Good Girl

Album: Blown Away (2012)
Charted: 18
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The first single from Carrie Underwood's fourth studio album was co-penned by the American Idol winner with songwriters Chris DeStefano (Scotty McCreery's "Better Than This," Kelly Clarkson's "Let Me Down") and Ashley Gorley (Trace Adkins's "You're Gonna Miss This" and Carrie's own hit "All American Girl.") The song was released to country radio on February 23, 2012.
  • Carrie explained that she and her co-writers set out to pen something that will have her fans dancing along. "We went into the writing session thinking we need to write something that just kicks butt," she said, "and Chris DeStefano, I call him a little mad scientist on all of his Pro Tools stuff — he, like, plays every instrument you could possibly think of, and he, like, started makin' this track, and we started…we just went. It was fast. We wrote it fast, and it's just fun! It's upbeat, it's fun, you stomp your feet, and you can dance to it. It's got this really rockin' verse, and this really, like, rockin' country chorus. So, it's just a really cool song."
  • Underwood said of the inspiration for the song in a behind-the-scenes film for its video: "We've all been this girl before, who just believes the best in the man that she's with, no matter what. But people are like, 'What's wrong with you?' So we tried to take the story of dual personalities: one is good and one is knowledgeable... She's not bad, she's just trying to give the good girl some knowledge and say, 'Wake up! Open up your eyes and see this guy for what he is.'"
  • Speaking to a group of Nashville journalists, Underwood discussed how she relates to the jilted character in this song: "I've been that stupid girl that was with this guy," she said. "Not anytime recently, but I have had people come up to me and say, 'You don't need to be with him. I'm telling you as a friend.' But they would never be blunt with me, it was always dancing around it and I would think, 'This isn't the person I know.' So I've been that 'Good Girl' that needed someone to smack her. We all have!"
  • Underwood said why she channels her inner rocker in this song: "My inner rock chick has always been there," she explained. "I grew up listening to a lot of rock music through my sisters, who were teenagers while I was young, so they had control of the radio. Just working with different people and experiencing different things influences what happens naturally. It's not like a guided effort to switch directions or add different stuff in your music -- it just happens. You don't fight it, you just go with it."
  • This was the last song that Underwood co-wrote for her fourth album. She was in Los Angeles and called Ashley Gorley to see if he had time to write with her. "I wanted to write a fun song for the album. We wrote it so fast and it was so much fun to write," Underwood recalled to Reuters.
  • The visual won the Video Of The Year prize at the 2012 CMT Awards.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Female Singers Of The 90s

Female Singers Of The 90sMusic Quiz

The ladies who ruled the '90s in this quiz.

Rick Springfield

Rick SpringfieldSongwriter Interviews

Rick has a surprising dark side, a strong feminine side and, in a certain TV show, a naked backside. But he still hasn't found Jessie's Girl.

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn YankeesSongwriter Interviews

Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.

Boz Scaggs

Boz ScaggsSongwriter Interviews

The "Lowdown" and "Lido Shuffle" singer makes a habit of playing with the best in the business.

Randy Newman

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.

Sugarland

SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Meet the "sassy basket" with the biggest voice in country music.