Good Job (song)
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"Good Job" is a song by American singer and songwriter
Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...
. It was written by Keys,
The-Dream Terius Adamu Ya Gesteelde-Diamant ('' né'' Youngdell Nash; born September 20, 1977), known professionally as The-Dream, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for having written or co-produced songs for artists in ...
,
Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ in 1994. At the age ...
and Avery Chambliss and produced by Keys. The song was released through
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
on April 23, 2020, as the fourth single from Keys' seventh studio album '' Alicia'' (2020). A piano ballad, the song is dedicated to frontline workers fighting against the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. The song received a positive critical reception, with many complimenting the song's message and Keys' vocals. Keys premiered the song during a performance on
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, which was used as the song's visual. Lyric video for the song was released on May 28, 2020.


Background

"Good Job" was written by Keys in 2019 before the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Inspiration behind the song were people in Keys' own life who "work so hard and never hear the words 'good job'", such as her mother and grandmother. In an
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post, one of the song's songwriters,
The-Dream Terius Adamu Ya Gesteelde-Diamant ('' né'' Youngdell Nash; born September 20, 1977), known professionally as The-Dream, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for having written or co-produced songs for artists in ...
, explained that Keys "play dsome of the idea to Good Job and I fell in love with the idea of the song and shared my own experiences as we seem to feel similar when it comes to the engines that move life unknowingly to most". Keys stated that :" “Crazily enough, this song is like, it was written for this moment…there are so many people who are heroes among us right now”. The song was used in a campaign by
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called Out There for Us, to thank the essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic. The former song was also used as the musical theme to a
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campaign produced by ''
CNN Heroes ''CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute'' is a television special created by CNN to honor individuals who make extraordinary contributions to humanitarian aid and make a difference in their communities. The program was started in 2007. Since 2016, the ...
'' in recognition of individuals' humanitarian efforts during the pandemic.


Composition and lyrics

The song is written in the key of
A major A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The A major scale is: Changes needed for the ...
with a time signature and a
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
of 60 beats per minute. The song uses piano as the main instrumentation. According to '' The Suffolk Journal'', the lyrics pay tribute to the essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic and it has a similar storyline to Keys song "
Underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or wikt:top dog, top dog. In the case where an under ...
". Keys starts the song singing: “You are the engine that makes all things go / And you are always in disguise, my hero” In the song, Keys repeats ""Good job / You're doing a good job". As noted by Sal Cinquemani from ''
Slant Slant can refer to: Bias *Bias or other non- objectivity in journalism, politics, academia or other fields Technical * Slant range, in telecommunications, the line-of-sight distance between two points which are not at the same level * Slant ...
'', the "spare arrangements of piano and vocal" on the song are "functionally effective at highlighting the lyrical content".


Critical reception

Shakeena Johnson from '' Clash'' named the song one of the standout tracks on '' Alicia''. Jon Blistein from ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' described the song as a "classic Keys ballad". According to ''
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'', "Good Job" is an "empowering and uplifting anthem" that "every essential worker needs to hear and take to heart". Nick Smith from ''
musicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...
'' called it a "genuine Thursday night clap for all of the essential workers". ''That Grape Juice'' called it an "haunting hymn" while
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called it an "emotionally-charged number". ''Euphoria. Magazine'' described the song as "sonically simple" in which Keys' "assuring, confident voice booms". Fox 2 Detroit also praised Keys' vocals, writing that her "voice reverberat slouder with poise and passion as the tune progresses". In their reviews of the '' Alicia'' album, Nick Levine from ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' wrote that the song is "warm, well-meaning and primed to provide some much-needed musical healing" like most songs on the album while Tara Joshi from ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' wrote that the song "works wonders with a simple vocal and piano". Konstantinos Pappis from ''
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'' singled out the song as one of the album's “most illuminating moments” and wrote that the song is “stirring highlight that might as well be the most vital song Keys has ever penned”.


Live performances

Keys performed the song at ''CNN Global Town Hall: Coronavirus, Facts and Fears'' programme on April 23 and '' Rise Up New York!'' telethon on May 11, 2020. Keys performed medley of "Good Job" and " Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down" (2010) during ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
'' on September 17, 2020. Keys performed the song at ''Verizon Big Concert for Small Business'' on February 7, 2021.


Credits and personnel

Adapted from ''Alicia'' album liner notes. *Produced by Alicia Keys *Piano by Alicia Keys *Engineered and mixed by Ann Mincieli at Jungle City Studios (NYC) *Assistant engineer: Brendan Morawski


Charts


References

{{authority control 2020s ballads 2020 singles 2020 songs Alicia Keys songs RCA Records singles Songs about the COVID-19 pandemic Songs written by Alicia Keys Songs written by Swizz Beatz Songs written by The-Dream