Katy Perry hits #1 with “Roar”

Roar Katy Perry

Writer(s): Katy Perry, Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, Henry Walter (see lyrics here) Released: August 10, 2013 First Charted: August 11, 2013 Peak: 12 US, 14 BA, 14 DG, 11 ST, 15 RR, 115 AC, 15 A40, 12 UK, 15 CN, 19 AU, 6 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 2.4 UK, 16.1 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.14 radio, 3254.4 video, 980.24 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: For the lead single for her Prism album, Katy Perry and her songwriting team crafted a message of empowerment, which many saw as a commentary on her failed marriage to Russell Brand. She told BBC Radio 1 “I wrote it because I was sick of keeping all these feelings inside me and not speaking up for myself.” SF Fellow co-writer Bonnie McKee described it as a “pick yourself up and dust yourself off and keep going” song. WK Max Martin, another of the songwriters, talked about seeing a video of the staff from a children’s hospital singing the song. “A song finds its way outside the studio and comes to really mean something to people. It’s not every time that I’m proud of a tune, but I am when it comes to a song like ‘Roar.’” SF Musically, the song “features elements of arena rock” WK while the lyrics reference Muhammad Ali, Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman,” and the “eye of the tiger” phrase from the 1982 movie Rocky III. The movie’s main character, Rocky Balboa, used the phrase as “a mantra of courage and determination.” SF The movie’s theme song, “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor, topped the U.S. charts for six weeks. MTV’s James Montgomery called it “one of the more perfect pop songs to come down the pipeline in quite a while.” WK There was controversy over the song’s similarities to Sara Bareilles’ “Brave.” McKee said she’d never heard the song and noted it was written before “Brave” even came out. SF Bareilles said “People got really excited about being angry about something…Katy is an old friend and I had no beef with her.” SF “If I’m not mad, I don’t know why anybody else is upset.” WK “Roar” hit #1 in 15 countries, SF including the U.S., where it was her eighth #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was only the eleventh song to debut at #1 on the Canadian Hot 100 WK and Australia’s best-selling song of 2013. SF. It was certified for more than ten million sales in the U.S., making her the first act with three songs in that range. WK Perry became the first artist in history to have two videos garner one billion views on Vevo. WK It garnered Peoples’ Choice Awards for Favorite Music Video and Favorite Song. Perry opened her 2015 Super Bowl halftime show with the song and also performed it at the Democratic National Convention in 2016. The video cast Perry as a kind of Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. The presence of exotic animals earned criticism from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Spokeswoman Merrilee Burke said that just having them on set exposed the animals to unnecessary stress. SF Perry responded with a letter from the American Humane Society affirming “that no animal was harmed in the making of this music video.” WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Katy Perry DMDB encyclopedia entry for Max Martin SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: Last updated 7/27/2023.

Katy Perry hit #1 with “California Gurls”

California Gurls Katy Perry with Snoop Dogg

Writer(s): Katy Perry/Lukasz Gottwald/Max Martin/Benjamin Levin/Bonnie McKee/Calvin Broadus (see lyrics here) Released: May 11, 2010 First Charted: May 16, 2010 Peak: 16 US, 13 BA, 15 DG, 17 RR, 7 AC, 19 A40, 12 UK, 19 CA, 14 AU, 6 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 1.2 UK, 13.07 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.5 radio, 748.91 video, 659.0 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Katy Perry hit the big time when she reached #1 with “I Kissed a Girl” from her 2008 album One of the Boys. Despite several follow-up hits, including the top-five “Hot N Cold” there were some who considered her just another pop flash-in-the-pan. However, her next album, Teenage Dream, proved she wasn’t a fluke when its lead single, “California Gurls” debuted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week ending May 29, 2010 and was #1 within four weeks. The song spent six weeks atop the charts and within two months sold over two million digital downloads. The song was written in response to Jay-Z’s New York tribute song “Empire State of Mind.” Perry told Rolling Stone “it’s been a minute since we’ve had a California song and especially from a girl’s perspective.” WK She was also interested in doing an “homage to the Beach Boys,” SF which apparently succeeded considering MTV News’ James Montgomery assessment of it as “a big, bright, decidedly beach-friendly pop tune.” WK To add to the California vibe, Perry tapped rapper Snoop Dogg as a guest artist, saying “Snoop is as West Coast as it gets.” SF As for the spelling of the title, Perry’s manager was a huge Big Star fan and suggested misspelling the title as an ode to the group’s “September Gurls.” The song was followed to the top by “Teenage Dream”, “Firework”, “E.T.,” and “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” making her only the second artist overall to top the charts with five songs from one album. The first was Michael Jackson with five #1 songs from his 1987 album Bad. BB She also set a new record for consecutive weeks (66) in the top 10, beating the previous mark of 48 weeks by Ace of Base in 1993-94. BB Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Max Martin DMDB page for parent album Teenage Dream DMDB encyclopedia entry for Snoop Dogg Billboard.com (8/17/2011). “Katy Perry Makes Hot 100 History: Ties Michael Jackson’s Record” Entertainment Weekly (5/6/2011). “Katy Perry spent every week of the last year in the Hot 100 top 10 – what did you do?” SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: Last updated 7/28/2023.

Taio Cruz “Dynamite” charted

Dynamite Taio Cruz

Writer(s): Taio Cruz, Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Max Martin, Benny Blanco, Bonnie McKee (see lyrics here) Released: May 30, 2010 First Charted: June 13, 2010 Peak: 2 US, 14 RR, 15 AC, 5 A40, 11 UK, 11 CN, 14 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 8.0 US, 1.2 UK, 11.13 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.4 radio, 346.2 video, 902.41 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Singer/songwriter and producer Taio Cruz was born Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere in 1980 in London, England. He released his debut album, Departure, in 2008. It reached #17 in the UK, but failed to chart in the United States. However, his follow-up, 2009’s Rokstarr, was a top-ten album in the US. thanks to the singles “Break Your Heart” (#1) and “Dynamite” (#2). The latter was held out from the top spot by Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love the Way You Lie.” Dr. Luke and Max Martin wrote the melody for the song and also produced the track. The pair had both worked on #1 hits by Katy Perry (“I Kissed a Girl”) and Kelly Clarkson (“My Life Would Suck Without You”). Martin was also behind chart-toppers by Britney Spears (“Baby One More Time”) and Pink (“So What”) while Dr. Luke also worked on #1 hits by Avril Lavigne (“Girlfriend”), Flo Rida (“Right Round”), and Ke$ha (“Tik Tok”). The latter also featured songwriting by Benny Blanco, who also worked on “Dynamite.” Bonnie McKee wrote lyrics for the song. She said it “was the dumbest song I had ever written and [I] thought it was going nowhere. And I actually think it was the biggest song I have written so far.” WK She said it was originally intended for Flo Rida. SF Cruz said the song “is about when you go to the club and when you go to a party and when you’re just going out…you got to feel like, ‘I’m just gonna explode.’” WK The song is set in a club, but is “mostly about dancing and having a good time – there are no specific references to drinking, hooking up, or other club-related activity.” SF It helped make it “an all-purpose party track” SF suitable for all ages. Digital Spy’s Nick Levine called it “a suitably Eurohousey club pumper” WK that is “a cheap, tasty, and entirely satisfying banger.” WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Taio Cruz SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 7/29/2023.