Kiss a Girl

"Kiss a Girl" is a song recorded by Australian country music singer Keith Urban. It was released in March 2009 as the second single from his 2009 album Defying Gravity. The song reached number three on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The song also became his highest peak on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 16, and his only top 20 on that chart to date. Urban co-wrote this song with Monty Powell.

"Kiss A Girl"
Single by Keith Urban
from the album Defying Gravity
Released	10 March 2009 (2009-03-10)
Recorded	2009
Genre	Country rock
Length	3:46
Label	Capitol Nashville
Songwriter(s)	Keith Urban Monty Powell
Producer(s)	Dann Huff Keith Urban
Keith Urban singles chronology
"Sweet Thing" (2008) "Kiss A Girl" (2009) "Only You Can Love Me This Way" (2009)

Along with eventual Idol winner Kris Allen, Urban performed the song live during the finale of the eighth season of American Idol on 20 May 2009.

Content

"Kiss a Girl" is a moderate up-tempo song in which the male narrator expresses a desire to fall in love with a female.

Critical reception

Thom Jurek of AllMusic cited "Kiss a Girl" as a standout track on the album, calling it a "tight little rocker". He said that it and "Sweet Thing", the album's first single, "are 21st century equivalents of rock & roll love songs."^[1] Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine described the song unfavorably, saying that it was a retread of his previous single "Sweet Thing", which itself was described as a retread of Urban's earlier material.^[2]

Music videos

Both a finalised and a promotional music video for "Kiss a Girl" are available for view on CMT and were both directed by Chris Hicky.

Promotional video

The promotional video for the song premiered in April 2009 on CMT's website. It consists of Urban and his band performing in front of a green screen. Some of these scenes were later edited and included the TV video.

Official video

The official video was found on iTunes on 25 May 2009. It consists of Urban and the band performing in an animated city. Also included is two people who eventually find each other and fall in love. At the end, the ferris wheel they ride displays "KISS" on each car, a reference to the song's title.

Track listing

CD single

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Kiss a Girl" (single mix)	Keith Urban Monty Powell	3:46
2.	"Kiss a Girl" (album mix)	Urban Powell	3:46
3.	"Only You Can Love Me This Way"	Steve McEwan John Reid	4:02
Total length:			11:34

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (2009–2010) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[3] 87 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[4] 34 Canada AC (Billboard)[5] 37 Canada Country (Billboard)[6] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[7] 16 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[8] 11 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[9] 40 US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[10] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2009) Position US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[11] 35 US Country Songs (Billboard)[12] 25 Chart (2010) Position US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[13] 33

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[14]	Gold	35,000‡
United States (RIAA)[15]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
Worldwide	10 March 2009	Digital download	Capitol Nashville	[16]
United States	16 March 2009	Country radio	Capitol	[17]
Australia	14 July 2009	CD single		[18]

References

1. Jurek, Thom. "Defying Gravity review". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
2. Keefe, Jonathan (30 March 2009). "Defying Gravity review". Slant. Archived from the original on 3 April 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
3. "ARIA Report (Issue #1005)" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
4. "Keith Urban Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
5. "Keith Urban Chart History (Canada AC)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
6. "Keith Urban Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
7. "Keith Urban Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
8. "Keith Urban Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
9. "Keith Urban Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
10. "Keith Urban Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
11. "Adult Contemporary Songs - Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
12. "Country Songs - Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
13. "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
14. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2021 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
15. "American single certifications – Keith Urban – Kiss a Girl". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
16. Heather (4 March 2009). "Keith Urban Releasing Weekly Singles Until Album Debut". Crushable. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
17. "Single Releases". MusicRow. Archived from the original on 22 March 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
18. "Kiss a Girl - Keith Urban". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 February 2017.