“Good 4 U” by Olivia Rodrigo

The title and related thematic sentiment of this song (“Good 4 U”) is sarcastic in nature. What the vocalist is doing is addressing her ex-boyfriend. And on the surface, she is congratulating him on being able to effectively move on with his life. This includes the fact that he has made serious career moves, on top of purchasing a new car. Moreover he seems to be a better place mentally after, according to the narrator, being the recipient of some therapy she recommended.

But most pointedly, the aspect of his post-breakup life which she is harping on the most is that he has “found a new girl”. And when she congratulates him in that regard, as alluded to earlier, she is not doing so with a genuine heart. Moreover, it isn’t so much the fact that he has a new girlfriend that is disturbing her.  Rather it is the speed at which he has done so. And that reality is indicative of what the vocalist perceives to be the addressee’s ‘apathetic’ attitude towards their own relationship.

Narrator is in her feelings

In other words, it’s as if their breakup has not had any adverse effect on him personally. But by contrast the vocalist herself, as you have probably already ascertained by this point, is still very much in her feelings. And the addressee’s current disposition is causing her to hurt even more, as now the logical implication would be something like he “never cared at all” in the first place.

But all of that noted, it does not appear as if she is begging to be back in his arms or anything like that. In fact Olivia uses part of the second verse to even curse him for more or less breaking his promise to remain faithful to her. But she is still hurt and confused nonetheless. 

And by the looks of things, having to bear witness to him living life to the fullest, new romance and all, is only going to make it that much harder for her to recuperate from being heartbroken.

So underneath all of the sarcasm and, shall we say hostility, this is one of those types of songs where the vocalist is upset that her ex, whom she still has feelings for, has expeditiously moved on. And her mood isn’t the result of her being selfish. Rather the insinuation is that the narrator was under the impression that she meant more to the addressee than his actions currently indicate.

Facts

“Good 4 U”, being released by Interscope Records and Geffen Records on 14 May 2021, is the third single Olivia Rodrigo, being 18 years old at the time, has ever dropped. Heading into this year, she has made a name for herself primarily as a young Disney actress. But after her first single, “Drivers License“, surprisingly proved to be one of the biggest hits of early 2021, it’s safe to say that now most people view her as being an actual pop star.

To note, “Drivers License” topped music charts across the board, including the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. And it also went to on achieve multi-platinum certification in the US, Canada and Australia. And whereas Olivia’s second single, “Deja Vu“, was also a notable hit chart-wise, still it wasn’t nearly as success as the first one.

This track (“Good 4 U”) is a part of Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album, being the sixth track on its playlist. And the said album goes by the title “Sour”.

Moreover the day following the release of this track, Olivia Rodrigo served as a musical guest on the (46^th) season finale of Saturday Night Live. 

It is on said date, 15 May 2021, that she performed “Good 4 U” live for the first time. And in regards of being granted the opportunity to grace one of the most-popular music stages in America, Rodrigo has responded that she is “so stoked!”

Did Olivia Rodrigo write “Good 4 U”?

Yes. Olivia wrote this song alongside a musician named Dan Nigro. And Nigro, who also assisted Olivia her with “Drivers License” and “Deja Vu”, co-produced the track also, in that regard working in conjunction with Alexander 23.

NOTE: Originally this song didn’t credit Paramore band members Josh Farro and Hayley Williams. However, the pair were later given writing credits on the track. And why? Simply because it was later found out that “Good 4 U” sounds extremely similar to Paramore’s 2007 hit song “Misery Business“. And since Farro and Williams are the official writers of “Misery Business”, they were automatically credited as co-writers of “Good 4 U”.

More Interesting Facts

Olivia Rodrigo is not a Latina, as many people may presume given her name and appearance. Rather her dad is from the Philippines, a country well outside of Latin America where people also tend to have Spanish last names. And her mom is actually of European parentage, with Rodrigo herself being born and raised in California.

The music video to this track was directed by Petra Collins. And within hours of its release (i.e. as of the writing of this post), it already appears to on its ways to 2,000,000 YouTube views.

Meanwhile the first teasing of this song is said to have taken place on 31 March 2021.

Performance on the Charts

“Good 4 U” was well received in many countries, resulting in multiple #1 positions.

In addition, the song was also in the Top-10 of these countries: