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I Kissed a Girl (Katy Perry song)
Encyclopedia
"I Kissed a Girl" is a song by pop
singer Katy Perry
, written by Perry, Dr. Luke
, Max Martin
and Cathy Dennis
. It was produced by Dr. Luke for Perry's 2008 album One of the Boys
. Perry says the song is "about the magical beauty of a woman".
Released as the album's lead single, "I Kissed a Girl" was a commercial success. It topped the Billboard Hot 100
chart for seven consecutive weeks, becoming the 1000th chart-topper of the Rock Era. The song has since become a major worldwide hit, and along with the United States, it has topped the charts in more than 20 countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
"I Kissed a Girl" was performed and a nominee at the 51st Grammy Awards (Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
). It was also nominated for Favorite Song at the 2009 Kids' Choice Awards.
The song is recognized as the 10th best selling single in the 21st century.
The single has sold over 4,155,000 digital copies in the US alone. "I Kissed a Girl" is one of six Perry songs to top 4 million paid downloads in the US, the others being "Hot n Cold
", "California Gurls
", "Firework
", "E.T.
" and Teenage Dream
.
According to Perry, the song became a massive hit because musically the song is catchy. "I think that it's one of those subject matters that is, you know, like 'Oh my God I can't believe she said that, that someone came out and said it'. I think that, whenever anyone writes something that is different than, like, your plain peanut butter and jelly song, 'I love you, you love me', everyone kind of perks up and says 'what's this?'."
We brought it to the record label and they didn't even wanna put it on the record and we were like 'You're crazy, you need to put this on the record, you need to put it out as the first single".
Capitol A&R, Chris Anokute
, told HitQuarters
that the song and its controversial theme met with strong resistance at the label, "People said, 'This is never going to get played on the radio. How do we sell this? How’s this going to be played in the Bible belt?'"
Anokute said that they needed the support of one of the label's radio promoters to convince people to believe in the record otherwise Perry would have likely been dropped again. Capitol's SVP of Promotions Dennis Reese saw the vision and helped push the single on national radio. The first station to pick it up and take a chance was The River in Nashville. After playing it for three days they were inundated with enthusiastic calls.
The song was partially inspired by Scarlett Johansson
.
Perry has also stated that the song was inspired by a particular person:
for the song was released on May 16, 2008 on Perry's personal website and on MySpace. The video was directed by Kinga Burza
and features a Moulin Rouge
and burlesque
-type setting with scenes of Perry, along with many other flamboyantly-dressed women dancing to the song. Towards the end of the video, she wakes up next to a male companion called Derek (DJ Skeet Skeet). Despite the song's title, there is no depiction of same-sex kissing. Katy features her real life friend and DJ, Mia Moretti, Markus Molinari's cat Bella and a then-unknown Kesha
in the music video.
The video made its television debut on June 12, 2008 on TRL
with the visit and interview by Perry in set show. On June 24, 2008 it became #1 on TRL
. The video obtained high airplay on this music video channel, as well as on VH1
. It debuted at #20 on VH1
's VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown on June 28, 2008. On June 30, 2008 the video was premiered on MTV Latin America. On July 6, 2008, it rose to #4 on VH1
's VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown. The video received five nominations for the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards
, including Best Female Video
and Best New Artist
. The video has had over 30 million views on YouTube
. Now, years later, YouTube decided that the video is too racy to show, and viewers must sign up to prove that they are 18 or older, to view the video. The same process happened to Rihanna's S&M
video in early 2011. Due to the video and the song's popularity around the world, there are videos on YouTube which imitate and parody
the song.
said, "fueled by an instrumental wallop provided courtesy of producer Dr. Luke, 'I Kissed a Girl' is the perfect breakthrough". However, Rolling Stone
magazine, while giving her album 2/5 stars, described the song as a "New Wave
-y club single", saying the supposedly rebellious "attention-grabbing" lyrics are "a vanilla
recounting of her chick-on-chick exploits" and that this "acting out" is "just to get a dude's attention". This song was number 20 on Rolling Stone
beat" before criticizing the producers for turning it "into a leaden stumble and burying Perry's voice underneath Pro Tools
overdubs so it all winds up as a faceless wash of sound designed to be placed in TV shows, movie trailers, and malls".
Sal Cinquemani of Slant
magazine wrote, Perry's "lead single 'I Kissed a Girl' features a throbbing beat and an infectious, bi-curious
hook
, but its self-satisfied, in-your-face posturing rings phony in comparison to the expertly constructed ambiguities of 'Justify My Love
' or practically anything in the first decade of Ani DiFranco
's catalog; it's like a tween version of DiFranco's tortured bisexual
confession 'Light of Some Kind
'". Hiponline.com wrote that the song is "not nearly as interesting or exciting as you’d expect. It’s not even half as good as Jill Sobule
’s song 'I Kissed a Girl
'". Glitterati Gossip agrees Sobule's song "was ten times better, because there was actual emotional content to her lyrics".
