American Girl (Bonnie McKee song)

"American Girl" is a single by American pop music singer and songwriter Bonnie McKee. The song was written by McKee, Jon Asher, Josh Abraham, Oliver Goldstein, Alex Drury, and Jacknife Lee. It was produced by Abraham and Goldstein, with additional production by Matt Rad and vocal production and engineering by Sean Walsh. It was released on July 23, 2013 as the first single from her upcoming second studio album.

"American Girl"
Single by Bonnie McKee
Released	July 23, 2013
Recorded	2013
Genre	Bubblegum pop electropop[1]
Length	3:43
Label	Kemosabe Epic
Songwriter(s)	Bonnie McKee Jon Asher Oliver Goldstein Alex Drury Jacknife Lee
Producer(s)	Goldstein Josh Abraham
Bonnie McKee singles chronology
"Somebody" (2004) "American Girl" (2013) "Bombastic" (2015)

Release

McKee made the song available for free download through her official website after fans "liked" her Facebook page.[2] The song was released to iTunes worldwide on July 23, 2013, preceding the release of McKee's 2015 Bombastic EP which doesn't feature the song.

Reception

Dylan Mial of BlogCritics gave the song a positive review, saying "It's impossible to refrain from any head-bopping or foot-tapping while listening to this bubblegum-pop summer tune. 'American Girl' is this year's summer anthem!".[3] Bradley Stern of Muumuse gave the song a positive review, saying "American Girl might as well be the next single in waiting from Teenage Dream or Ke$ha's Warrior, full of punchy, guitar-driven hooks, slamming synthesizers and supremely crafted earworm melodies. It's big, beautiful and bold — just like a song called 'American Girl' should sound. Bonnie better start packing her bags, 'cause she's heading to the top of the charts again. But this time, she's going up all on her own".[4]

Credits and personnel

• Bonnie McKee - lead vocals, background vocals, songwriting
• Jon Asher - writing
• Oliver Goldstein - writing, production
• Alex Drury - writing
• Jacknife Lee - writing
• Josh Abraham - production

Music video

A promotional lip-sync video was released to YouTube on June 26, 2013 for the release of the song.[5] The video features several celebrities, including Macklemore, Carly Rae Jepsen, Kiss, Katy Perry, Karmin, Kesha, Tommy Lee, Jenny McCarthy, Adam Lambert, Joan Rivers, Kelly Osbourne, Giuliana Rancic, George Kotsiopoulos, Jason Derulo, Jewel, Kathy Griffin, Jane Lynch, Nicole Scherzinger, George Takei, Lance Bass, Taio Cruz, Becky G, Ty Murray, and Justin Tranter.[2][6] The official music video for "American Girl" was directed by Justin Francis, and premiered on McKee's Vevo channel on July 22, 2013, and has been viewed more than 33 million times.[6] McKee stated during her Ustream chat on July 1, 2013 that the music video was inspired by the film Spring Breakers. "It was inspired by Spring Breakers... We steal a car, go to the mall and other American stuff. I also dance a lot." MTV said about the video: "Bonnie, [with] her OFF THE CHAIN orange creamsicle-colored hair, and a few pals hang out on the curb drinking Slurpees (presumably mixed with alcohol) while making eyes at a hunky bro. After hitting up a 7-Eleven for some snacks, the girls settle in for a pool day, complete with plastic water toys and tons of skimpy bikini action."[6] Comparisons were drawn between the video for "American Girl" and Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream",[6] which McKee co-wrote.

Live performances

McKee first performed "American Girl" at Hotel Café on May 20, 2013, and later in KISS-FM on July 2, 2013. She also performed "American Girl" on Good Morning America on August 13, 2013.[7] She performed "American Girl" on October 12, 2013 at Atlanta Pride at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia.[8] She also performed the song on Karmin's Pulses Tour.

Chart performance

"American Girl" was McKee's first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The song debuted at number 100 and peaked at number 87 five weeks later. As of January 2015, "American Girl" has sold over 300,000 copies in the US.

Chart (2013)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[9]	51
Australia Hitseekers (ARIA)[9]	1
Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[10]	44
Canada Hot AC (Billboard)[11]	44
Germany (Official German Charts)[12]	82
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13]	39
South Korea (Gaon International Chart)[14]	41
US Billboard Hot 100[15]	87
US Heatseekers Songs (Billboard)[16]	10
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[17]	37
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[18]	24

References

1. "Watch Bonnie McKee's cameo-filled 'American Girl' video". latimes.com.
2. O'Mance, Brad (June 26, 2013). "Bonnie McKee's new song 'American Girl' is now online as a free download". Popjustice. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
3. Mial, Dylan. "Music Review: Bonnie McKee – "American Girl"". blogcritics. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
4. Stern, Bradley. "Bonnie McKee's "American Girl": The Grand Return Of A Songwriting Superstar". Muumuse. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
5. Video on YouTube
6. Rubenstein, Jenna Hally (July 23, 2013). "New Video: Bonnie McKee, 'American Girl'". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
7. http://www.idolator.com/7477578/bonnie-mckee-american-girl-good-morning-america
8. "ATLANTA PRIDE ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL TALENT PERFORMANCES". Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
9. ARIA Report. ARIA. 16 September 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
10. Canada CHR/Top 40 : Sep 14, 2013. Billboard biz. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
11. Canada Hot AC : Aug 31, 2013. Billboard biz. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bonnie McKee – American Girl". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
13. "Charts.nz – Bonnie McKee – American Girl". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
14. GAON DIGITAL CHART (in Korean). gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
15. "Bonnie McKee Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
16. Bonnie Mckee - Chart history for Heatseekers Songs. Billboard biz. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
17. "Bonnie McKee Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
18. "Bonnie McKee Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2013.