Good Time (Owl City And Carly Rae Jepsen Song)
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"Good Time" is a song by American
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...
project Owl City and Canadian singer
Carly Rae Jepsen Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After studying musical theatre for most of her school life and while in university, Jepsen garnered mainstream attention after placing third on the fifth season of ...
. It was released as the lead single from Owl City's album '' The Midsummer Station'' and was used as the second single from Jepsen's second studio album, '' Kiss''. "Good Time" was written by Matt Thiessen, Brian Lee, and Adam Young of Owl City. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, with critics describing it as a "summer anthem". "Good Time" attained commercial success worldwide, reaching No. 1 in Canada, New Zealand, and South Korea, while peaking inside the top ten in twelve additional countries. The success of the song effectively broke the "
one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...
" label for both acts.


Background, writing and release

On June 14, 2012, Adam Young announced that he would be collaborating with
Carly Rae Jepsen Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After studying musical theatre for most of her school life and while in university, Jepsen garnered mainstream attention after placing third on the fifth season of ...
on a new song, claiming that it would be released on June 26, 2012. On June 20, 2012, he released the single "Good Time" via his SoundCloud account. The song was released on
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on June 26, 2012. "Good Time" was written by Matt Thiessen, Brian Lee, and Young himself. On August 23, 2012, the song became available in the United Kingdom before the official single release as a digital download on iTunes from Owl City's album '' The Midsummer Station''. An acoustic version of the song was released in 2013 on Owl City's '' The Midsummer Station - Acoustic EP''.


Critical reception

The song has received positive reviews from critics, including ''
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'': "It only makes sense that he's joined by Jepsen... na track that could become a radio staple for the rest of the summer," and '' Entertainment Weekly'': "'Good Time' goes down easier than a frozen margarita at a beachfront tiki bar." On his site The Re-View, British critic Nick Bassett referred to the song as "an uplifting, out and out pop duet which will most definitely ensure that neither artist has to settle for a 'one hit wonder' tag." ''
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s Forrest Wickman also called it a "worthy successor" to "Call Me Maybe". He pointed to how "the song opens with a familiar story, and then subverts it, by removing anything that's not squeaky clean." Like
Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (; born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to Kemosabe Records. Her first major success came in early 2009 after she was featured on America ...
in "
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," the singer begins the song waking up after a night of hard partying, in his clothes with a song by Prince inside his head. But in contrast, Wickman observes, he's "on the right side of the bed", not
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, and ready to go out again the next evening. "When a children's choir is tossed in at the end, it's a bit gratuitous, but in this wholesome song why not," he concludes. "'Good Time' is a guilty pleasure, without the guilt." '' Rolling Stone'' called the song "mediocre dance pop".


Chart performance

In the US, the song debuted at No. 32 on the US Pop Songs chart and No. 18 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the week dated July 4, reaching No. 8 a few weeks after. The song is the second to make the top ten on the chart for both artists; Owl City's first top ten single since " Fireflies", as well as Carly Rae Jepsen's first top-ten single since "
Call Me Maybe "Call Me Maybe" is a song recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen for her EP ''Curiosity'' (2012) and later appeared on her second studio album and first international album ''Kiss'' (2012). The song was written by Jepsen and T ...
", making Jepsen one of the few artists in history to have two top ten songs in the same week. It sold a million in the United States by August 29, 2012, and was certified double-platinum by the
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. It sold 2,249,000 copies in the US in 2012. In Canada and New Zealand it peaked at No. 1, becoming Owl City's first number-one single and Jepsen's second in both countries. The song debuted at No. 17 on the UK Singles Chart on August 26, 2012. The song charted before the single release due to the song being available from Owl City's album, ''The Midsummer Station''. It rose to No. 5 the following week, becoming Owl City's first top 5 UK hit since 2010's "Fireflies".


Music video


Background

The music video was directed by Declan Whitebloom and premiered on Vevo, with Young tweeting a link to the video on July 24, 2012. Most of the video was shot at Silver Mine Lake in Harriman State Park in New York and the rest in New York City. The video features
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from
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, Casio and Beats Electronics.


Synopsis

The music video begins with Jepsen waiting by her Fiat 500 in front of an apartment when her friends then come out and join her. They then drive away from the haze of New York City. As they drive away, the video alternates between shots of Jepsen and Young with his own group in a Mercury Cougar as they drive down a forest road. They eventually meet up at a small cabin-like building and start drinking
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. As Jepsen's verse starts, she is shown walking through the forest with other shots of the rest of the group walking and coming to a campground. Once the hook and chorus begin, Young is seen by a lake, along with other shots of Jepsen and the rest of the group. As the sky darkens, they start dancing around a
bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Etymology The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Catho ...
. The video concludes with shots of the group dancing and partying through the night.