Sobule shared her feelings about Perry's song and use of the title in a July 2009 interview with The Rumpus
:
, it's that her heart isn't in it; she's just using it to get her places, so she sinks to crass, craven depths". Slant Magazine
agrees, saying the song "isn't problematic because it promotes homosexuality
, but because its appropriation
of the gay lifestyle
exists for the sole purpose of garnering attention — both from Perry's boyfriend and her audience".
Adam Holz of PluggedinOnline, a division of Focus on the Family
, wrote an article entitled "A Tale of Two Katys" about the singer's image transformation from a Contemporary Christian music
artist to one of the "girls gone wild". He criticizes the song for being the latest, "high-profile message to young women and men that our sexuality is a malleable commodity that can be reshaped at will". Holz also argues that Perry's message carries with it "no need to worry about who might get used or objectified in the process", causing Perry to live "down to a damaging, demeaning stereotype".
In some areas of the world, the song's lyrics have kept it from reaching the Top 40 or even being released at all. The song is banned in Singapore. Though the Toronto Star
describes it as "a lesbian
-friendly tune", whether homophobia
fuels negative reactions to the song or the song itself appears to divide critics. Slant and other critics suggest that Perry may be homophobic
, especially given her single "Ur So Gay", which makes "I Kissed a Girl" seem like "a classic example of the 'Guys kissing is gross, girls kissing is hot' line of thought," which promotes hypersexualization of queer women and demonization of queer men. MomLogic.com writer Vuv-A-Licious agrees, asking "What's the big deal? ...When this tune is playing and my son and daughter are dancing, I will be trying to dance along, or trying to acknowledge that they may one day dance to the beat of a different drummer than me".
In an August 2008 interview with British national newspaper Daily Mail
, Perry's mother, Mary Hudson, an evangelical Christian
preacher, was reported as saying that she disliked the song, stating: "It clearly promotes homosexuality and its message is shameful and disgusting..." However, Perry took to her official blog stating that her mother's supposed comments were completely fabricated, while also saying her parents love and support her and attend many of her shows.
Regarding the question of her own sexuality that the song has raised, Perry told Santa Barbara magazine "I like to kiss boys, but there is no doubt in my mind if Angelina Jolie
or Gisele Bündchen
came a callin', who wouldn't pucker up?" In an interview on the blog The New Gay, Perry admitted she has never actually kissed a girl and is heterosexual
. She is quoted as saying "Yeah, it’s fantasy, it’s a song about curiosity." However, in a separate interview, Perry stated that she has kissed a girl.
During December 2008, openly bisexual singer Amanda Palmer
performed a skit at several concerts where a Katy Perry look-alike made her way to the stage and began singing "I Kissed A Girl", only to end up being groped, kissed, and fondled by Palmer and comedian Margaret Cho
. The skit ended with the two forcing a bound and gagged Perry into a faux wedding with Palmer. On her blog, Palmer mentioned that the piece was meant as a protest against Proposition 8
, and claimed to wonder if Perry was exploiting homosexuality to sell her music.
In February 2009, Márcio Barros, a substitute English language
teacher in a Distrito Federal
, Brazil
public school was fired after he used the song in a class activity among students aged 12 to 14. He was accused of promoting "homosexualism" and alcoholic beverages usage through the lyrics of the song. The Secretary of Education supported the decision of the head of the school.
. After a couple of weeks, the single hit the top 5, due to the rising digital downloads
and increasing radio airplay
. It continued to rise the next week, reaching #2 just behind her labelmate, Coldplay
. The following week, the song reached the summit of the US chart, becoming the 1000th #1 song of the rock era (the 961st #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
). In addition the song also gave the Capitol
label two consecutive Hot 100 #1's, as the week's prior #1 was fellow Capitol artist Coldplay's "Viva la Vida", making it the first time since 1976 Capitol has had two back to back chart toppers on the Hot 100. The single also crossed over to Billboard's sister publication R&R's
Rhythmic
chart in its July 5 issue, where not only did she have the highest debut ever for a non-rhythmic track, entering at number 26 with 1,065 spins, she also had the highest debut from a new artist in over five years. The bow is the best for a debut track at Rhythmic since Beyoncé
entered at No. 21 with "Crazy In Love" in 2003. It also became the first song since Gnarls Barkley
's "Crazy
" to simultaneously appear on the Mainstream Top 40
, Rhythmic, Adult Top 40 and Alternative charts. On July 26, 2008, the track also made history by reaching the number one spot on Billboard's Hot Dance Airplay
chart by three weeks, a first for a solo act with a debut single. The song topped the Hot 100
for seven weeks in a row before finally being dethroned by Rihanna
's "Disturbia
". It is the second longest running number one on the Hot 100 of 2008 (tied with "Whatever You Like"), with only Flo Rida
's "Low
" topping the chart for longer.
