"All-American Girl" | ||||
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Single by Carrie Underwood | ||||
from the album Carnival Ride | ||||
Released | December 17, 2007 (U.S.) [1] | |||
Recorded | 2007 | |||
Genre | Country pop | |||
Length | 3:32 | |||
Label | Arista Nashville | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Mark Bright | |||
Carrie Underwood singles chronology | ||||
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"All-American Girl" is a song composed by American country pop singer Carrie Underwood, Ashley Gorley and Kelley Lovelace. It is the second single from Underwood's second studio album, Carnival Ride , released in the United States on December 17, 2007. (See 2007 in country music).
"All-American Girl" is the second single for which Underwood shares a writing credit, the first being "So Small", which preceded it. The song is a mid-tempo country-pop song, with a soaring chorus. Underwood stated in an issue of Entertainment Weekly that the high note during the bridge in the song is the highest note she has ever hit (E5, or the E an octave above middle E). [2]
The song centers around a "beautiful, wonderful, perfect all-American girl." The first verse tells the story of a father hoping for a baby boy to continue his legacy, but "when the nurse came in with a little pink blanket, all those big dreams changed". The baby girl has her father "wrapped around her finger", and his heart belongs to that "all-American girl." The second verse shifts to 16 years later when the girl is now a teenager who falls head-over-heels for the "senior football star." Just as with the girl's father, she becomes the center of the boy's world. The final bridge describes the girl and boy getting married and expecting "one of their own". When she asks the boy what he's hoping for he replies with "one just like you": an "all-American girl." Underwood said the song is partially autobiographical. [3]
She wrote the song loosely based on the fact that she is the youngest of a family of three daughters, and ended up marrying a sports star (albeit in hockey). Underwood has worked as a vet and a waitress, entered pageants and was also a Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority member, all activities depicted in the music video.[ citation needed ]
The music video, which premiered January 31, 2008, was another of Underwood's many videos directed by Roman White.
The video features several different scenes of Underwood in different outfits portraying what an All-American girl could be behind different backgrounds through a green screen.
Throughout the video she appeared as an American Olympic swimmer, a painter, a nurse, a photographer, a cowgirl, a waitress, a ballerina, a clothing designer, a chef, a cheerleader, a veterinarian, a beauty queen, a mother, a football player, a police officer, a teacher, a graduate, a college student (wearing a sweatshirt from Underwood's own sorority Sigma Sigma Sigma), a bride, a flight attendant, a news anchor, an astronaut, a firefighter, a soldier, a surgeon, a welder, a scientific chemist, a car thief and the President of the United States. In one scene, in a reference to Underwood's video for "Before He Cheats", she wears the same black leather jacket and sunglasses while holding a baseball bat, with the same smashed red pickup truck in the background (whenever the newswoman is shown, along the bottom screen can be seen a scrolling news track regarding the truck destruction). Underwood is also shown performing in a green zip-up hoodie, jeans, and black pumps in an orange room.
As of 2015, "All-American Girl" sold 1,800,000 copies in the United States. [4] The song has been certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA.
The song reached number 27 on the Hot 100, becoming Underwood's seventh career Hot 100 top 40 single. "All-American Girl" debuted at number 58 on the country charts and has reached number one on Hot Country Songs and spent two weeks at the top, making it Underwood's fourth consecutive number one on that chart and fifth overall, her sixth consecutive number one country single overall, and her seventh number one single altogether. It is her first number one to spend less than three weeks at the top of the chart.
Chart (2007–2008) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [5] | 45 |
Canada Country ( Billboard ) [6] | 1 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [7] | 27 |
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [8] | 1 |
Chart (2008) | Position |
---|---|
US Country Songs (Billboard) [9] | 24 |
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
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2008 | "All-American Girl" | Most-Streamed Country Song of the Year | Won |
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
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2008 | "All-American Girl" | Songwriter of the Year (Carrie Underwood) | Won |
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | "All-American Girl" | Triple-Play Songwriter (along with "So Small", "Last Name") | Won |
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Underwood's single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the first country artist to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the only solo country artist in the 2000s to have a number-one song on the Hot 100. Her debut album, Some Hearts (2005), was bolstered by the successful crossover singles "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and "Before He Cheats", becoming the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history. She won three Grammy Awards for the album, including Best New Artist. The next studio album, Carnival Ride (2007) had one of the biggest opening weeks of all time by a female artist and won two Grammy Awards. Her third studio album, Play On (2009), produced the single "Cowboy Casanova", which had one of the biggest single-week upward movements on the Hot 100.
"Jesus, Take the Wheel" is a song written by Brett James, Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson, and recorded by American country music artist Carrie Underwood. It was released on October 18, 2005, as the first single from Underwood's debut album Some Hearts (2005). The ballad tells of a woman seeking help from Jesus in an emergency and surrendering control to a higher power.
"Don't Forget to Remember Me" is a song written by Morgane Hayes, Kelley Lovelace and Ashley Gorley, and recorded by American country music artist Carrie Underwood. It was released in March 2006 as the fourth single from Underwood's debut album, Some Hearts. It is also her second release to country radio. The song peaked at number two on the Billboard country charts in early 2006, and number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100. It has sold 403,000 copies.
