"Good for You" is the lead single from American singer Selena Gomez's second solo studio album, Revival (2015). It features vocals by American rapper ASAP Rocky. The song was written by Gomez and Rocky themselves, alongside fellow American singers Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter, Hector Delgado, and the song's producers Nick Monson and Nolan Lambroza, the latter producing as "Sir Nolan". The song was recorded in January 2015, at both Interscope Studios, based in Santa Monica, California, and Downtown Studios, based in New York City, New York.
Originally, the track was conceived by the writers in 45 minutes, during a session booked by the latter. Gomez then received the song through the trio's A&R and was entirely involved in its creative session, helping to develop it as a representation of her process of self-realization, her confidence as a young woman, and her feelings of vulnerability. After it was reworked by Lambroza, she sent the song to Rocky, who added new instruments and co-produced it with his frequent collaborator Hector Delgado, who was in charge of Rocky's vocal production.
After anticipation by Gomez, "Good for You" was digitally released on June 22, 2015 by Interscope and Polydor Records, serving as Revivals lead single as well as the first song by Gomez to be released through those labels. A torch song, it is a pop and electro-R&B slow jam with hip hop elements that comprises a mellow, low-key snap-drop hip hop beat reminiscent of modern, pitched-down Southern hip hop productions, minor sound bursts, percussion instrumentation, drum machines, airy and transparent synthesizer, and a minimalistic bass. Gomez sings atypically with breathy vocals and a plaintive timbre in the track, which was noted for being her first collaboration with a rapper. Its come-hither lyrics have intensity, psychodrama, self-confidence, and female empowerment as main themes, dealing with pleasing her lover and being the perfect complement for him. Rocky raps his verse at the end of the song, which is written from a male, player perspective and features braggadocio, profanity, and sexual innuendos.
"Good for You" received acclaim from music critics, who praised its minimalistic production, sex appeal and Gomez's vocals, as well as her maturity and artistic growth; some of them, however, had mixed reactions towards Rocky's contribution. Reviewers also compared her vocals to those of Lana Del Rey, Imogen Heap and Lorde, while noting similarities to the works of Del Rey; it was later included in many year-end lists of best songs. Commercially, the song reached the top twenty of countries as Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, New Zealand, and Spain, as well as Czech Republic and Slovakia's digital charts. In the United States, it debuted at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and later peaked at number five, becoming her highest-charting single until 2019 when "Lose You to Love Me" topped the chart, as well reaching Pop Songs' summit, where it became her first song to do so.
Its accompanying music video was directed by Sophie Muller and premiered on Times Square screens on June 26, 2015. The project uses a new and slower version of the song, which omits Rocky's verse and features string instrumentation. Highlighted for its provocative imagery, it follows a low-key premise with Gomez wallowing on several vignettes wearing a number of casual outfits. A second version was later released using the explicit edition of the track and features Rocky rapping his verse with Gomez's scenes and dynamic visuals in the background; new shots also are present in this version. Both videos received positive feedback from critics, who praised Gomez's sensuality and the growth in her artistic imagery, describing the first as her "most intimate" to date and comparing it to Del Rey's works. To promote "Good for You", Gomez made interviews for radios and a few live performances in shows as Today and Taylor Swift's The 1989 World Tour (2015), where she made its first live performance and served as a special guest.
Writing and production
Nick Monson booked a two-hour session with songwriters Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter to adjust one of their compositions. Finishing the adjustment in 45 minutes, they decided to use the remaining time to write another song so that they would not waste the money for the studio time they paid for. "Good for You" was subsequently written in 45 minutes. It began with Monson playing its bassline and putting a snap on it before Michaels freestyled the opening lyric, "I'm on my 14 carats". Her lyrics were influenced by her boyfriend who told her, "Julia, you never write any happy songs for me. It's kind of sad," to which she responded: "Fine, I'll write a good song about you, shut up!". Tranter's lyrics were inspired by their ex-boyfriend who preferred them to dress femme. Upon hearing "Good for You", the trio's A&R told them that the song should be recorded by Selena Gomez, despite Tranter initially thinking the song was "too indie" for her. The A&R sent the track to Gomez who "freaked out", deeming it the artistic direction she had envisioned for her second studio album, Revival (2015). She described the song as "a piece that was just everything I feel a woman should embody, but not in the obvious way" and explained to iHeartRadio: "I think it just sets the tone perfect for the record just because it's sexy, but not trying too hard. The track and everything kind of does it itself. It's sensual, it reps women in a good way. I think it does something to a woman when they look good".