As of September 2011, the song has sold more than 4,131,000 downloads in the United States.
According to Britain's Official Charts Company, the single has sold over 635,000 copies in the United Kingdom as of June, 2010, is the first Virgin label single to sell more than half a million copies since the Spice Girls
’ "Goodbye" in 1998. In Canada, the single debuted at #55 at Canadian Hot 100
, reaching #1 on June 12 in a 26-position jump, becoming the first country where the song reached the pole position.
In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 38, the single's first appearance in other countries chart outside North America, moving to number three the following week. The song was certified Gold after seven weeks with sales of over 7,500. On August 11, 2008, eight weeks after debuting on the chart, "I Kissed a Girl" finally made it to number one. "I Kissed a Girl" was certified Platinum in New Zealand after 20 weeks selling 15,000+ copies.
In Australia, the song debuted at #13 on 30 June on downloads alone, then the next week jumped to second position behind Jordin Sparks
, still on downloads alone. The next week it jumped to number one still solely off downloads, becoming only the second single to do so. Ironically, by the time the song went number 1, this was the time when World Youth Day
2008 had started and the event held anti-gay views. On July 21, 2008, after the singles physical release, the track retained its number one position and was certified Gold. The single has held the number one position for several weeks and was certified 2× Platinum.
In the United Kingdom, the single debuted at #4 on the UK Singles Chart
on August 3, 2008. A week later, it reached the #1 spot, where it remained for 5 weeks (a feat which would not be matched again until Someone Like You
by Adele
in 2011) until it was knocked off the summit by "Sex on Fire
" by Kings of Leon
. It later debuted on the UK Singles Chart
at position number 50. Alongside Basshunter
's Now You're Gone and Mercy by Duffy
, "I Kissed a Girl" spent more weeks at #1 on the charts in Britain than any other single in 2008.
A second cover version, by Barnicle, entered the UK Singles Chart
(published August 3, 2008) at position #116. British girl-band The Saturdays
did another cover version, never released commercially. The band performed it in each of their The Work Tour
venues. The song was covered in the Pilot episode of Glee
. The song is alluded to by Smurfette
, voiced by Perry, in the 2011 film The Smurfs
. When mentioning songs to Patrick Winslow (Neil Patrick Harris
), Smurfette mentions "I Kissed a Smurf (and I Liked It)". On March 9 (UK) and March 10 (US) metalcore
band, Attack Attack!
released a cover for the song for the Punk Goes Pop 2
compilation. Because of the success of the cover versions, the official release of Katy Perry's version was brought forward from September 1 to July 30, 2008. On August 3, 2008, the song, which had entered the UK Singles Chart
at number 139 the week before, climbed 135 places to reach position number 4. The song has become one of the most requested on Radio 1's request hour. The following week it climbed 3 places to reach number 1. The following week it stayed at the top spot for a second consecutive week and then went on to spend 5 consecutive weeks at #1.
Even parodies of "I Kissed a Girl" are seeing chart success. Dr. Demento
ranked Robert Lund's spoof "I Peed in the Pool" his #1 song of August, 2008, and one of his Funny 25 for the year. The song climbed back into the top 20 (reaching #19) in the UK on January 4, 2009, five months after it was first released. The Blackout
also covered this song on their single "Children of the Night". The song is featured in "Weird Al" Yankovic
's new album Alpocalypse
in his polka medley "Polka Face".
