Good News (Megan Thee Stallion album)

Seven months later, in October 2020, she provided more insight into the album-making process, including posting pictures with frequent producer LilJuMadeDaBeat, and also first acknowledging that her album was under production, tweeting on October 17, 2020, "My album abt to go crazy".^[9] At that time, she was awaiting two more features to finalize the recording process.^[10] She also stated that she used the time during quarantine to write and record for her album.^[11] About the recording process, she said: "When I'm by myself, that's when my creativity comes to me. The whole album was basically written in the living room, the shower, the backyard—just visualise it with me."^[12] She officially announced the album through social media on November 12,^[13][14] followed by the reveal of its tracklist on November 17.^[15]

Music and lyrics

On Good News, Megan Thee Stallion raps about

The second track, "Circles", was described as "one of [Megan's] signature bad b*tch anthems", and sees her rapping over a sample of Jazmine Sullivan's 2010 single "Holding You Down (Goin' in Circles)", with lyrics that exhibit Megan's resiliency.^[20][21] "Cry Baby" featuring DaBaby has been described as a "slow, tick-tock-ing" song with a "haunting backing track", revolving around Megan and DaBaby's active sex lives.^[16][17] "Sugar Baby" was described as "bluesy [and] brassy"; a track that sees Megan "transcend sweetness" with lyrics that see her "imploring her cheapskate lover to save his money for the future".^[16][22]

"Freaky Girls" featuring

"Don't Rock Me to Sleep" features Megan singing about "moving on from a relationship" while "taking a shot at pop success".[20]^[21] "Outside" was described as a "fun, celebratory record" and a "sing-song tune in a nice contrast from [Megan's] harder-hitting tracks" that was backed by an "electronic piano motif" sampled from "Something in My Heart" from the 1989 eponymous album by R&B singer Michel'le.^[24][21] "Savage Remix", which features Beyoncé, goes through "minuscule instrumental changes" from the original, with the remix being called "essentially an entirely new song, with the exception of the chorus which has remained the same", lyrically. Beyoncé's verse was noted to include subtle references to women's empowerment.^[27][28][29] "Girls in the Hood" samples "Boyz-n-the-Hood" by Eazy-E and has been described as a "minimal 80s gangsta rap".^[24] The album closes with "Don't Stop" featuring fellow rapper Young Thug, which is a hip hop track with a "punchy electronic beat", with sex-positive lyrics.^[30][27]

Singles

"

"Don't Stop" featuring Young Thug, was released along with a music video directed by Colin Tilley on October 2, 2020, as the second single from the album. It charted at number 61 on the Billboard Global 200. Megan performed the track with Young Thug during her Saturday Night Live debut on the season premiere of the 46th season of the show.^[34][35][36]

"Body" was released as the third single alongside a music video directed by Colin Tilley on November 20, 2020, coinciding with the release of the album.^[37][38] It was written while Megan was in quarantine and is inspired by her figure, and its music video features cameos from various celebrities, including Taraji P. Henson, Blac Chyna, and Jordyn Woods, among others.^[39]

The third track on the album "Cry Baby" featuring DaBaby was serviced to rhythmic and urban contemporary radio on February 3, 2021, as the album's fourth single. The song's official music video also premiered the same day and features a cameo from Instagram comedian BlameItonKway. The single reached number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Other songs

"Savage (Remix)" featuring Beyoncé, was released on April 29, 2020. Commercially, the single has accumulated over 3 million units in the US. It became Megan's first number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.^{[40][41] [42]} A music video for the song "Movie" featuring Lil Durk premiered on April 15, 2021.^[43]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Consequence of Sound	B+[48]
Exclaim!	8/10[49]
Evening Standard	[50]
Gigwise	[51]
The Guardian	[24]
MusicOMH	[52]
NME	[17]
Pitchfork	7.8/10[53]
Rolling Stone	[54]

Good News was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album has an average score of 85 based on 14 reviews.^[45]

Mikael Wood of Los Angeles Times deemed Good News the most impressive debut album of 2020 and described the rapper's voice as one of "the most authoritative voices in hip-hop," which ultimately "gives her music a rock-solid center that suits her fixed subject matter."^[55] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian noted that the album highlighted that Megan is "phenomenal at what she does," and further described her talents as "a moveable feast".^[24] Robin Murray of Clash wrote that "Good News is the sound of Megan Thee Stallion pushing against the boundaries and an album overwhelming in its creative intensity". Apart from hailing it a "late contender of the Album of the Year", Murray stated that "the album emphasises the riveting nature of her self-expression, and her canny ear as a cultural curator".^[22] At Evening Standard, David Smyth attributed the album as "money, sex, single entendres, graphic imagery and a bulletproof self-confidence", adding that Megan has "amassed tonnes of both, and shared every vivid detail of the process in her sparse, old school songs".^[50] A. D. Amorosi of Variety wrote that the album is "focused on fun while still being a proud statement on Black womanhood" and concluded that it finds Megan "moving confidently to the next level", though the writer noted "Outside" and other "uncluttered" tracks to be "more warm-blooded than most of Good News, one wishes there was more of that sound on her debut album."^[16]

In a review for