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"Good Life" is a song by American
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
band
OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band from Colorado Springs, Colorado, formed in 2002. The lineup currently consists of Ryan Tedder (lead vocals, piano), Zach Filkins (guitar, viola), Drew Brown (musician), Drew Brown (guitar), Brent Kutzle ( ...
, taken from their second studio album, '' Waking Up'' (2009). The song was written by group members
Ryan Tedder Ryan Benjamin Tedder (born June 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, frontman, and lead vocalist for the pop rock band OneRepublic, while also serving as a prolific cont ...
,
Brent Kutzle Brent Michael Kutzle (born August 3, 1985) is an American musician, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer, and film composer originating from Fountain Valley, California. He is the bassist and cellist for the pop rock band OneRepubli ...
, and
Eddie Fisher Edwin Jack Fisher (August 10, 1928 – September 22, 2010) was an American singer and actor. He was one of the most popular artists during the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show, '' The Eddie Fisher Show''. Actress E ...
along with group associate Noel Zancanella. It was produced by Tedder, with co-production by Kutzle and Zancanella. The song was released on November 19, 2010, as the album's third single in the United States, and as its overall fourth single. Its popularity was increased by its use in various films, television series and advertisements. The single was a commercial success, peaking at number 8 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and eventually being certified multi-platinum, as well as reaching the top twenty of other music charts across Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The song has sold over 3 million copies in the US as of January 2014. Critical reception of "Good Life" was generally positive. This song is unique in that the band recorded various radio versions of this song for different cities and states. The line changed in the lyrics is "my friends in ity/statethey don't know, where I've been." A remix of the song, featuring American rapper B.o.B, was released to radio stations in June 2011.


Promotion

Initially released as a single in November 2010, the song's popularity was increased after its use in various media.
Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
used the song in its 2010 Zeitgeist "year in review" video. The song is featured in the trailers for the films ''
Eat Pray Love ''Eat Pray Love'' is a 2010 American biographical romantic drama film starring Julia Roberts as Elizabeth Gilbert, based on Gilbert's 2006 memoir of the same name. Ryan Murphy co-wrote and directed the film, which was released in the United ...
'' and '' One Day'', in the film ''
Easy A ''Easy A'' (stylized as ''easy A'') is a 2010 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Will Gluck, written by Bert V. Royal, and starring Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Thomas Haden Church, Patricia Clarkson, Cam Gigandet, L ...
'', and in the television series '' One Tree Hill'', ''
Cougar Town ''Cougar Town'' is an American television sitcom that ran for 102 episodes over six seasons, from September 23, 2009, until March 31, 2015. The first three seasons aired on ABC, with the series moving to TBS for the remaining three seasons. AB ...
'', ''
Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...
'', ''
Rookie Blue ''Rookie Blue'' is a Canadian police procedural television series starring Missy Peregrym and Gregory Smith. It was created by Morwyn Brebner, Tassie Cameron, and Ellen Vanstone. The series premiered on June 24, 2010, and aired on Global in ...
'', ''
America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...
'' and '' 90210''. The group performed the song at the
2011 Teen Choice Awards The 2011 Teen Choice Awards ceremony, hosted by Kaley Cuoco, aired live on August 7, 2011, at the Gibson Amphitheatre, Universal City, California. This was the first time that the ceremonies were aired live since the 2007 show. Ratings The show ...
, 2011 Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards of 2011, ''
Live with Regis and Kelly ''Live with Kelly and Mark'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American Broadcast syndication, syndicated breakfast television, morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show ...
'', ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...
'', the 2011 Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade, and at the
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
Music Evolution Manila 2016. The background music of this song was played on various
Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...
television and radio commercials. In August 2012, "Good Life" was featured in a Honda Summer Clearance Event commercial.


Critical reception

Giving the song five stars, ''
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'' wrote, "Not only does "Good Life" have lyrics that anyone can relate to — "... what the hell is there to complain about ..." — it also has a unique musical delivery that allows the song to stand out on a radio full of same-sounding songs." ''
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 ...
'' put the song on its list of the 15 Best Whistling Songs of All Time.


Music video

The music video for "Good Life" was premiered on February 14, 2011. The video shows the band performing the song in a field, processed to look like an old film using the stop motion principle. Most of the scenes are processed to look like stop motion. It shows many different symbols and is a bit different from their previous videos. The original video was filmed in a mountain valley located in West Hills, California. It features cameo appearances by
Cate Blanchett Catherine Élise Blanchett ( ; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for Cate Blanchett on screen and stage, her versatile work across stage and scre ...
,
Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, Her accolades include an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime ...
,
Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various accolades, including an Academy A ...
,
Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor and film director. Russell Crowe filmography, His work on screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Russell Crowe, various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Gold ...
, and many more. The music video currently has over 200 million views. In December 2011, a second music video, filmed entirely at
Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park is a Amusement park, theme park at the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It opened on October 1, 1971, and is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences, Expe ...
in
Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...
was released. It features the band performing at
Cinderella Castle Cinderella Castle is a fairy tale castle at the center of two Disney Experiences, Disney theme parks: the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, and Tokyo Disneyland at the Tokyo Disney Resort. Based on Cinderella (Disney character), Cinderella's f ...
, as well as riding on several attractions.


Track listing

*CD single Digital download #"Good Life" (new mix version) – 4:05 #"Good Life" (Demolition Crew remix) – 4:12 *Digital download — remix #"Good Life" (featuring B.o.B) – 3:50


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


References

{{authority control 2011 singles 2009 songs Interscope Records singles Mosley Music Group singles OneRepublic songs Song recordings produced by Noel Zancanella Song recordings produced by Ryan Tedder Songs written by Brent Kutzle Songs written by Noel Zancanella Songs written by Ryan Tedder Songs written by Eddie Fisher (drummer)