|-
!Chart (2008)
!Peak
position
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
! (2000–2009)
! Position
|-
|Australian Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|22
|-
|German Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|29
|-
|U.S. Billboard Hot 100
| style="text-align:center;"|66
|}
|-
! Country
! Certifications
(sales thresholds)
|-
|Australia
|2× Platinum
|-
|Austria
|Platinum
|-
|Belgium
|Gold
|-
|Brazil
|Platinum
|-
|Canada
|7× Platinum
|-
|Denmark
|3× Platinum
|-
|France
|Gold
|-
|Finland
|Platinum
|-
|Germany
|Platinum
|-
|New Zealand
|Platinum
|-
|Spain
|Platinum
|-
|Sweden
|Platinum
|-
|Switzerland
|Platinum
|-
|United Kingdom
|Platinum
|-
|United States
|4× Platinum
|}
|-
!Chart (2008)
!Peak
position
|-
|Australian Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|9
|-
|Austrian Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|-
|Belgian Flanders Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|7
|-
|Belgian Wallonia Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|41
|-
|Canadian Hot 100
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
|Eurochart Hot 100 Singles
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|-
|French Singles Chart
t
| style="text-align:center;"|34
|-
|German Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
|Irish Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
|New Zealand Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|9
|-
|Swedish Singles Chart
|align="center"|5
|-
|Swiss Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|8
|-
|UK Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|-
|U.S. Billboard Hot 100
| style="text-align:center;"|14
|}
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Chart (2009)
!Position
|-
|Hungarian Singles Chart
|align="center"|12
|-
|Swiss Singles Chart
|align="center"|48
|-
|UK Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|176
|-
|}
's new album Alpocalypse
in his polka medley "Polka Face"
The song is covered by The Vibrators
on the Troops of Tomorrow single released in 2009 on Cleopatra Records
This Song was featured in Glee
in seasons one and three.
, Smurfette said while in the company, "I kissed a Smurf! And I liked it."
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
, written by Perry, Dr. Luke
Dr. Luke
Lukasz Gottwald , better known as Dr. Luke, is an American songwriter, record producer, and remixer. Luke performed with the Saturday Night Live Band for ten seasons until 2007. He has co-written and co-produced a string of commercially successful songs...
, Max Martin
Max Martin
Martin Karl Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. Raised in Stenhamra, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, he broke through as a producer and songwriter in the mid to late 1990s after crafting a string of hits for pop artists like the Backstreet Boys,...
and Cathy Dennis
Cathy Dennis
Cathy Dennis is a British dance-oriented pop singer-songwriter, record producer and actress...
. It was produced by Dr. Luke for Perry's 2008 album One of the Boys
One of the Boys (Katy Perry album)
One of the Boys is the second studio album by American recording artist Katy Perry and her major-label debut. Her change in record label and adoption of a pseudonymous surname accompanies a notable shift from the Christian gospel rock of her self-titled debut album. The album was released on June...
. Perry says the song is "about the magical beauty of a woman".
Released as the album's lead single, "I Kissed a Girl" was a commercial success. It topped the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart for seven consecutive weeks, becoming the 1000th chart-topper of the Rock Era. The song has since become a major worldwide hit, and along with the United States, it has topped the charts in more than 20 countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
"I Kissed a Girl" was performed and a nominee at the 51st Grammy Awards (Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance is the latest in a series of awards recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. The award goes to the artist...
). It was also nominated for Favorite Song at the 2009 Kids' Choice Awards.
The song is recognized as the 10th best selling single in the 21st century.
The single has sold over 4,155,000 digital copies in the US alone. "I Kissed a Girl" is one of six Perry songs to top 4 million paid downloads in the US, the others being "Hot n Cold
Hot N Cold
"Hot n Cold" is a song by American singer Katy Perry. The song was written and composed by Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Perry for her major mainstream debut album, One of the Boys. The track was released as the album's third single...
", "California Gurls
California Gurls
"California Gurls" is an electropop song by American singer-songwriter Katy Perry and is the lead single of her third studio album, Teenage Dream. The song features rapper Snoop Dogg, and was produced by Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Benny Blanco. According to Perry, the song is an answer song to...
", "Firework
Firework (song)
"Firework" is a song by American recording artist Katy Perry. The song was written by Katy Perry, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Sandy Wilhelm, Ester Dean, and produced by Stargate and Sandy Vee for Perry's third studio album, Teenage Dream...
", "E.T.
E.T. (song)
"E.T." is a song by American recording artist Katy Perry taken from her third studio album Teenage Dream . The song was written by Katy Perry, Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, and Joshua Coleman, while the production was handled by Gottwald under his stage name Dr. Luke, Martin and Ammo. "E.T." was...
" and Teenage Dream
Teenage Dream (Katy Perry song)
"Teenage Dream" is a song by American recording artist Katy Perry. It was released as the second single from her third studio album of the same name on July 23, 2010 through digital distribution. Perry and Bonnie McKee wrote many songs with a youthful theme in mind, but they were rejected by...
.
