Northern Star (song)

"Northern Star"
Song
B-side	"Follow Me"

"Northern Star" is a song written by British singer Melanie C and Rick Nowels. The song was produced by Marius De Vries. It was released as the second single in the winter of 1999 and reached number four in the United Kingdom, where it became her third top five single. It reached the top ten in Italy and Sweden. In the UK the single sold 202,601 copies, becoming the 98th best selling single of 1999. The Single was her first top 20 hit in the U.S peaking at #13. Northern Star was reportedly written about Melanie's band mate Melanie Brown who is also from the North of England, Sporty allegedly penned the track after she had conversation with Scary and offered her advice regarding her career and then marriage. The lines "you made it to the other side, but tell me who will be my guide" implying that Mel B handled the life of a popstar better than Melanie.

Music Video

The Northern Star music video starts off looking into a starry sky at night gradually moving down, looking out to sea towards a large star, with Melanie walking down a rocky coast surrounded by a desert. She then walks in between two train tracks and as the chorus begins, the two trains drive at high speed in opposite directions, later there is a brief scene in a cave with miners. Then Melanie walks through a somewhat Arctic-like area which blends into an urban setting which instantly changes onto a sandy beach. During the instrumental she is seen walking through a forest and crossing over a river during daytime, later back in an urban building set. The video ends with her back on the coast at night.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Northern Star".

UK CD1

1. "Northern Star" (Single version) — 4:08
2. "Follow Me" — 4:47
3. "Northern Star" (Full version) — 5:31
4. "Northern Star" music video

UK CD2

1. "Northern Star" (Single version) — 4:08
2. "Northern Star" (Acoustic Version) — 2:53
3. "Something's Gonna Happen" — 3:59

UK Cassette

1. "Northern Star" (Single version) — 4:08
2. "Follow Me" — 4:47
3. "Northern Star" (Full version) — 5:31

Charts

Chart	Position
UK Singles Chart	4
Italian Singles Chart	4
Swedish Singles Chart	7
Eurochart Hot 100	31
German Singles Chart	50
Swiss Singles Chart	75
United World Chart	26