The Good Life (Three Days Grace song)

"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
ReleasedFebruary 9, 2010
GenreHard rock
Length2:53
LabelJive
Songwriter(s)Adam Gontier
Producer(s)Howard Benson
Three Days Grace singles chronology
"Break"
(2009)
"The Good Life"
(2010)
"World So Cold"
(2010)

Background and composition

edit

"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

edit

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

edit

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

edit
Accolades for "The Good Life"
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

edit
Promotional single
No.TitleLength
1."The Good Life"3:53

Personnel

edit

Charts

edit

Certifications

edit
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[17] Platinum 1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

edit
Region Date Format Label Ref(s).
United States February 9, 2010 Alternative radio Jive [1]
Mainstream rock [18]

Use in media

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Future Releases - Alternative". All Access Mediabase. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  2. ^ "Three Days Grace Chart History (Mainstream Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  3. ^ "Three Days Grace Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  4. ^ "Three Days Grace - About". threedaysgrace.com. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  5. ^ "The Good Life by Three Days Grace". Songfacts. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  6. ^ Patricia Jones (May 1, 2016). "The top 10 best Three Days Grace songs". AXS. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  7. ^ "BOOKED: Three Days Grace - Michael Maxxis, director". VideoStatic.
  8. ^ "The Good Life Video Premiere". Threedaysgrace.com. April 28, 2010. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  9. ^ Dickinson, Boonsri (December 22, 2009). "Top Alternative Songs of the 2009 - AOL Radio Blog". AOL Radio. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
  10. ^ "The Best of Alternative Addiction 2010 | Top 50 Songs". Alternative Addiction. Archived from the original on January 24, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  11. ^ "Three Days Grace Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  12. ^ "Three Days Grace Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  13. ^ "Three Days Grace Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  14. ^ "Three Days Grace Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  15. ^ "Three Days Grace Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  16. ^ "Hot Rock & Alternative Songs – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  17. ^ "American single certifications – Three Days Grace – The Good Life". Recording Industry Association of America.
  18. ^ "Available for Airplay Archive: 2010 – February". FMQB. Archived from the original on November 25, 2011. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  19. ^ Lynn Hoppes (January 28, 2010). "Three Days Grace rocking X Games coverage". ESPN. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  20. ^ "The Good Life Opens the 2010 ACC College Basketball Tournament". Threedaysgrace.com. February 25, 2010. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  21. ^ "Hear The Good Life in the NFL Draft on ESPN". Threedaysgrace.com. April 22, 2010. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  22. ^ "Blue Crush 2 (2011 Video) - Soundtracks". IMDb. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
edit