All-American Girl (song)

Infobox Single
Name = All-American Girl
Artist = Carrie Underwood
from Album = Carnival Ride
B-side =
Released = December 18, 2007 (U.S.) [ [http://gfa.radioandrecords.com/PublishGFA/GFANextPage.asp?sDate=12/17/2007&Format=4 R&R :: Going For Adds :: Country ] ]
Format = CD single, digital download
Recorded = 2007
Genre = Country pop
Length = 3:32
Label = Arista Nashville
Writer = Carrie Underwood, Ashley Gorley, Kelley Lovelace
Producer =
Certification =
Last single = "So Small"
(2007)
This single = "All-American Girl"
(2007)
Next single = "Last Name"
(2008)
Misc = External music video|" [http://www.cmt.com/videos/carrie-underwood/205307/all-american-girl.jhtml All-American Girl] " at CMT.com"All-American Girl" is a song composed by fourth-season "American Idol" winner turned Grammy-winning country pop singer Carrie Underwood, Ashley Gorley and Kelley Lovelace. It is the second single from Underwood's second studio album, "Carnival Ride", released in the United States on December 17, 2007. (See 2007 in country music).

Background

"All-American Girl" is the second single for which Underwood shares a writing credit, the first being "So Small", which preceded it. The song is a mid-tempo country-pop song, with a soaring chorus. Underwood stated in an issue of "Entertainment Weekly" that the high note during the bridge in the song is the highest note she has ever hit. [ [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20152857_2,00.html Carrie Underwood: A very private 'Idol' speaks out | Carrie Underwood | Cover Story Q&A | Music | Entertainment Weekly | 2 ] ]

The song centers around a "beautiful, wonderful, perfect all-American girl." The first verse tells the story of a father hoping for a baby boy to continue his legacy, but "when the nurse came in with a little pink blanket, all those big dreams changed". The baby girl now has her father "wrapped around her finger", and his heart belongs to that "all-American girl." The second verse then shifts to 16 years later when the girl is now a teenager who falls for the "senior football star." Just like the girl's father, she becomes the center of the boy's world. The final bridge tells of when the girl and boy get married and are expecting "one of their own". When she asks the boy what he's hoping for he replies with "one just like you": an "all-American girl." Underwood said the song is in part her autobiography. [ [http://www.fox28.com/News/index.php?ID=30410 News:: ] ]

The song's current digital sales in the U.S. stand at more than 700,000 [ [http://blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/ Idol Chatter: American Idol News, Rumors & Information – USATODAY.com ] ] .

Music video

The video, which premiered January 23, 2008, was directed by Roman White. The video features several different scenes of Carrie in different outfits behind different backgrounds, such as a swimmer, an artist, a nurse, a photographer, a cowgirl, a waitress, a ballerina, a chef, a veterinarian, a mother, a football player, a police officer, a graduate, a bride, an astronaut, a firefighter, a soldier, a surgeon, and the President of the United States. While dressed as a college student, Carrie wears a sweatshirt bearing the Greek letters for Sigma Sigma Sigma, the sorority to which she belongs in real life. The scenes also correlate with the lyrics, such as at the beginning of the song, she is in a wedding gown and the second verse she is dressed up like a cheerleader. She also pokes fun at her "Before He Cheats" video. When she is a newsperson the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma is used as the background image and at the corner you can see a picture of the beatup truck and "Local Crime Spree." Also at the bottom, the newsline says "Truck vandalized in local city garage. Suspect wearing black leather jacket & sunglasses and carrying a Louisville Slugger Bat." At the end of the video she is dressed up in the exact same clothing as she was in the "Before He Cheats" video, and is standing in front of the garage with a bat. Scenes of her in an orange room wearing casual clothes are woven into the video. This also broke a record on the CMT Top 20 Countdown by being number one for 10 weeks, more than any other country music artist.

Chart performance

The following table lists the current peak positions for "All-American Girl" on the major "Billboard" charts. The song has so far reached #27 on the Hot 100, becoming Underwood's seventh career Hot 100 top forty single. 'All-American Girl' debuted at #58 on the country charts. It has also reached #1 on Hot Country Songs and spent 2 weeks at the top, making it Underwood's fourth consecutive Number One on that chart, and her fifth overall. It is her first #1 to spend less than 3 weeks at the top of the chart. It spent 5 weeks at number 1 on Canada's Country Chart proving to be a big hit there. "All American Girl" also did well in Asia market, being her 2nd #1 hit there (The first was 'Don't Forget To Remember Me', which topped MTV Asia chart for 2 weeks), and her third top ten single there (after 'Don't forget to Remember Me' and 'Ever Ever After'). Although the song has sold more than 700,000 downloads, it hasn't been certificated Gold.. [ [http://blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/2008/07/jordin-takes-a.html?loc=interstitialskip Jordin takes a 'Step' forward on download chart] ]

References