"The Good Life" is a song by Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. It was released as the second single from their third studio album, Life Starts Now and was serviced to radio airplay on February 9, 2010.[1] It charted at number 85 on the Canadian Hot 100 before becoming a single. The song hit number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks[2] and Rock Songs chart and number four on the Alternative Songs chart matching "Break".[3] It was the second most played song on the Active Rock format in 2010.[4]
| "The Good Life" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Three Days Grace | ||||
| from the album Life Starts Now | ||||
| Released | February 9, 2010 | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 2:53 | |||
| Label | Jive | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Adam Gontier | |||
| Producer(s) | Howard Benson | |||
| Three Days Grace singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background and composition
"The Good Life" was written by Adam Gontier and was produced by Howard Benson. Gontier described the track as a "simple song" and stated, "It's a grass greener kinda thing. You look at somebody else's life and wanting what they have, which again brings you back to the ego - it doesn't matter how good your life looks from the outside, there's always things you want."[5]
The song was also performed during a concert of Three Days Grace along series of concerts during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver on February 15, 2010.
Critical reception
AXS.com listed "The Good Life" as one of the "top 10 best Three Days Grace songs." Patricia Jones of AXS praised the song for its "incredibly bouncy" and "infectious" sound. She stated, "The springy chords and compelling drums make it an easy choice for listening, jamming, and dancing."[6]
Music video
The band shot the video with director Michael Maxxis on March 23, 2010.[7] The video was released on April 27, 2010.[8] The video consists of the band performing in a garage, with Adam Gontier wearing a Citizen Cope outfit, with clips of people performing activities, both recreational and with violent overtones. The video ends with a man kissing his wife and leaving for work. In contrast to the clean and professionally shot look of previous music video for "Break", this video is filmed with a handheld camera in a messy, real world environment and makes heavy use of video editing effects and colour grading to look rough and visually vibrant.
Accolades
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AOL Radio | United States | "Top Alternative Songs of 2009"[9] | 2009 | 1 |
| Alternative Addiction | "Song of the Year"[10] | 2010 | 39 |
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Good Life" | 3:53 |
Personnel
- Adam Gontier – lead vocals
- Barry Stock – lead guitar
- Brad Walst – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Neil Sanderson – drums, backing vocals
Charts
Year-end charts
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[15] | 9 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[16] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | February 9, 2010 | Alternative radio | Jive | [1] |
| Mainstream rock | [17] |
Use in media
- The song was featured on ESPN's Winter X Games XIV.[18]
- The song was used during the Professional Motocross Freestyle show Nuclear Cowboyz.
- "The Good Life" was the featured song for the 2010 ACC men's basketball tournament.[19]
- The song was also used during the 2010 NFL Draft.[20]
- The song was featured in the movie Blue Crush 2.[21]