The first one shows McKee alongside other celebrities including Katy Perry, Kesha, and George Takei lip synching to the song.

Following the underperformance of her debut album Trouble (2004) and an incident regarding the defacement of a Warner Records' former chairman car with lipstick, McKee was dropped from the label.

[3] In a November 2010 interview with Billboard, McKee stated that she would begin working on her second album in 2011 with American record producer and songwriter Dr. Luke and she hoped to have "something" released by spring.

Her performance of "Lovebird" (2012), a song she co-wrote and gave to British singer Leona Lewis, impressed former Epic Records CEO and chairman L.A. Reid who signed her to the label soon after.

[8] The label also sent the song to American contemporary hit radio stations on July 16 and released it for digital download in various countries one week later.

[2][6] Mikael Wood of Los Angeles Times noted that the track contains "candied synth licks" and "sweet slap bass".

McKee elaborated how she spent time in a 7-Eleven parking lot with a boy trying to get people to buy them beer and cigarettes, and that she "was raised by television" because she learned "so many life lessons from sitcoms and music videos".

[6] Billboard's Matt Diehl considered the lyrics "I fell in love in a 7-11 parking lot / Drinking Slurpees we mixed with alcohol" to be "nostalgic".

[19] Sam Lansky, writing for Idolator, called it "a plucky pop confection" with "clever lyrical conceit" and declared that it is "perfectly tailored to dominate radio all summer long".

[22] Teen Vogue's Casey Lewis expressed a similar opinion, claiming that the track is a "top contender" to be "song of the summer" and considered that it "couldn't be catchier".

[23] Lauren Craddock of American Songwriter deemed it a "dance-pop party anthem",[6] which USA Today's Korina Lopez resounded.

[24] Commercially, "American Girl" was McKee's first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 87 and selling 25,000 copies in its first two weeks.

[23][31] Aside from McKee, it features several celebrities who appear via videotelephony lip synching to the song including Perry, Kesha, Becky G, Jason Derulo, Joan Rivers and George Takei.

[33][34] In the video, McKee is first seen spending her time with a couple of friends sitting on the curb drinking Slurpees while making eye contact with a "hunky bro".

[32] Rubenstein deemed the second video to be "as worthy" as the first one, and Lansky compared it to "Tik Tok"'s (2009) visual, noting its "similar free-spirited vibe".