Golden Child (Meghan Patrick song)
{{short description|2024 song by Meghan Patrick}}
{{infobox song
| name = Golden Child
| cover = Golden Child MP.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Meghan Patrick
| album = Golden Child
| released = {{start date|2024|9|6}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre =
| length = 3:37
| label = Riser House
| writer =
- Meghan Patrick
- Joey Hyde
- Aaron Eshuis
| producer =
- Joey Hyde
- Aaron Eshuis
| prev_title = Greatest Show on Dirt
| prev_year = 2023
| next_title =
| next_year =
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|A83iRM3WQIk|"Golden Child"}}|header=Visualizer}}
}}
"Golden Child" is a song recorded by Canadian-American country music singer Meghan Patrick. She wrote the song with Joey Hyde and Aaron Eshuis, both of whom produced the track.{{cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/album/1Dd74K8QIBvDUb1QdHwYtu|title=Golden Child - Single by Meghan Patrick|work=Spotify|date=September 6, 2024|access-date=February 27, 2025|publisher=Riser House Records}} The title track to Patrick's fourth studio album, Golden Child, it was released as the album's lead single on September 6, 2024. It marks the singer's first album to be released in the United States,{{cite web|url=https://tasteofcountry.com/meghan-patrick-golden-child-album/|title=Meghan Patrick 'Golden Child' Album Is for Anyone Seeking Healing|date=November 4, 2024|work=Taste of Country|access-date=March 3, 2025}} and her first solo charting effort in the country.
Background and release
Patrick was in the process of recording her album, Golden Child, when collaborator Aaron Eshuis suggested that the album needed a title track. Fellow co-writer Joey Hyde came up with the hook "Everything that glitters ain't golden, child", and Patrick elected to pursue the song as a "letter to her younger self".{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/country/meghan-patrick-golden-child-makin-tracks-1235768261/|title=Meghan Patrick on How Debut Single 'Golden Child' Really Became 'Golden, Child'|date=September 5, 2024|work=Billboard|first=Tom|last=Roland|access-date=March 3, 2025}} She intentionally left the comma out of the song's title in order to align with the album name. Hyde noted that many of lyrics were simply statements spoken by Patrick in the room that the three individuals worked to rhyme and fit into the song. Jenee Fleenor played the fiddle on the song.
Patrick's label, Riser House Records, sent the song to American country radio stations in August 2024, one month ahead of its release to digital and streaming platforms. It is her second single to be promoted in the country following "My First Car" in 2020.{{cite web|url=https://musicrow.com/2020/10/mark-your-calendar-october-2020/|title=Mark Your Calendar–October 2020|date=October 2, 2021|first=L.B.|last=Cantrell|work=MusicRow Magazine}}
Critical reception
Music critic Kyla Pearson referred to the song as a "solid release," speaking positively about the use of the fiddle and Patrick's "mesmerizing, lustrous vocals".{{Cite web|url=https://www.kylapearson.ca/2024/09/20/review-meghan-patrick-sings-of-lessons-learned-in-new-single-golden-child/|title=REVIEW: Meghan Patrick Sings of Lessons Learned in New Single, “Golden Child”|date=September 20, 2024|work=KylaPearson.ca|access-date=March 3, 2025|first=Kyla|last=Pearson}} An uncredited review from All Country News favourably spoke of "Golden Child", opining that the song's "melody is bright and invigorating, echoing the lively sounds of ‘90s country while maintaining a contemporary edge."{{cite web|url=https://www.allcountrynews.com/post/meghan-patrick-shines-in-reflective-new-single-golden-child|title=Meghan Patrick Shines in Reflective New Single “Golden Child”|date=September 6, 2024|work=All Country News|access-date=March 3, 2025}}
Chart performance
"Golden Child" debuted on the Billboard Country Airplay chart dated December 21, 2024, at number 58.{{cite magazine|url=https://bulletins.billboard.com/country/country_update_2024_1213.pdf|title=Billboard Country Update - December 13, 2024|magazine=Billboard|date=February 28, 2025|access-date=March 4, 2025}} It is her first solo charting effort in the United States, after previously reaching the top 40 as a featured artist on Michael Ray's "Spirits and Demons" earlier in the year.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/michael-ray/chart-history/csa/|title=Michael Ray Chart History: Country Airplay|magazine=Billboard|access-date=March 4, 2025}}
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Chart performance for "Golden Child" ! scope="col"| Chart (2025) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| scope="row"| Canada Country (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://ca.billboard.com/charts/canada-country/2025-03-08 |title=Canada Country chart for March 8, 2025|magazine=Billboard Canada|access-date=March 5, 2025}}
| 10 |
|---|
| scope="row"| US Country Airplay (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=http://bulletins.billboard.com/country/country_update_2025_0418.pdf|title=Billboard Country Update - April 18, 2025|magazine=Billboard|date=April 18, 2025|access-date=April 18, 2025}}
| 49 |