becomes a hit for Adam Levine's character Dave Kohl reached #55. Lyrically, the song stands on its own without the film; however, the song plays a key role in the plot. In the film, the song comes to represent betrayal--penned by Gretta (Knightly) as a gift for her boyfriend at the time Dave (Levine). But ultimately it's a journey for meaning. Gretta wonders what her role is as the ex-partner in America waiting around for lackadaisical Dave who betrays her. Ultimately, she finds meaning as the lyrics of the song search for. Of course, we don't know what will become of Gretta's own musical career. The film hints at the changes in the music industry that have plagued artists since then. But in this one song, the search for meaning is the meaning.

Read the lyrics on Genius.

Adam Levine's performance in Begin Again: