"Kiss a Girl" is a song recorded by Australian

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

. It was released in March 2009 as the second single from his 2009 album '' Defying Gravity''. The song reached number three on the US ''

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 ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart. The song also became his highest peak on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 16, and his only top 20 on that chart to date. Urban co-wrote this song with

Monty Powell Monty Powell (born June 1, 1961) is an American country music songwriter best known for collaborating with Keith Urban, and for producing albums by Diamond Rio. Powell's first songwriting credit was a jingle for an Allstate commercial. After mov ...

. Along with eventual ''Idol'' winner

Kris Allen Kristopher Neil Allen (born June 21, 1985) is an American singer and songwriter from Conway, Arkansas, and the winner of the eighth season of ''American Idol''. Prior to ''Idol'', he self-released a 2007 album, ''Brand New Shoes''. Allen's ...

, Urban performed the song live during the finale of the eighth season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' on 20 May 2009.

Content

"Kiss a Girl" is a moderate up-tempo song in which the male narrator expresses a desire to fall in love with a female.

Critical reception

Thom Jurek of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

cited "Kiss a Girl" as a standout track on the album, calling it a "tight little rocker". He said that it and "Sweet Thing", the album's first single, "are 21st century equivalents of rock & roll love songs." Jonathan Keefe of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' described the song unfavorably, saying that it was a retread of his previous single " Sweet Thing", which itself was described as a retread of Urban's earlier material.

Music videos

Both a finalised and a promotional music video for "Kiss a Girl" are available for view on CMT and were both directed by

Chris Hicky Chris Hicky is a writer/director from Forrest City, Arkansas, United States, best known for directing many of Keith Urban's videos. Hicky has also directed videos for many other artists in the country music genre, including Dierks Bentley, Madd ...

Promotional video

The promotional video for the song premiered in April 2009 on CMT's website. It consists of Urban and his band performing in front of a green screen. Some of these scenes were later edited and included the TV video.

Official video

The official video was found on

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on 25 May 2009. It consists of Urban and the band performing in an animated city. Also included is two people who eventually find each other and fall in love. At the end, the ferris wheel they ride displays "KISS" on each car, a reference to the song's title.

Track listing

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

{{authority control Songs about kissing 2009 singles Keith Urban songs Song recordings produced by Dann Huff Songs written by Monty Powell Songs written by Keith Urban Capitol Records Nashville singles Music videos directed by Chris Hicky 2009 songs