Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (Good Charlotte song)

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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"
GoodCharlotteLOTRATF.jpg
Single by Good Charlotte
from the album The Young and the Hopeless
ReleasedAugust 13, 2002
Recorded2002
GenrePop punk[1]
Length3:10
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)
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 of number 20 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and charted within the top 40 in several European countries, Australia, and New Zealand.

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 lyrics refer to a number of celebrities. 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 Tenacious D's Kyle Gass, former 'N Sync singer Chris Kirkpatrick, and Minutemen bassist Mike Watt. 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.[citation needed] This video premiered in September 2002 on MTV.

Charts[]

Weekly charts[]

Chart (2002–03) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[2] 17
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[3] 24
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] 37
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[5] 18
Germany (Official German Charts)[6] 27
Ireland (IRMA)[7] 20
Italy (FIMI)[8] 48
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[9] 22
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 23
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11] 33
Scotland (OCC)[12] 9
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 14
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 19
UK Singles (OCC)[15] 8
UK Rock and Metal (OCC)[16] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 20
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[18] 38
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[19] 11
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[20] 6

Year-end charts[]

Chart (2002) Position
Australia (ARIA)[21] 77

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[22] Gold 35,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] Gold 400,000double-dagger

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

In popular culture[]

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

  • The song was heard in the 2003 film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.
  • A version of the song was used as the theme music for the Glenn Beck Program early in the 2004 presidential election season, but due to political differences with Good Charlotte, Beck was forced to replace the song with an edited version of Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name".
  • "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" was heard on an episode of the American television show Drake & Josh in 2004, when Drake and Josh turned on the radio in their dune buggy, and the song's chorus was playing.
  • Parody band Apologetix produced a version on the song based on the events in Luke Chapter 16 in the Bible, named "Lifestyles of the Rich & Nameless".

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. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Good Charlotte – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  3. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Good Charlotte – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  4. ^ "Ultratop.be – Good Charlotte – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  5. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 21 no. 11. March 8, 2003. p. 11. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  6. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Good Charlotte – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  7. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  8. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Good Charlotte – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". Top Digital Download.
  9. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Good Charlotte" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  10. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Good Charlotte – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  11. ^ "Charts.nz – Good Charlotte – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". Top 40 Singles.
  12. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  13. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Good Charlotte – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". Singles Top 100.
  14. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Good Charlotte – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". Swiss Singles Chart.
  15. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  16. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  17. ^ "Good Charlotte Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  18. ^ "Good Charlotte Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  19. ^ "Good Charlotte Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  20. ^ "Good Charlotte Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  21. ^ "2002 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  22. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  23. ^ "British single certifications – Good Charlotte – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 21, 2021.

External links[]

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