Goodbye

"Goodbye"
Single by Kristinia DeBarge
from the album Exposed
Released	April 7, 2009 (2009-04-07) (see release history)
Format	Digital download, CD single
Recorded	2008
Genre	Dance-pop, R&B
Length	3:29
Label	Soda Pop, Island
Writer(s)	Eric Dawkins, Gary DeCarlo, Antonio Dixon, Dale Frashuer, Paul Leka, Adonis Shropshire, Damon Thomas
Producer	The Pentagon, Babyface
Kristinia DeBarge singles chronology
"Goodbye" (2009) "Sabotage" (2009)
Audio sample file info · help

"Goodbye" is the debut single from American recording artist Kristinia DeBarge from her debut studio album Exposed. It was released digitally in the United States on April 7, 2009, to U.S. radio on April 28, 2009, and in the UK on August 10, 2009. A music video was released to promote the song, which features DeBarge and her friends stealing her ex-boyfriend's car and driving to various locations, including a house party.

The song received mixed critical reviews; it was praised for being "enjoyably trashy" and a "stomping smash," but it was also criticized for being "[u]nimaginative" and making DeBarge sound "faceless." It achieved some commercial success, peaking in the top forty in Sweden and the top twenty in Canada and the United States, but it fared better as a dance single, peaking at number three on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

The song contains a sample of Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye".^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Track listing

Remixes [2] released July 7, 2009

1. Goodbye [DJ PAULO Club Mix]
2. Goodbye [Mike Rizzo Funk Generation Dub (Vinyl Edit)]
3. Goodbye [Hott 22 Dub (Vinyl Edit)]

Critical reception

"Goodbye" received generally mixed reviews from critics. Glenn Gamboa of Newsday said that "DeBarge comes across as a streetwise Jordin Sparks" on the "stomping smash."^[7] People called the song "an undeniable dance-pop confection."^[2] Time said that the song is "so enjoyably trashy, it's a wonder no one thought of it before."^[4] Bill Lamb of About.com gave a mixed review of the song, praising DeBarge for her "pleasant voice," but criticized the song's "[u]nimaginative use of the classic hook" from Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye," and also noted that DeBarge's "Rihanna-esque" vocal stylings made her "sound faceless."^[5] Nick Levine of Digital Spy said, "Like a low calorie chocolate bar, 'Goodbye' is sweet enough in the moment, but it doesn't have enough substance to leave you feeling really satisfied."^[6] Meanwhile, upon the song's UK release, noted R&B writer Pete Lewis of the 'Blues & Soul' referred to it as "a punchy, upbeat single whose hook prominently samples the familiar hook from Steam's 1969 American Number One 'Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Godbye'".^[8]

Music video

DeBarge in the music video.

A music video, directed by Ray Kay, was released to promote the song. It starts with DeBarge and her friends watching her ex-boyfriend park his car, which they then steal after he leaves it. DeBarge then flirts with several other men, including those she meets while at a restaurant and bicycling on a sidewalk, and enters their numbers into her cell phone. She is then seen at a house party, dancing around with party-goers. At the end of the video, her ex-boyfriend attends the party. When she sees him, she gives him the peace sign with her fingers and leaves. This video is also nominated for the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards for the Best Choreography in a Video.

Chart performance

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

• The official website of Kristinia DeBarge