Good 4 U
"Good 4 U" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo. It was released on May 14, 2021, through Geffen and Interscope Records, as the third single from Rodrigo's debut studio album, Sour (2021). The song was written by Rodrigo and its producer Dan Nigro who co-produced it with Alexander 23; Hayley Williams and Josh Farro were given co-writing credits due to influence from Paramore's "Misery Business" (2007).
For other uses, see Good for You."Good 4 U"
May 14, 2021
2020
Amusement (Los Angeles)[1]
2:58
- Olivia Rodrigo
- Dan Nigro
- Hayley Williams
- Josh Farro
Dan Nigro
Musically, "Good 4 U" has been described as an upbeat song blending rock, pop, punk, and alternative styles. It consists of a staccato bassline, energetic electric guitars, and explosive drumming, with lyrics addressing a former lover who moved on very quickly after a breakup. The song received acclaim from music critics, who praised the instrumentation reminiscent of the 1990s–2000s and Rodrigo's crisp songwriting. The accompanying music video features Rodrigo as a high-school cheerleader exacting revenge, visually alluding to the 2000s films Audition, The Princess Diaries, and Jennifer's Body. At the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, "Good 4 U" received a nomination for Best Music Video.
The single reached number one in 23 countries including Australia, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States; it was the second chart-topping single from Sour in many of those countries, following Rodrigo's debut single "Drivers License" (2021). "Good 4 U" peaked within the top 10 in more than 20 territories. The song received platinum or multi-platinum certifications globally and ranks among the top 100 most streamed songs of all-time on Spotify with over 2 billion streams as of November 2023.
Background and development[edit]
Rodrigo announced her debut studio album Sour on April 1, 2021.[2] "Good 4 U" placed sixth on the track listing.[3] On May 10, Rodrigo announced via her social media accounts that "Good 4 U" would become the third single from Sour on May 14, following "Drivers License" and "Deja Vu". Alongside the announcement, she also revealed the song's cover artwork.[4][5] Rodrigo had previously teased the song in a promotional image for "Deja Vu".[6]
In her August 2021 Variety cover story, Rodrigo stated she came up with the song's hook in the shower. She added she did not want the entirety of Sour to be "sad piano songs", but also did not want to write a happy, "I'm in love" pop song, because "that was so far from how [she] was truly feeling at the time". Rodrigo concluded that "Good 4 U" was "really satisfying" due to its upbeat energy and danceability without sacrificing honesty and authenticity in her lyrics.[7]
Commercial performance[edit]
United States[edit]
In the United States, "Good 4 U" debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, giving Rodrigo her second number-one song in the country, following her eight-week chart-topper "Drivers License". Sour became the first debut album in history to have two of its songs debut at number one on the Hot 100, as well as the third album by a female artist to spawn two number-one debuts on the Hot 100. "Good 4 U" was also the third consecutive single from the album to debut in the top 10 of the chart. The song drew 43.2 million U.S. streams and sold 12,000 downloads in its first week of release. The track debuted atop the Streaming Songs chart as Rodrigo's second leader and ruling for seven consecutive weeks, after "Drivers License" ruled for four weeks, and started at number five on the Billboard Digital Songs chart.[46] "Good 4 U" dropped to number two in its second week and held that rank for eleven non-consecutive weeks, becoming the first song since Whitney Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" (1995–96) to spend eleven weeks at number two on the Hot 100.[47]
United Kingdom[edit]
In the United Kingdom, "Good 4 U" was also a commercial success. The song accumulated over 1 million streams in its first three days in the United Kingdom.[48] The song debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart, marking Rodrigo's second top-10 song and third top-20 song in the country. In its second week, the song topped the chart, becoming Rodrigo's second number-one single after "Drivers License".[49] "Good 4 U" became one of the biggest chart-topping singles in the UK in 2021, gathering more than 117,000 units sold in its second week, including 13.5 million streams, to reach number one.[50] It topped the charts for five consecutive weeks, in the fourth of which it became the first rock song to reach such a feat since Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life" (2003).[51] In its seventh week, the song was dethroned by Ed Sheeran's "Bad Habits" dropping down to number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.[52] After ten weeks within the top ten on the UK Charts, "Good 4 U" dropped out of the top ten charting at number 12.[53] "Good 4 U" spent a total of 25 weeks inside the UK Top 40 in 2021.[54] At the end of the year, it was reported that "Good 4 U" had been streamed a total of 167 million times in the UK as well as being the second biggest song in the UK in 2021 by selling 1,390,000 copies.[55] "Good 4 U" spent a total of 61 weeks on the UK Top 100 and has since been certified 3× Platinum for 1,800,000 units.[56][57] As of July 2023, "Good 4 U" is her most commercially successful song in the country, amassing 2,100,000 units. The song has also been streamed a total of 253 million times.[58]
Worldwide[edit]
Elsewhere, In Ireland "Good 4 U" scored Rodrigo's second number-one song on the Official Irish Singles Chart, following "Drivers License". With this, all singles from Sour had entered the top 10 of the chart.[59] The song spent five consecutive weeks at number one in Ireland.[60] "Good 4 U" further topped the singles chart in New Zealand[61] and Singapore. In Australia, "Good 4 U" debuted at number two on the ARIA Singles Chart, after which it rose to number one upon the impact of Sour.[62] "Good 4 U" spent six consecutive weeks at number one in Australia.[63]
Impact[edit]
British rock magazine Kerrang! stated that "Good 4 U" leads the commercial comeback of rock music in 2020–2021, noting how it is the first rock record since Evanescence's 2003 single "Bring Me to Life" to spend four or more weeks atop the UK Singles chart, alongside chart success of other rock-adjacent artists, such as Willow Smith, Machine Gun Kelly, Måneskin, and Miley Cyrus.[13] Slate admired Rodrigo's versatility and proclaimed that she "might be the dying genre's best hope", pinpointing that "Good 4 U" is the "most up-the-middle rock song to top the [U.S.] Hot 100 in a decade or more".[9]
Live performances[edit]
Rodrigo performed "Good 4 U" for the first time on May 15, 2021, along with "Drivers License", on Saturday Night Live.[68][69] On September 12, Rodrigo performed the song at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards.[70] An orchestral-arranged version of the song was performed by Rodrigo on her documentary film Driving Home 2 U: A Sour Film, released on March 25, 2022, for Disney+.
