Good Life (OneRepublic song)

"Good Life" is a song by American pop rock band OneRepublic, taken from their second studio album, Waking Up (2009). The song was written by group members Ryan Tedder, Brent Kutzle, and Eddie Fisher along with group associate Noel Zancanella. It was produced by Tedder, with co-production by Kutzle and Zancanella.

"Good Life"
Single by OneRepublic
from the album Waking Up
Released	January 21, 2011
Recorded	2008
Genre	Pop rock
Length	4:13 (album version) 4:05 (new mix version) 4:12 (Demolition Crew remix) 3:50 (remix featuring B.o.B)
Label	Mosley Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Ryan Tedder Brent Kutzle Noel Zancanella Eddie Fisher
Producer(s)	Tedder Kutzle Zancanella
OneRepublic singles chronology
"Marchin On" (2010) "Good Life" (2011) "Feel Again" (2012)

The song was released on January 21, 2011, 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.^[1]

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 [city/state] they 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 used the song in its 2010 Zeitgeist "year in review" video.^[2] The song is featured in the trailers for the films Eat Pray Love and One Day, in the film Easy A,^[3] and in the television series One Tree Hill, Cougar Town, Gossip Girl, Rookie Blue, America's Got Talent and 90210. The group performed the song at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards, 2011 Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards of 2011, Live with Regis and Kelly, Dancing with the Stars, and recently at the 2011 Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade, and again in the MTV Music Evolution Manila 2016. The background music of this song was played on various Walt Disney World 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, About.com 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."^[4] Rolling Stone put the song on its list of the 15 Best Whistling Songs of All Time.^[5]

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, Anne Hathaway, Nicolas Cage, Russell Crowe, and many more.^[6] The music video currently has over 200 million views.^[7]

In December 2011, a second music video, filmed entirely at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World was released. It features the band performing at Cinderella Castle, as well as riding on several attractions.^[8]

Track listing

• CD single^[9] Digital download^[10]

1. "Good Life" (new mix version) – 4:05
2. "Good Life" (Demolition Crew remix) – 4:12

• Digital download — remix^[11]

1. "Good Life" (featuring B.o.B) – 3:50

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2010–2012) Peak position Australia (ARIA)^[12] 62 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[13] 9 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)^[14] 5 Denmark (Tracklisten)^[15] 19 Germany (Official German Charts)^[16] 19 Germany (Airplay Chart)^[17] 1 Ireland (IRMA)^[18] 41 Italy (FIMI)^[19] 47 Luxembourg Digital Songs (Billboard)^[20] 8 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[21] 25 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[22] 22 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[23] 41 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[24] 14 US Billboard Hot 100^[25] 8 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[26] 2 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)^[27] 1 US Hot Latin Songs (Billboard)^[28] 48 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)^[29] 6

Year-end charts Chart (2011) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[30] 71 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)^[31] 36 US Billboard Hot 100^[32] 25 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[33] 18 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)^[34] 2 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)^[35] 25 Chart (2012) Position US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[36] 7 Chart (2013) Position Slovenia (SloTop50)^[37] 46

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)^[38]	Gold	15,000^*
Germany (BVMI)^[39]	Gold	150,000
Italy (FIMI)^[40]	Gold	25,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[41]	Gold	7,500^*
United Kingdom (BPI)^[42]	Silver	200,000
United States (RIAA)^[43]	3× Platinum	3,309,000^[1]
Streaming
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)^[44]	Gold	900,000
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Version
Germany^[45]	January 21, 2011	CD single	Original
United States^[46]	May 3, 2011	Contemporary hit radio
United States^[47]	June 21, 2011	Digital download	Remix
Italy^[48]	July 15, 2011	Radio impact

References

1. Paul Grein (January 8, 2013). "Chart Watch: Pitbull & Kesha & Eminem & RiRi". Yahoo Music.
2. "Zeitgeist 2010: Year in Review" (Adobe Flash). YouTube. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
3. IMDB
4. Hill, John (2011). . About.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
5. Murphy, Kate (September 30, 2011). "The 15 Best Whistling Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
6. Parade (November 6, 2019). "If Smiling Is Your Favorite, Here Are 75 Happy Songs That Will Make You Feel Great and Lift Your Mood". Parade. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
7. OneRepublic – Good Life. YouTube. February 14, 2011. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
8. "One Republic Recreates 'Good Life' At Disney - Theme Parks News Story - WESH Orlando". Wesh.com. December 19, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
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10. ""Good Life - Single" von OneRepublic". iTunes. January 2010.
11. ""Good Life (Remix) [feat. B.O.B.] - Single" von OneRepublic". iTunes. January 2011.
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14. "OneRepublic Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
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16. "OneRepublic – Good Life" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
17. "Airplay Charts Deutschland – Woche 01/2011". German Charts. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
18. "Irish-charts.com – Discography OneRepublic". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
19. "FIMI". FIMI.
20. "Chart Search Results - Luxembourg Digital Songs 2011-02-26". Billboard.biz. Retrieved August 30, 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
21. "Nederlandse Top 40 – OneRepublic" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
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24. "OneRepublic – Good Life". Swiss Singles Chart.
25. "OneRepublic Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
26. "OneRepublic Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
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29. "OneRepublic Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
30. . oe3.ORF.at. Archived from the original on January 4, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
31. "Best of 2011: Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
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33. "Adult Contemporary Pop Songs – Year-End 2011". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
34. "Adult Pop Songs – Year-End 2011". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
35. "Pop Songs – Year-End 2011". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
36. "Adult Contemporary Pop Songs – Year-End 2012". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
37. (in Slovenian). Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
38. "Austrian single certifications – OneRepublic – Good Life" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
39. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (OneRepublic; 'Good Life')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
40. "Italian single certifications – OneRepublic – Good Life" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved April 9, 2018. Select "2018" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Good Life" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
41. "New Zealand single certifications – OneRepublic – Good Life". Recorded Music NZ.
42. "British single certifications – OneRepublic – Good Life". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
43. "American single certifications – OneRepublic – Good Life". Recording Industry Association of America.
44. "Danish single certifications – OneRepublic – Good Life". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
45. "Good Life (2-Track)" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
46. . FMQB. Archived from the original on December 10, 2005. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
47. "Good Life (Remix) [feat. B.O.B.] – Single by OneRepublic". iTunes Store. Apple. January 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
48. https://www.earone.it/news/one_republic_feat_b_o_b_good_life_radio_date_venerdi_15_luglio_2011_1920960/