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Yes, Carrie Underwood is primarily a country artist, but here, on the lead single from her upcoming fourth studio album, she heads into territory that straddles three genres. While you can still hear instrumentation from her country roots, "Good Girl" crackles with rock guitar and vocal fireworks while encouraging audience participation with a singalong chorus that is pure pop.

This has always been territory that Carrie Underwood finds comfortable live. Look for "Good Girl" to aim toward multi-format smash hit territory.

Pros

• Rock edged production
• Carrie Underwood's solid, fiery vocals
• Pop chorus

Cons

• Feels somewhat calculated

Description

• Written by Chris DeStefano and Ashley Gorley
• Produced by Mark Bright
• Released February 2012 by Sony Nashville

Guide Review - Carrie Undwerwood - "Good Girl"

Country music's gain from Carrie Underwood's decision to head in their direction following her American Idol season 4 victory has always been pop music's loss. She is a top level vocal talent with a stellar presence as a live performer. That has brought her three consecutive #1 country albums and a string of 14 singles that have reached either #1 or #2. Eight of those singles and all of the albums have been certified platinum. The one time that she landed in the top 10 at pop radio with "Before He Cheats," the result was triple platinum sales. Now, Carrie Underwood looks to be aiming at the pop market once again while keeping her country fans happy.

"Good Girl" kicks off with a rock mix of drums, guitar and handclaps while she digs into a rock-edged vocal rasp. Soon, the pop chorus kicks in and, if you listen closely, the guitars take on a bit of a country twang. There is brilliant production work here from long time Carrie Underwood collaborator Mark Bright. Lyrically, "Good Girl" warns a woman that the man she has selected is not all that she hopes for. She is a "good girl," but he's not the man she deserves. A rock guitar solo fills out the bridge.

Adele proved this past year that high quality recordings can still appeal to a broad range of radio formats. "Rolling In the Deep" set a new record for charting on the most different radio charts. Carrie Underwood and her crew seem to have been paying attention. "Good Girl" is a clear effort to expand her audience and blur the lines between country, pop, and rock. It is a pleasing performance. Carrie Underwood is the kind of talent that can succeed with the most wide reaching set of music fans possible.