Background
According to Perry, I Kissed a Girl "was born as an idea in her head". She says: "The chorus actually popped into my head when I woke up. It was one of those moments where you hear artists talking about songs they get in dreams or in the middle of the night. I was like 'wow, what an interesting subject matter to kind of pop into the head' and I didn't do anything with it for about a year-and-a-half. Then all of a sudden at the very, very end of making my album, I literally had two days left in the recording studio with my producer, Dr Luke. We just said, 'we're gonna finish it - it's so catchy because it won't get out of our heads.'"According to Perry, the song became a massive hit because musically the song is catchy. "I think that it's one of those subject matters that is, you know, like 'Oh my God I can't believe she said that, that someone came out and said it'. I think that, whenever anyone writes something that is different than, like, your plain peanut butter and jelly song, 'I love you, you love me', everyone kind of perks up and says 'what's this?'."
We brought it to the record label and they didn't even wanna put it on the record and we were like 'You're crazy, you need to put this on the record, you need to put it out as the first single".
Capitol A&R, Chris Anokute
Chris Anokute
Chris Anokute is an A&R executive. While at Capitol Records he oversaw artists including Katy Perry, Joss Stone and Varsity Fanclub. He is currently Senior Vice-President of A&R at Universal Motown.-Career:...
, told HitQuarters
HitQuarters
HitQuarters is an international music industry publication and contact database founded in 1999. It is noted for in-depth interviews with industry figures, with past subjects including Simon Cowell, Martin Kierszenbaum, Jason Flom, Diane Warren, Peter Edge, Ron Fair and RedOne, as well as its A&R...
that the song and its controversial theme met with strong resistance at the label, "People said, 'This is never going to get played on the radio. How do we sell this? How’s this going to be played in the Bible belt?'"
Anokute said that they needed the support of one of the label's radio promoters to convince people to believe in the record otherwise Perry would have likely been dropped again. Capitol's SVP of Promotions Dennis Reese saw the vision and helped push the single on national radio. The first station to pick it up and take a chance was The River in Nashville. After playing it for three days they were inundated with enthusiastic calls.
Inspiration and lyrics
She has said:
Everyone takes the song and relates it to their situation, they can see it however they want to see it. Love it, hate it, for me it was about us girls. When we're young, we're very touchy-feeley. We have slumber party sing-a-longs, we make up dance routines in our pajamas. We’re a lot more intimate in a friendship than guys can be. It’s not perverse but just sweet, that's what the song is about...
The song was partially inspired by Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model and singer.Johansson made her film debut in North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Manny & Lo . She rose to further prominence with her roles in The Horse Whisperer and Ghost World...
.
Perry has also stated that the song was inspired by a particular person:
The song was inspired by a friendship I had with a girl when I was 15, and I did kiss her. I was totally obsessed with her. She was beautiful – porcelain skin, perfect lips – and I still talk to her, but I've never told her the song is about her.
Music video
A music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song was released on May 16, 2008 on Perry's personal website and on MySpace. The video was directed by Kinga Burza
Kinga Burza
Kinga Burza is a Polish-Australian music video director.-Biography:Kinga Burza was born in Poland and raised in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia before moving to London in 2005 and signing with respected film production company Partizan of Michel Gondry fame in 2006.She completed a BA at the...
and features a Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge is a cabaret built in 1889 by Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Olympia. Close to Montmartre in the Paris district of Pigalle on Boulevard de Clichy in the 18th arrondissement, it is marked by the red windmill on its roof. The closest métro station is Blanche.The Moulin Rouge is...
and burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
-type setting with scenes of Perry, along with many other flamboyantly-dressed women dancing to the song. Towards the end of the video, she wakes up next to a male companion called Derek (DJ Skeet Skeet). Despite the song's title, there is no depiction of same-sex kissing. Katy features her real life friend and DJ, Mia Moretti, Markus Molinari's cat Bella and a then-unknown Kesha
Kesha
Kesha village is a small village nestled in the mountains of Yongshun County, northwestern Hunan province, China, located at latitude 29 05' 50", longitude 109 57' 9". The name is pronounced in Standard Chinese. The official language is Manderin Chinese....
in the music video.
The video made its television debut on June 12, 2008 on TRL
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
with the visit and interview by Perry in set show. On June 24, 2008 it became #1 on TRL
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
. The video obtained high airplay on this music video channel, as well as on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
. It debuted at #20 on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown on June 28, 2008. On June 30, 2008 the video was premiered on MTV Latin America. On July 6, 2008, it rose to #4 on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown. The video received five nominations for the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards
2008 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 7, 2008 live from Paramount Pictures Studios , honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Nominations for a majority of the categories were announced on the MTV program FNMTV after being selected through viewer online voting at...
, including Best Female Video
MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video is one of the original general awards that has been handed out every year since the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, however, the award was briefly renamed Female Artist of the Year, and it awarded the artist's whole body of work...
and Best New Artist
MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist
The MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist is one of the four original general categories that have been given out since the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984...
