Lamar first hinted at his involvement with the Black Panther soundtrack album in the music video for his song "Love", released on December 22, 2017. In the video, at about 1:54 into the song, a clapperboard is shown with the words "B.Panther Soundtrack Coming Soon". Lamar subsequently announced his involvement on January 4, 2018, along with the release of "All the Stars".
Release
Upon its release, Lamar announced his praise for Black Panther and its director, Ryan Coogler, writing "the magnitude of film showcases a great marriage of art and culture. I'm truly honored to contribute my knowledge of producing sound and writing music alongside Ryan and Marvel's vision."
Reception
"All the Stars" received positive reviews from critics. Jon Blistein of Rolling Stone praised the song, calling Lamar's verse "defiant" and SZA's verse "enthralling" and "filled with vocal turns". However, Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork gave the song a negative review, calling it "generic" and "pales in comparison to recent works". Pearce further wrote that the song is "full of heavy-handed plotting and everyman cliches" and is "so nondescript that it reeks of compromise, devoid of personality or any true vision." Although Pearce complimented Lamar and SZA's performances and the "slick production", he ultimately wrote that "'All the Stars' is uncharacteristically conservative for these two stars, all in service of a bigger picture." In December 2018, Billboard ranked "All the Stars" as the 15th best song of the year.
Chart performance
In the week ending January 20, 2018, "All the Stars" debuted at number 43 on the BillboardHot 100. During its fifth week on the chart, it managed to rise to number 31 on the Hot 100, and in the week ending March 3, 2018, the single reached number seven on the Hot 100. It is Lamar's second top ten hit on the chart in 2018, following his collaboration with the Weeknd on "Pray for Me", which reached number seven in early February. It also became SZA's second top ten hit on the chart following her collaboration with Maroon 5 on the hit single "What Lovers Do". On the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, "All the Stars" debuted at number 19 and stayed in the top 20 for three weeks. In its fifth week, it rose to number five on the chart. Worldwide, the song peaked at number one in Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, and Slovakia. The song reached the top ten in Australia, Canada, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
In February 2018, British-Liberian artist Lina Iris Viktor claimed that images of her 24-karat gold patterned artwork were used in the music video without her permission.
Awards and nominations
Personnel
Credits adapted from digital booklet. Performers
Kendrick Lamar – vocals
SZA – vocals
Technical
Matt Schaeffer – record engineering, mix engineering
