"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). Underwood debuted the song in a live performance during the annual Country Radio Seminar (CRS) event in Nashville on February 23, 2012. The song was sent to country radio stations directly following the performance. It was made available for purchase as a digital download on February 23, 2012. "Good Girl" officially impacted country radio on February 27, 2012, and was officially released to Hot AC radio on April 23, 2012.
The song peaked at number 18 in the US and number 21 in Canada. It was certified triple platinum in the US and platinum in Canada.
Background and release
On January 25, 2012, Underwood announced on her official website that the new single would be released in February.[1][2][3] Just days before its official release, Underwood previewed the song in a video posted on her website, giving fans a brief look inside the recording studio. She stated that the single would be released to radio shortly thereafter, and her website confirmed a February 23 release date through a countdown feature.[4]
Written by Underwood, Ashley Gorley and Chris DeStefano, "Good Girl" is an uptempo song about Underwood at her most fiery, as she moves between near-whispers and pointed shouts over handclaps and a driving guitar riff that builds into a snarling solo, delivering sharp warnings through imagery of sweetness that "drip[s] honey" but ultimately "sting[s] ... like a bee" before surging into a rousing chorus.[1] She described the song as "kick butt".[5] The song is in C minor with an approximate tempo of 126 beats per minute, as not using full chords but rather a pattern of open fifths composed of C5-F5-E♭5-B♭5. Underwood's vocal ranges from G3 to F5.[6]
Critical reception
Upon its release, "Good Girl" received general acclaim. Roughstock gave the song four stars and praised that "this is the best uptempo vocal that Carrie Underwood has given country radio."[7] Bill Lamb of About.com gave the song four out of five stars, noting that the song "crackles with rock guitar and vocal fireworks while encouraging audience participation with a singalong chorus that is pure pop".[8] Bill Dukes of Taste of Country rated the song four and a half stars, saying, "By the third spin her confidence, energy and sheer talent will seduce you into believing every eighth-note couldn’t be more perfectly placed."[9] Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song a grade A and called it "an absolutely exhilarating record".[10]
The short preview of the music video premiered on Entertainment Tonight on March 12, 2012. Later that night, the full video was released on Underwood's official Vevo page. It features Underwood playing a "Good Girl", and another girl, trying to persuade her character that the man she is with is no good. The music video for "Good Girl" won Video of the Year at the 2012 CMT Music Awards as voted by fans. It was directed by Theresa Wingert and edited by Jacquelyn London.
Commercial performance
"Good Girl" was released for purchase on iTunes at 10pm on February 23, 2012. It sold 108,000 digital downloads in its first 3 days of sales,[16] making it Underwood's fastest selling single ever. As of December 4, 2012, "Good Girl" has been certified Platinum in Canada, with more than 80,000 digital copies being sold.[17] As of July 2020, "Good Girl" has sold 3 million copies in the United States.[18]
With 3 days of airplay, "Good Girl" debuted at number 30 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs and number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. On the latter chart, it peaked at number 18, giving Underwood her twelfth top 20 on the chart.[19] The song also debuted at number 33 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart for the week of March 10, 2012. "Good Girl" made its debut on the UK Radio Airplay chart the week beginning April 1, and it was the highest new entry that week, debuting at 56.[20] On Hot Country Songs, the song hit number one, becoming Underwood's twelfth number one hit on the chart.[21] It is also her second highest-charting song on Adult Pop Songs behind "Before He Cheats", peaking at 20.[22]
"Good Girl" was made available for download on June 26, 2012, to play in Rock Band 3 Basic and Pro mode utilizing real guitar / bass guitar, and MIDI compatible electronic drum kits / keyboards plus vocal harmonies. The song is also available on the game Just Dance 4 available on the Xbox 360Kinect, PlayStation 3PlayStation Move, Wii and Wii U. The song is available as an exclusive to the NTSC version of the game in the Americas. The song is also a downloadable content (DLC) song on the European, Australian and New Zealand stores (PAL). This song is also available in Guitar Hero Live.
Adriana Louise sang the song in the second week of The Live Rounds on the third season of The Voice. Amber Carrington sang the song for her Blind Audition on the fourth season of The Voice. Kat Perkins sang the song for her Instant Save on the sixth season of The Voice; she later recorded a studio version for her 2014 EP, Fearless.[23]
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