. The video has had over 30 million views on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. Now, years later, YouTube decided that the video is too racy to show, and viewers must sign up to prove that they are 18 or older, to view the video. The same process happened to Rihanna's S&M
S&M (song)
"S&M" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, taken from her fifth studio album, Loud . The song was written by Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Corey Jackson Carter, Sandy Wilhelm and Ester Dean, with production helmed by Eriksen and Hermansen of Stargate and Sandy Wilhelm under her...
video in early 2011. Due to the video and the song's popularity around the world, there are videos on YouTube which imitate and parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
the song.
Critical reception
"I Kissed a Girl" has generally polarized music critics. Blogcritics Magazine called it "an instantly catchy number", and About.comAbout.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
said, "fueled by an instrumental wallop provided courtesy of producer Dr. Luke, 'I Kissed a Girl' is the perfect breakthrough". However, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine, while giving her album 2/5 stars, described the song as a "New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
-y club single", saying the supposedly rebellious "attention-grabbing" lyrics are "a vanilla
Vanilla sex
Vanilla sex is a description of what a culture regards as standard or conventional sexual behaviour. Different cultures, subcultures and individuals have different ideas about what constitutes this type of sex...
recounting of her chick-on-chick exploits" and that this "acting out" is "just to get a dude's attention". This song was number 20 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
Gary Glitter
Gary Glitter is an English former glam rock singer-songwriter and musician.Glitter first came to prominence in the glam rock era of the early 1970s...
beat" before criticizing the producers for turning it "into a leaden stumble and burying Perry's voice underneath Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
overdubs so it all winds up as a faceless wash of sound designed to be placed in TV shows, movie trailers, and malls".
Sal Cinquemani of Slant
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
magazine wrote, Perry's "lead single 'I Kissed a Girl' features a throbbing beat and an infectious, bi-curious
Bi-curious
Bi-curious is a term used to refer to people of a heterosexual or homosexual identity who, while showing some curiosity for a relationship or sexual activity with a person of the sex they do not favor, distinguish themselves from the bisexual label. The term is sometimes used to describe a broad...
hook
Hook (music)
A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...
, but its self-satisfied, in-your-face posturing rings phony in comparison to the expertly constructed ambiguities of 'Justify My Love
Justify My Love
"Justify My Love" is the first single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection and was released on November 6, 1990, by Sire Records. It caused international controversy due to the accompanying music video which was sexually explicit...
' or practically anything in the first decade of Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
's catalog; it's like a tween version of DiFranco's tortured bisexual
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
confession 'Light of Some Kind
Not a Pretty Girl
Not a Pretty Girl is the sixth studio album released by singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco on her own record label, Righteous Babe Records. It was released July 18, 1995. The album extended the folk singer's early formula of acoustic guitar and drums...
'". Hiponline.com wrote that the song is "not nearly as interesting or exciting as you’d expect. It’s not even half as good as Jill Sobule
Jill Sobule
Jill Sobule is an American singer-songwriter best known for the 1995 single "I Kissed a Girl", and "Supermodel" from the soundtrack of the 1995 film Clueless...
’s song 'I Kissed a Girl
Jill Sobule (album)
Jill Sobule is the second album by American singer/songwriter Jill Sobule, released in 1995. . The disc contained the singles "Good Person Inside", "Supermodel", and "I Kissed a Girl."-Track listing:...
'". Glitterati Gossip agrees Sobule's song "was ten times better, because there was actual emotional content to her lyrics".
Sobule shared her feelings about Perry's song and use of the title in a July 2009 interview with The Rumpus
Stephen Elliott (author)
Stephen Elliott is an American author and activist living in San Francisco who has written and published seven books. He is also the founder of the political action committee LitPAC, which holds readings by authors to raise money for progressive candidates.-Background and education:Elliott grew...
:
Controversy
AllMusic concluded "the problem is not with Katy's gender-bendingGender bender
Gender bender is an informal term used to refer to a person who actively transgresses, or "bends," expected gender roles. Gender bending is sometimes a form of social activism undertaken in response to assumptions or over-generalisations about genders...
, it's that her heart isn't in it; she's just using it to get her places, so she sinks to crass, craven depths". Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
agrees, saying the song "isn't problematic because it promotes homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, but because its appropriation
Cultural appropriation
Cultural appropriation is the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group. It describes acculturation or assimilation, but can imply a negative view towards acculturation from a minority culture by a dominant culture. It can include the introduction of forms of...
of the gay lifestyle
Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures
Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures are subcultures and communities composed of persons who have shared experiences, background, or interests due to a common sexual or gender identity. Among the first to argue that members of sexual minorities can constitute cultural minorities as well as...
exists for the sole purpose of garnering attention — both from Perry's boyfriend and her audience".
