You know that feeling when a song is so massive it feels like it has just always existed? That’s "Counting Stars." It is the ultimate earworm. But if you try to pin down the exact counting stars release date, things get a little murky depending on where you lived in 2013.
Most people think it just dropped globally and blew up overnight. It didn’t.
The track was actually a slow burn that took months—and in some countries, nearly a year—to reach its peak. It wasn't even the first thing people heard from the Native album. Ryan Tedder and the guys had already put out "Feel Again" and "If I Lose Myself" before the world really started obsessing over those folk-pop "no more counting dollars" lyrics.
The Day Everything Changed: June 14, 2013
Technically, the counting stars release date as a standalone single was June 14, 2013. But there’s a catch. This specific date was primarily for the German, Austrian, and Swiss markets. Back then, labels often staggered releases to build momentum.
While Central Europe was already vibing to the disco-beat-meets-folk-guitar, the rest of the world was still catching up. In the UK, it didn’t even hit the Top 40 until August 2013. It took another seven weeks of climbing before it finally snatched the Number 1 spot on the Official Singles Chart.
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It was a grind.
Honestly, the timeline of this song is a masterclass in how a "sleeper hit" works. You’ve got the album release, the music video drop, and then the radio saturation. It wasn't a sprint; it was a marathon that eventually saw the song spend 68 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. That’s over a year of staying relevant while other songs were falling off the map.
Why the Date Matters for the Fans
If you were a die-hard fan back then, you probably heard it earlier. The parent album, Native, actually came out on March 22, 2013 (in parts of Europe) and March 26 in the US. So, technically, the song was "released" as part of the album three months before it became a "single."
Why does that distinction matter?
Because the "single" release is when the marketing machine kicks in. That’s when the remixes happen. That’s when it gets pushed to your local Top 40 station. On June 14, the song transitioned from an "album track" to a global phenomenon.
Breaking Down the Rollout
It is kind of wild to look at how different regions handled the song. In the US, it was the second single. In the UK, it was treated as the lead single for the Native era.
Here is the basic timeline of how it went down:
- March 2013: The album Native drops. Fans start noticing "Counting Stars" as a standout track.
- May 31, 2013: The music video premieres. It was filmed in a basement in Louisiana with some pretty intense imagery—water leaking from the ceiling and a preacher in the room above.
- June 14, 2013: Official single release date for key European markets.
- Late 2013: The song finally peaks at #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It couldn't quite nudge Pitbull and Ke$ha's "Timber" out of the top spot, which is a very specific 2013 core memory for many of us.
The Secret Sauce: Why It Still Matters in 2026
We are well over a decade past that counting stars release date, yet the song has sold over 41 million copies worldwide. It is Diamond-certified in the US. You still hear it at weddings, in grocery stores, and on every "2010s Throwback" playlist.
Ryan Tedder has talked about writing it while waiting for Beyoncé to show up for a session. He was in the Hamptons, looking for a specific "vibe" that felt like a mix of folk and dance. He found it.
The song tapped into a zeitgeist of financial anxiety and a desire for something more spiritual—"counting stars" instead of "counting dollars." It resonated then, and in a world that feels even more chaotic now, it still hits home.
A Few Things You Probably Forgot
- The Beat: It’s actually a folk song played with a disco tempo. That’s why it feels so energetic.
- The Record: It held the record for the longest climb to #1 in Canada (34 weeks!).
- The 2023 Version: For the ten-year anniversary, OneRepublic released a "reimagined" version. If you haven't heard it, it’s a bit more polished, but the raw energy of the 2013 original is hard to beat.
What to Do Now
If you are looking to dive back into the Native era, don't just stop at the hits. To truly appreciate what the band was doing around that June 2013 window, go back and listen to the "Lovelife Remix" of the song. It gives a completely different perspective on the melody.
Also, if you're a vinyl collector, keep an eye out for the Native Deluxe Edition. It includes tracks like "Life in Color" and the acoustic version of "If I Lose Myself," which really show the range the band had during the most successful period of their career.
The best way to experience "Counting Stars" today is to find the original 2013 music video on a high-quality screen. The lighting and the frantic editing still hold up as a perfect visual representation of the song's tension.