Good Ones

## Audio

**Good Ones** is a single by Charli XCX. It was released on September 2nd, 2021, and it's the first single from Charli's 5th studio album *Crash*. It serves as the 3rd track for the album.

## Background

The song was announced by Charli on August 2nd, 2021 on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok with a picture of the single art and a behind-the-scenes video, also including a link to pre-order the track.  That same day, the credits of the track were announced by iTunes, revealing that the song is 2:17 minutes long, and it's written by Charli, Caroline Ailin and Noonie Bao.

On August 8th, Charli posted a 30-second snippet of the song on TikTok.  A week later, she posted another snippet of the song featuring the behind-the-scenes of a photoshoot of herself sitting on a grave which had the date "March 18, 2022", probably related with the release of the album.  On August 16th, it was confirmed that there will be a music video and it will be directed by Hannah Lux Davis, and a behind the scenes clip was posted on TikTok.  On August 20th, a teaser of the music video was posted on social media.  From that day to September 1st, various snippets of the track were teased by Charli, until it was finally released, along a music video, that was teased with a 30-second trailer.

The song debuted live on September 27th on Los Angeles, for the first show of the How I'm Feeling Now Tour, on October 6th, the track was performed for the Jimmy Fallon Tonight Show.

## Theme

In an exclusive interview for People, Charli said the single was about *"self-destruction and pushing away the people who love you the most because you can't really deal and accept the love. [...] I think it's something that definitely I've struggled within relationships and romantic encounters and just chasing destruction, I suppose,"* Charli admits. *"So that's kind of what the song is about, but on top of that, it's also just a banger which is cool."*

## Leak History

* August 12th, 2021: Full song leaks in medium quality.
* September 4th, 2021: Instrumental leaks in high quality.
* December 24th 2023: Original demo with bridge leaks in high quality.

## Music Video

The music video was uploaded on YouTube an hour after the single release. It featured Charli presenting to a funeral with background dancers, dancing in the ground during a burial, laying down on a grave with her own name on it, and concluding with her falling to the ground during a banquet. The video was shot in Club de Los Niños y Niñas, México, and it was directed by Hannah Lux Davis.

## Lyrics

[Intro]

I let the good ones go

I let the good ones go

(And baby you couldn't have loved me any better, better, better)

I let the good ones go

(But doin' this is all that I've ever known ever, ever, ever)

I let the good ones go

[Verse 1]

I wish you gave me a reason

That you were better at leavin'

That you got your kicks from seeing me low

I always let the good ones go

Don't want thе kisses, unless they'rе bitter

I'm hooked on touches, that leave me weaker

I swear that I love nothing more than broke

I always let the good ones go

[Pre-Chorus]

And baby you couldn't have loved me any better

Been doin' this is all that I've known ever

I want the bad ones, 'cause they're all I know

I always let the good ones go

[Chorus]

I always let the good ones go-ooh

I let the good ones go-ooh

I let the good ones

[Verse 2]

Let you down easy, I'm trying

'Cause you're everything I've spent my whole life fighting

So when I walk away, it's not your fault

I always let the good ones, go

[Pre-Chorus]

And baby you couldn't have loved me any better

Been doin' this is all that I've known ever

I want the bad ones, 'cause they're all I know

I always let the good ones go

[Chorus]

I always let the good ones go-ooh (Oh, oh)

I let the good ones go-ooh (Yeah, yeah)

I let the good ones go-ooh

[Outro]

(And baby you couldn't have loved me any better, better, better)

I let the good ones go-ooh

(But doin' this is all that I've ever known ever, ever, ever)

I let the good ones go (Good ones go)

## Trivia

* The day before the release of the single, if you tweeted "#GOODONES", you would be able to see a snippet of the music video.
* The date of the announcement of the single, August 2nd, was Charli's 29th birthday.
* Charli tried feature American singer Ava Max on the song, but Max declined because she was in a relationship at the time and didn't connect with the lyrics.
* The song is known to have a version with an intro (leaked shortly after release) and a version with an entirely new bridge and chorus (leaked later on). It is speculated that both versions were cut due to her label wanting a shorter length to boost streams.

## References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/charli\_xcx/status/1422212028362641415
2. ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/@charlixcx/video/6991885364583533829?lang=en&is\_copy\_url=0&is\_from\_webapp=v1&sender\_device=pc&sender\_web\_id=6931458928724248069
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/FckyeahCharli/status/1422257315256971267
4. ↑ https://twitter.com/FckyeahCharli/status/1424409361003302912
5. ↑ https://twitter.com/FckyeahCharli/status/1426992004043575306
6. ↑ https://twitter.com/FckyeahCharli/status/1427305895768244230
7. ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/@charlixcx/video/6996738152916405509?lang=en&is\_copy\_url=0&is\_from\_webapp=v1&sender\_device=pc&sender\_web\_id=6931458928724248069
8. ↑ https://twitter.com/charli\_xcx/status/1428748723501273103
9. ↑ https://twitter.com/charli\_xcx/status/1433105138080694281
10. ↑ https://people.com/music/charli-xcx-talks-new-album-ready-for-danger-disruption-transformation/
11. ↑ https://twitter.com/charli\_xcx/status/1433082307641061380