Adam Holz of PluggedinOnline, a division of Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family is an American evangelical Christian tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 1977 by psychologist James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s...
, wrote an article entitled "A Tale of Two Katys" about the singer's image transformation from a Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
artist to one of the "girls gone wild". He criticizes the song for being the latest, "high-profile message to young women and men that our sexuality is a malleable commodity that can be reshaped at will". Holz also argues that Perry's message carries with it "no need to worry about who might get used or objectified in the process", causing Perry to live "down to a damaging, demeaning stereotype".
In some areas of the world, the song's lyrics have kept it from reaching the Top 40 or even being released at all. The song is banned in Singapore. Though the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
describes it as "a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
-friendly tune", whether homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
fuels negative reactions to the song or the song itself appears to divide critics. Slant and other critics suggest that Perry may be homophobic
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
, especially given her single "Ur So Gay", which makes "I Kissed a Girl" seem like "a classic example of the 'Guys kissing is gross, girls kissing is hot' line of thought," which promotes hypersexualization of queer women and demonization of queer men. MomLogic.com writer Vuv-A-Licious agrees, asking "What's the big deal? ...When this tune is playing and my son and daughter are dancing, I will be trying to dance along, or trying to acknowledge that they may one day dance to the beat of a different drummer than me".
In an August 2008 interview with British national newspaper Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, Perry's mother, Mary Hudson, an evangelical Christian
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
preacher, was reported as saying that she disliked the song, stating: "It clearly promotes homosexuality and its message is shameful and disgusting..." However, Perry took to her official blog stating that her mother's supposed comments were completely fabricated, while also saying her parents love and support her and attend many of her shows.
Regarding the question of her own sexuality that the song has raised, Perry told Santa Barbara magazine "I like to kiss boys, but there is no doubt in my mind if Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
or Gisele Bündchen
Gisele Bündchen
Gisele Caroline Bündchen is a Brazilian fashion model, occasional film actress and goodwill ambassador for the UN Environment Programme.In the late 1990s, Bündchen became one of the first in a wave of Brazilian models to find success...
came a callin', who wouldn't pucker up?" In an interview on the blog The New Gay, Perry admitted she has never actually kissed a girl and is heterosexual
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...
. She is quoted as saying "Yeah, it’s fantasy, it’s a song about curiosity." However, in a separate interview, Perry stated that she has kissed a girl.
During December 2008, openly bisexual singer Amanda Palmer
Amanda Palmer
Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer , sometimes known as Amanda Fucking Palmer, is an American performer who first rose to prominence as the lead singer, pianist, and lyricist/composer of the duo The Dresden Dolls...
performed a skit at several concerts where a Katy Perry look-alike made her way to the stage and began singing "I Kissed A Girl", only to end up being groped, kissed, and fondled by Palmer and comedian Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho is an American comedian, fashion designer, actress, author, and recording artist. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially those pertaining to race and sexuality. She has also directed and appeared in music...
. The skit ended with the two forcing a bound and gagged Perry into a faux wedding with Palmer. On her blog, Palmer mentioned that the piece was meant as a protest against Proposition 8
California Proposition 8 (2008)
Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections...
, and claimed to wonder if Perry was exploiting homosexuality to sell her music.
In February 2009, Márcio Barros, a substitute English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
teacher in a Distrito Federal
Brazilian Federal District
The Federal District is set apart for Brasília, the capital of Brazil. Located in a region called Planalto Central, or Central Plateau, the Federal District is divided in 29 administrative regions. Brasilia - place where the three branches of the Federal Government are located - is the main...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
public school was fired after he used the song in a class activity among students aged 12 to 14. He was accused of promoting "homosexualism" and alcoholic beverages usage through the lyrics of the song. The Secretary of Education supported the decision of the head of the school.
Chart performance
"I Kissed a Girl" debuted at number 76 at Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. After a couple of weeks, the single hit the top 5, due to the rising digital downloads
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
and increasing radio airplay
Airplay
* Airplay is the amount of time a song is played on the radio.It may also refer to:* AirPlay, an audio & video streaming technology from Apple Inc.* Airplay , Foster & Graydon music project from 1980* Citroën C1, Citroën C1 Airplay...