Live performances

Owl City and
Carly Rae Jepsen Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After studying musical theatre for most of her school life and while in university, Jepsen garnered mainstream attention after placing third on the fifth season of ...
performed "Good Time" at ''
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'' Wild Card results show on August 22, 2012, and the next day on '' Today''. The duo also performed it in New York on August 25, 2012, during Arthur Ashe Kids' Day, an event that marks the start of the U.S. Open; '' The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' on August 28, and '' Conan'' on August 29. Jepsen performed "Good Time" with Cody Simpson on Justin Bieber's Believe Tour (selected dates), and with Jared Manierka on her headlining The Summer Kiss Tour.


Lawsuit

In October 2012, Alabama singer and songwriter Allyson Nichole Burnett filed a copyright infringement suit authored by attorney Neville Johnson in a California federal court against Jepsen and Young as well as several publishing companies and performing rights groups. She claimed that Young, Matt Thiessen and Brian Lee copied a prominent motif of her 2010 song, "Ah, It's a Love Song". The lawsuit noted several similarities between the two songs, including an identical pitch sequence (5-3-5-3-2), melodic contour (down, up, down, down), rhythmic construction (8th rest, 8th note, 8th note, 8th note, 8th note, 8th rest, quarter note), and timbre (textless vocals).Gardner, Eriq
Carly Rae Jepsen, Owl City's Adam Young Sued for Alleged 'Good Time' Theft
''
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''. October 30, 2012,. Accessed from November 4, 2012.
Burnett also stated that she suffered "emotional and psychological damage" from fans asking why she copied the song. In January 2014 Jepsen's music publishing company, BMI, reached an agreement with Burnett to place over $800,000 in
royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...
in an escrow account for the plaintiff's benefit. In return, Burnett agreed to drop her lawsuit. In June 2014 the suit was dropped, after an investigation revealed the song to be an original work. The royalties in escrow were returned to both, with Owl City receiving $525,901.77.


Track listing

*;Digital download #"Good Time" – 3:26 *;CD single #"Good Time" – 3:26 #"Good Time" (Adam Young Remix) – 3:10 *;UK digital remixes EP #"Good Time" – 3:26 #"Good Time" (Adam Young Remix) – 3:10 #"Good Time" (
Fred Falke Frédérick Falke () (born 7 January 1973), known professionally as Fred Falke, is a French house and dance music producer and DJ. Biography Falke started out as a bass player before moving to production work. His first record, a collaboratio ...
Full Remix) – 6:18 #"Good Time" (
Wideboys The Wideboys are an English electronic music duo known for club remixes and for their own song "Sambuca", featuring Dennis G on vocals, which reached number 15 in the UK in October 2001. Another top 40 single, "Daddy-O" featuring Shaznay Lewis, ...
Club Remix) – 5:31


Credits and personnel

;Recording * Owl City's vocals recorded at Sky Harbor Studios, Owatonna, Minnesota, United States * Carly Rae Jepsen's vocals recorded at Signalpath Studios, Almonte, Ontario, Canada * The Minneapolis Youth Chorus's vocals recorded at The Terrarium, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States ;Personnel * Adam Youngsongwriter,
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, recording, instruments, Minneapolis Youth Chorus vocal recording, vocals * Matthew Thiessen – songwriter, background vocals * Brian Lee – songwriter * Ted Jensen – mastering *
Carly Rae Jepsen Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After studying musical theatre for most of her school life and while in university, Jepsen garnered mainstream attention after placing third on the fifth season of ...
- vocals * Robert Orton – mixing * Minneapolis Youth Chorus – additional vocals * Ryan Stewart – Carly Rae Jepsen vocal production * Ken Friesen – Carly Rae Jepsen vocal recording


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications and sales


Release history


See also

* List of Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles of 2012 *
List of number-one singles from the 2010s (New Zealand) This is the Recorded Music NZ list of number-one singles in New Zealand during the 2010s decade, starting from Monday 4 January 2010. From 7 November 2014, the chart also included data from audio on demand streaming services. Chart Key : – Nu ...
* List of UK top-ten singles in 2012


References

{{authority control 2012 singles Owl City songs Carly Rae Jepsen songs Number-one singles in New Zealand Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles 604 Records singles Songs written by Adam Young 2012 songs Songs written by Matt Thiessen Interscope Records singles Universal Republic Records singles Songs written by Brian Lee (songwriter) Songs involved in plagiarism controversies Male–female vocal duets Harriman State Park (New York) American dance-pop songs Canadian dance-pop songs