LOS ANGELES, CA- For more than six decades, The Rolling Stones have managed to do something that very few artists in popular music history have ever truly accomplished: remain culturally relevant without sacrificing the essence of what made them legendary in the first place. With their latest single “In The Stars,” the band once again proves that rock and roll immortality isn’t just built on nostalgia. It’s built on songs that still hit with urgency, swagger, and undeniable groove.
From the moment Keith Richards’ guitar riff cuts through the speakers, “In The Stars” feels instantly familiar in the best possible way. There’s a looseness to the track that recalls the Stones at their sharpest, yet it never sounds trapped in the past. Mick Jagger’s vocals remain one of rock music’s great miracles. That elastic sneer, that playful swagger, that unmistakable cadence still sounds electrifying. Call them unicorn vocals if you want, because there’s simply nobody else who sounds remotely like him. Even at this stage of the band’s career, Jagger still delivers lines with the charisma and confidence of a frontman half his age.
Lyrically, the song leans into themes of fate, chaos, and perseverance. “It’s in the stars, it’s our destiny,” Jagger sings across a soaring chorus that feels tailor-made for stadium singalongs. Beneath the infectious melody lies imagery of poisoned clouds, sickness in the land, and judges with “rubber stamps,” suggesting a world spiraling into uncertainty while the band continues doing what they’ve always done best: turning anxiety into cathartic rock and roll.
The accompanying music video, directed by Francois Rousselet and featuring actress Odessa A’zion, adds another fascinating layer to the single’s mythology. Utilizing deepfake technology developed by Deep Voodoo, the visual places the Stones’ 1970s-era likenesses into a vibrant cross-generational performance space filled with dancers, musicians, and cultural iconography from multiple eras. If someone unfamiliar with the Rolling Stones stumbled across the video without context, they might genuinely assume they were watching a hot young rock band on the rise rather than a group celebrating over sixty years together. That illusion speaks directly to the enduring power of the Stones themselves.
While some viewers will inevitably criticize the video’s use of AI and deepfake technology, there’s also an argument to be made that the Stones are leaning directly into the very tension the song itself explores. “It’s in the stars, it’s our destiny,” Jagger repeatedly declares throughout the chorus, almost matter-of-factly, as if acknowledging that technological evolution, for better or worse, is simply part of humanity’s inevitable trajectory. Rather than resisting modernity, the Rolling Stones appear to be confronting it head-on, using cutting-edge visual tools to reinforce the idea that art, identity, and culture are constantly mutating with time. In that sense, the video doesn’t just accompany the song. It becomes an extension of its central theme: fate marching forward whether we’re comfortable with it or not.
That’s always been the magic of the Rolling Stones. Even if they no longer move with the reckless physicality of their youth, the music still carries that same rebellious pulse. Their sound remains timeless because true style never really goes out of fashion. Trends are cyclical. Rock music repeatedly finds its way back into the cultural conversation, and “In The Stars” feels like another reminder that the Stones remain fully capable of leading that charge whenever the moment calls for it.
The single arrives ahead of the band’s upcoming studio album Foreign Tongues, due July 10th via Capitol Records. Produced once again by Andrew Watt, the album reportedly came together during an intensely creative burst at Metropolis Studios in West London. If “In The Stars” is any indication, Foreign Tongues may very well continue the late-career renaissance that began with Hackney Diamonds while simultaneously reaffirming why the Rolling Stones remain one of the greatest rock and roll bands to ever walk the earth.
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