Good Grief (song)

On 16 June 2016, Annie Mac debuted "Good Grief" on her BBC Radio 1 show as the "hottest track." Following the debut, the band released the single to radio and as a digital download.^[3]

Georgia Ivey of Clash said that the song was "surprisingly upbeat considering its reflection on the grieving process."^[4] Sarah Jamieson of DIY called the track a tone-appropriate album opener, saying that its "pomp and grandeur juxtaposed perfectly with Dan Smith’s dark-tinged tale of coping with life after death."^[5] NME writer Charlotte Gunn described it as "a euphoric pop track about death and funerals and being sad, but done Bastille-style, with a massive chorus and an X Factor-worthy key change."^[6] In his review of the album, Andy Baber of musicOMH felt the song was a "misleading introduction" to the record's various political themes, but said that it establishes the band's "move towards the more eclectic approach favoured on their mixtapes – as evidenced by the sampling of Kelly LeBrock from ‘80s movie Weird Science."^[7]

The video for "Good Grief" debuted on 22 June 2016. In addition to Smith's disembodied head, the video also features a burning house, a bank robbery, a running man, a teddy bear, rollerskating girls, a red car, a payphone, a game show, and scenes depicting nudity.^[8] A censored version was added, deleting or blurring some of the more offensive scenes. The clean version has gained over 8.5 million views as of June 2020.^[9] The original video has gained over 16 million views as of June 2020.^[10]

The song has received covers by upcoming artists such as, Aaron Fleming,^[16] Chris Brenner,^[17] Connor Everitt,^[18] Felicia Lu,^[19] and Phoebe Whalley.^[20] Don Diablo and Autograf released official remixes for the song via iTunes, respectively on 8 July^[21] and 22 July 2016.