"Good Day" () is a song recorded in two languages (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

and

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

) by South Korean singer IU. The Korean version was released on December 9, 2010, as the lead single for IU's third extended play (EP) ''

Real Real may refer to: Currencies * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Music Albums * ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000) * ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010) ...

''. It was written by

Kim Eana Kim Eana ( ko, 김이나; born April 27, 1979) is a South Korean lyricist. She is best known for writing the lyrics to hit K-pop songs, including "Abracadabra" performed by Brown Eyed Girls, and " Good Day" performed by IU. She has been activ ...

, while production was handled by Lee Min-soo. The Japanese version was originally included on IU's first Japanese extended play '' I□U'', released on December 14, 2011, before being released on March 21, 2012, as IU's first single album ''Good Day''. "Good Day" received generally positive reviews by music critics. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine crowned it as the best K-pop song released in the 2010s. Commercially, the song debuted atop the

Gaon Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based o ...

, topping the chart for five weeks and becoming the sixth best-selling single in South Korea, selling more than 4.4 million digital units. The Japanese version reached the top five on the

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track download sales. In J ...

, and sold more than 30,000 physical copies in the country.

Background and release

"Good Day" was released on December 9, 2010, simultaneously with the singer's third extended play (EP) ''

''. On November 15, 2011, Loen announced, that IU was signed to

EMI Music Japan , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...

and was set to release an extended play with her greatest hits recorded in Japanese, on December 14, 2011, titled '' I□U''.

Music and lyrics

The Korean version of "Good Day" was written by

, while production was handled by Lee Min-soo. In terms of

musical notation Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols, including notation fo ...

, the song is composed in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

A♭ Major A-flat major (or the key of A-flat) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has four flats. The A-flat major scale is: : Its relative minor is F minor. Its parallel minor, A-flat minor, ...

, with a tempo of 128

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

, and runs for 3:53.

Reception

Writing for ''

New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as ''The Straits Times'' on 15 July 1845. It was relaunched as the ' ...

'', Bibi Nurshuhada Ramli described "Good Day" as IU's breakout song. ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

''s Sylvia Issa described the songs as a "unique musical phenomenon". In November 2019, ''Billboard'' magazine compiled a list of the 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s, with the single "Good Day" ranking at number one. Commercially, "Good Day" debuted at number one of the South Korean singles chart on the 51st issued week of 2010. It topped the chart for five consecutive weeks, falling to no. four on the fourth issued week in 2011. The song held the record for the most weeks at number one until 2018, when it was beaten by

iKon iKon (), stylized as iKON, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2015 by YG Entertainment, consisting of six members: Jay, Song, Bobby, DK, Ju-ne and Chan. Originally a seven-piece band, leader B.I departed from the group in June 2019. Init ...

Love Scenario "Love Scenario" () is a song recorded by South Korean boy group iKon. It was released as the lead single of their second studio album, ''Return''. The song won "Song of the Year" at the 2018 Melon Music Awards and 33rd Golden Disc Awards. It is r ...

". Furthermore, the single topped the monthly singles chart in December 2010. It was selected as

Gallup Korea's Song of the Year Gallup Korea's Song of the Year () is selected annually through multiple public surveys conducted across South Korea by Gallup Korea. From 2020, survey is conducted in two categories on the basis of respondents' age group: 13–39, and 40 and ab ...

in 2011.

Track listing

Accolades

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales

Release history

References

{{authority control 2010 singles 2010 songs Gaon Digital Chart number-one singles IU (singer) songs Korean-language songs Japanese-language songs Kakao M singles Songs with lyrics by Kim Eana