Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (Good Charlotte song)

This article is about the Good Charlotte song. For the television series, see Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
"Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous"
Single by Good Charlotte
from the album The Young and the Hopeless
Released September 6, 2002
Format CD single
Recorded 2001–2002
Genre Pop punk[1]
Length 3:10
Label Epic
Writer(s) Benji Madden, Joel Madden, Tim Armstrong
Producer(s) Eric Valentine
Good Charlotte singles chronology
"Festival Song"
(2001)		 "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous"
(2002)		 "The Anthem"
(2003)

"Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" is a song written by Benji Madden, Joel Madden and Tim Armstrong for Good Charlotte's second studio album The Young and the Hopeless. It was released as the first single from the album in late 2002 in the United States and in early 2003 for the worldwide market. Upon its release the single reached a peak position of number 20 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and charted in the top 40 in a number of European countries.

Background and writing

The basic concept of the song is the global obsession with fame and the way that celebrities are not appreciative of how fortunate they are.

The song has references to a number of celebrities within the lyrics. Johnnie Cochran, a famous attorney who represented (amongst others) stars such as O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown. He is mentioned in the lines "Well did you know when you're famous you could kill your wife / and there's no such thing as 25 to life / as long as you got the cash to pay for Cochran." A former mayor of Washington, D.C., Marion Barry – who was convicted on drug charges – is also mentioned in the lyrics: "and did you know if you were caught and you were smokin' crack / McDonald's wouldn't even wanna take you back / you could always just run for mayor of D.C."

Music video

The music video features cameo appearances from Kyle Gass; former 'N Sync singer Chris Kirkpatrick; and Mike Watt, the bass player for various bands. All three musicians appear in the courtroom scene - Gass plays the prosecutor while Kirkpatrick plays the witness "Chadwick Merryweather Hardy III". Watt plays the Jury foreman. The dog questioned in the video is Benji & Joel's dog, Ca$hdogg. The Southern California rock band Lefty, who had been touring with Good Charlotte also make a cameo appearance. This video premiered in September 2002 on MTV.

Track listing

  1. "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous"
  2. "The Anthem" (Demo Version)
  3. "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" (Live Acoustic Version)
  4. "Cemetery" (Live Acoustic Version)

Reception

In a largely negative review of The Young and the Hopeless, Sputnik Music called this particular song "the worst choice for a lead single that I have ever seen." The reviewer goes on to write "The terrible lyrics are totally contradictory to Good Charlotte's attitude. As kids, all they wanted to do was "make it" and become famous. And when they have their first taste of success, what do they do? They make a song about how shallow famous people are!". However the reviewer finished on a slightly more positive note by saying "The song's only saving grace is the tempo change in the music during the chorus after the bridge...but they ruin that by going back to the same pace for the last chorus."[2]

Charts

Charts (2002) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[3] 17
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[4] 24
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 37
Germany (Official German Charts)[6] 27
Ireland (IRMA)[7] 21
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[8] 22
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[9] 14
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] 19
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[11] 8
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 20
US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales[13] 22
US Billboard Top 40 Mainstream[14] 6
US Billboard Top 40 Tracks[15] 11
US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay[16] 20
US Billboard Adult Top 40[17] 38
US Billboard Alternative Songs[18] 11

Certifications

Country Sales Certification
Australia 35,000 Gold[19]

The song has appeared in various aspects of popular culture since its initial release:

Awards

"Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" won the "Viewer's Choice Award" at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2003. It also won the Kerrang! Award for Best Single.

References

  1. ↑ Rose, Ethan. "Best Early 2000s Pop Punk Songs". Rant Hollywood. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Good Charlotte - The Young and the Hopeless Review". Sputnik Music. 19 July 2006. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  3. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Good Charlotte – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  4. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Good Charlotte – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  5. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Good Charlotte – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  6. ↑ "Musicline.de – Good Charlotte Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  7. ↑ Irish Top 50 Chart. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
  8. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Good Charlotte search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  9. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Good Charlotte – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". Singles Top 100.
  10. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Good Charlotte – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". Swiss Singles Chart.
  11. ↑ UK Top 75 Chart. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
  12. ↑ Hot 100 Chart. Retrieved November 17, 2007. Archived July 19, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ↑ Hot Singles Sales Chart. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
  14. ↑ Top 40 Mainstream Chart. Retrieved November 17, 2007. Archived July 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ↑ Top 40 Tracks Chart. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
  16. ↑ Hot 100 Airplay Chart. Retrieved November 17, 2007. Archived June 13, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
  17. ↑ Adult Top 40 Chart. Retrieved November 17, 2007. Archived June 13, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
  18. ↑ Hot Modern Rock Tracks Chart. Retrieved November 17, 2007. Archived September 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  19. ↑ ARIA Australia
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