Described by Gomez as "a beautiful start to the album", "Good for You" was the third song she received since signing with her new label Interscope Records, as well the second track to be recorded for the album. It was uninterruptedly recorded in 45 minutes at Interscope Studios in Santa Monica, California; during the process, Gomez's vocals featured cracks as the song "took on this emotion [she] didn't realize [she] could tap into", and at the beginning of the session she was exhausted from pressurizing herself for a sound and concept for the album. According to her, this recording had no beat and was "just a skeleton of a song". There was also no specific sound planned for the song at the time although it was suggested that its soft melodies be made more pop-indebted which Gomez disagreed with, believing it would take away from her vocal. She was entirely involved in the song's creative direction, providing additional songwriting, and helped to develop it to represent her process of self-realization, her confidence as a young woman, and feelings of vulnerability. The song also formed part of a process in which she wanted to portray her story as an artist and as part of a transitional album over which she would take full control. In an interview for MTV, she said this was her time "to embrace who I am, and I'm not going to sit down in a chair and talk about something that doesn't mean anything to me anymore" and spoke about her involvement in the track: "This is the most I've been creatively involved from the writing process ... every single thing I'm even remotely singing about is something I've related to and something I'm hitting the nail on, and I had to pick what was going to represent the album and who I am as a whole".
The song was then reworked by Nolan Lambroza who increased its tempo. Initially, there was no plan for the song to feature another artist. A fan of hip hop, Gomez felt constrained from incorporating the genre and collaborating with rappers on her previous releases due to her age and young fanbase. However, for her second album, she reconsidered. Also a fan of R&B, Gomez noticed that "Good for You" shared similarities to the genres, specifically in tempo and felt that it was the sound the song should have. At the time, she was also a fan of rapper ASAP Rocky's 2015 album At. Long. Last. ASAP — whose love she cited as "influent" [sic] in her decision to collaborate with him —, and thought "Good for You" had a vibe that was suited to Rocky's music. The rapper's participation happened organically; Gomez texted Rocky and sent him the song after receiving his contact details through Lambroza and her management. Rocky responded positively, having "literally loved" it and recording a verse the next day at Downtown Studios in New York City, New York. His vocals were produced by frequent collaborator Hector Delgado. This was the first time Gomez had collaborated with a rapper on one of her tracks. She also insisted that Rocky should experiment with the song beyond a rap verse. Consequently, he and Delgado co-produced it and added beats, instruments, as well additional bass and snares. Although this is a pop song, Rocky still used the same production process from his music. In an interview for MTV News, he explained: "You just go in. Go for the kill. I mean, it wasn't the type of song you try to go into... It was just like me telling her, you sure you wanna go here with me? I gotta change the beat. I gotta talk my shit. My jiggy shit". Talking about Rocky's contribution, Gomez said: "I was totally prepared for a 'No, I'm good, thank you', it was so great and he changed some of the production of the song, which made it better, and I let him have like full-on freedom with everything, it was really fun".
Release and artwork Originally, "Good for You" was not intended to be the lead single from Revival. Michaels and Tranter thought the song would "never be a single in a million years", and was better suited as an album track, though Gomez insisted: "Nope, this is my first single, motherfucker". Interscope CEO John Janick also questioned its strength as a lead single, as well as Gomez's collaboration with Rocky, which he felt may be perceived as odd. Gomez did not want the lead single to be "the obvious, huge song", and instead wanted it to set the tone for Revival and a new phase in her artistry. In an interview for iHeartRadio, she explained: "I have become more comfortable with my sexuality, and who I am, and my body, and I feel really proud of that. That's why it was the one to kick off the album". As a result, besides serving as the first single from the album, the song also was the first by Gomez to be released through Interscope and Polydor Records. She created anticipation for its release, posting several teasers in her Instagram account. On June 12, 2015, Gomez announced that the song would be released ten days later.
On June 17, 2015, a radio host from KDND stated that "Good for You" would be featuring ASAP Rocky. On the next day, On June 18, 2015, Gomez posted a short spoken-word snippet which music journalists widely speculated to be the song's intro. In the snippet, Gomez said: "But I'm blinded by the sun. I'm reborn at every moment, so who knows what I'll become?" A heavy bass beat featured for a few seconds before the snippet, in which Gomez captioned, "I feel like I can exhale". According to Christina Garibaldi of MTV News the snippet echoed an earlier statement Gomez made on Instagram where she said her listeners would learn the truth about what she had been experiencing on her upcoming album. On June 20, 2015, the song leaked online. On June 22, 2015, "Good for You" received its radio premiere across all iHeartRadio contemporary hit radio stations at 06:00 EST (11:00 UTC) — which also played the track at the top of every hour in that day —, and was released as a digital download at 00:00 EST (05:00 UTC). The websites of these stations, as well iHeart.com, made it available on-demand. "Good for You" impacted contemporary hit radio in the United States on June 23, 2015, being added to rhythmic contemporary playlists on July 7, 2015. An explicit version of the song was released on August 19, 2015, and a download digital containing three remixes was available for purchase on September 9. On the following 23, the Phanthoms Remix was digitally released.