"Before He Cheats" is a song by American singer Carrie Underwood from her debut studio album, Some Hearts (2005). Written by Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear, it was released as the fourth single from the album. The song tells the story of a woman taking revenge on her unfaithful partner.
"Wasted" is a song written by Marv Green, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey, and recorded by American country music artist Carrie Underwood. It was released in February 2007 as the sixth and final single from her multi-platinum debut album, Some Hearts. It began receiving country radio airplay as an album track, causing it to place on the US Country chart weeks before its official release as a single.
American country music singer Carrie Underwood has released nine studio albums, one greatest hits album, and 29 singles. Underwood rose to fame after winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Her debut album, Some Hearts, was released in 2005 and is the fastest-selling debut country album in Nielsen SoundScan history. It also became the best-selling solo female country debut in Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) history, as well as the top-selling debut album of any American Idol contestant in the United States.
"So Small" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Carrie Underwood. It was released in August 2007 as the first single from her 2007 album Carnival Ride. Underwood co-wrote this song with Hillary Lindsey and Luke Laird.
Carnival Ride is the second studio album by American country music artist Carrie Underwood. It was released in the United States on October 23, 2007, by Arista Nashville. On this album, Underwood was more involved in the songwriting process; she set up a writers' retreat at Nashville's famed Ryman Auditorium to collaborate with Music Row tunesmiths such as Hillary Lindsey, Craig Wiseman, Rivers Rutherford, and Gordie Sampson.
"Last Name" is a song recorded by American country music singer Carrie Underwood and written by Underwood, Hillary Lindsey, and Luke Laird. It is the third single from Underwood's second studio album, Carnival Ride. It was released in the United States on April 7, 2008, by which point the song had already charted. At the 51st Grammy Awards, the song won Underwood her third consecutive Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. It has sold 1,300,000 copies to date.
"Cowboy Casanova" is a song by American singer Carrie Underwood. It was written by Underwood, Mike Elizondo, Brett James. It was released on September 14, 2009, by Arista Nashville as the lead single from her third studio album, Play On. The song sold 2,300,000 copies, making it the fourth-biggest single of her career behind "Jesus, Take the Wheel", "Before He Cheats", and "Blown Away".
Play On is the third studio album by American country music singer Carrie Underwood. It was released in the United States on November 3, 2009, through Arista Nashville. Play On was produced by Mark Bright who also produced Underwood's Carnival Ride and seven other songs off of Some Hearts.
"Mama's Song" is a song recorded by American country music singer Carrie Underwood, co-written by her along with Kara DioGuardi, Marti Frederiksen, and Luke Laird. It was released in September 2010 as the fourth and final single from her third studio album, Play On. These songwriters also wrote her previous single, "Undo It".
"Temporary Home" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Carrie Underwood. It was released in December 2009 as the second official single from her third studio album, Play On. Before being released as a single, the song was made available to iTunes on October 20, 2009. A promotional music video for the song was released in November 2009, and an official music video followed in February 2010. In December 2010, the song was ranked at number 25 on Billboard's Top Country Songs of 2010.
"Undo It" is a song written by Carrie Underwood, Kara DioGuardi, Marti Frederiksen, and Luke Laird. It was made available to digital retailers on October 27, 2009, and was released as an official single on May 24, 2010. The song is the third single from Underwood's third studio album, Play On.
"Remind Me" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Brad Paisley, performed as a duet with Carrie Underwood. It was released in May 2011 as the third single from Paisley's album This Is Country Music (2011). The music video for the song premiered on CMT on July 26, 2011. The song was also named Taste of Country's Song of The Year for 2011. Paisley wrote this song with Kelley Lovelace and Chris DuBois.
"Good Girl" is a song by American country music artist Carrie Underwood. The song was written by Chris DeStefano, Ashley Gorley and Underwood. It was released by Arista Nashville as the lead single from Underwood's fourth studio album, Blown Away (2012).
"Blown Away" is a song by American recording artist Carrie Underwood, taken from her fourth studio album of the same name (2012). The song served as the album's second single on July 9, 2012, through Arista Nashville. Written by Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear, who previously wrote Underwood's single "Before He Cheats" (2006), "Blown Away" is a country pop song; the lyrics are about a young woman who locks herself in a storm cellar while her abusive, alcoholic father is passed out on the couch in the path of a tornado. Producer Mark Bright drew inspiration from 1980s music.
"Somethin' Bad" is a song recorded as a duet by American country music artists Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood. The song was written by Chris DeStefano, Brett James and Priscilla Renea. It was released as the second single from Lambert's fifth studio album Platinum in advance of the album's release two weeks later. The song premiered at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards on May 18, 2014, and was released for sale the next day.
"Smoke Break" is a song recorded by American country music artist Carrie Underwood from her fifth studio album, Storyteller. It was released on August 21, 2015, through Sony Music Nashville, as the album's lead single. It was written by Underwood, Chris DeStefano, and Hillary Lindsey, and was produced by Jay Joyce. Musically, it has lyrics about escaping life's many stresses.
"Church Bells" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Carrie Underwood from her fifth studio album, Storyteller. The song was written by Zach Crowell, Brett James, and Hillary Lindsey, with production from Mark Bright, and was released as the third single from the album in the United States, being shipped to radio on April 3, 2016, and had an official impact date of April 11, 2016.