. It continued to rise the next week, reaching #2 just behind her labelmate, Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
. The following week, the song reached the summit of the US chart, becoming the 1000th #1 song of the rock era (the 961st #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
). In addition the song also gave the Capitol
Capitol Music Group
Capitol Music Group is a major record label, a wholly owned subsidiary of EMI.-History:It was formed in February 2007 as a merger of Virgin Records and Capitol Records in an effort by EMI to restructure and save an average of $217 million yearly...
label two consecutive Hot 100 #1's, as the week's prior #1 was fellow Capitol artist Coldplay's "Viva la Vida", making it the first time since 1976 Capitol has had two back to back chart toppers on the Hot 100. The single also crossed over to Billboard's sister publication R&R's
R&R (magazine)
R&R was a weekly music trade publication that followed the radio industry and tracked the monitoring of current songs by format, station and audience cumes...
Rhythmic
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...
chart in its July 5 issue, where not only did she have the highest debut ever for a non-rhythmic track, entering at number 26 with 1,065 spins, she also had the highest debut from a new artist in over five years. The bow is the best for a debut track at Rhythmic since Beyoncé
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
entered at No. 21 with "Crazy In Love" in 2003. It also became the first song since Gnarls Barkley
Gnarls Barkley
Gnarls Barkley is an American soul duo comprising Danger Mouse and Cee Lo Green. Their first studio album St. Elsewhere was released in 2006; along with its first single "Crazy". Both single and album were a major commercial success and have been noted for their large sales by download...
's "Crazy
Crazy (Gnarls Barkley song)
"Crazy" is the debut single from Gnarls Barkley, a musical collaboration between Danger Mouse and Cee Lo Green, and is taken from their 2006 debut album St. Elsewhere...
" to simultaneously appear on the Mainstream Top 40
Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs)
The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart...
, Rhythmic, Adult Top 40 and Alternative charts. On July 26, 2008, the track also made history by reaching the number one spot on Billboard's Hot Dance Airplay
Hot Dance Airplay
Dance/Mix Show Airplay is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is featured weekly in Billboard magazine. The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic dance music on the radio in the United States and the stations that program it...
chart by three weeks, a first for a solo act with a debut single. The song topped the Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
for seven weeks in a row before finally being dethroned by Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
's "Disturbia
Disturbia (song)
"Disturbia" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, taken from the re-release, Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded , of her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad . The song was released as the third single from the reloaded edition of the album, and seventh overall...
". It is the second longest running number one on the Hot 100 of 2008 (tied with "Whatever You Like"), with only Flo Rida
Flo Rida
Tramar Dillard , better known by his stage name Flo Rida , is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He released his debut album, Mail on Sunday, in March 2008. His debut single "Low", featuring T-Pain, was a #1 hit for ten weeks in United States in early 2008. Two other singles resulted from...
's "Low
Low (Flo Rida song)
"Low" is the debut single by American rapper Flo Rida, featured on his debut album Mail On Sunday and also featured on the soundtrack to the 2008 film Step Up 2: The Streets. The song features T-Pain and was co-written with T-Pain. There is also a remix in which the hook is sung by Flo Rida rather...
" topping the chart for longer.
As of September 2011, the song has sold more than 4,131,000 downloads in the United States.
According to Britain's Official Charts Company, the single has sold over 635,000 copies in the United Kingdom as of June, 2010, is the first Virgin label single to sell more than half a million copies since the Spice Girls
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
’ "Goodbye" in 1998. In Canada, the single debuted at #55 at Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
, reaching #1 on June 12 in a 26-position jump, becoming the first country where the song reached the pole position.
In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 38, the single's first appearance in other countries chart outside North America, moving to number three the following week. The song was certified Gold after seven weeks with sales of over 7,500. On August 11, 2008, eight weeks after debuting on the chart, "I Kissed a Girl" finally made it to number one. "I Kissed a Girl" was certified Platinum in New Zealand after 20 weeks selling 15,000+ copies.
In Australia, the song debuted at #13 on 30 June on downloads alone, then the next week jumped to second position behind Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...
, still on downloads alone. The next week it jumped to number one still solely off downloads, becoming only the second single to do so. Ironically, by the time the song went number 1, this was the time when World Youth Day
World Youth Day
World Youth Day is a youth-oriented Catholic Church event. While the event itself celebrates the Catholic faith, the invitation to attend extends to all youth, regardless of religious convictions....
2008 had started and the event held anti-gay views. On July 21, 2008, after the singles physical release, the track retained its number one position and was certified Gold. The single has held the number one position for several weeks and was certified 2× Platinum.
In the United Kingdom, the single debuted at #4 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
on August 3, 2008. A week later, it reached the #1 spot, where it remained for 5 weeks (a feat which would not be matched again until Someone Like You
Someone Like You (Adele song)
"Someone Like You" is a song by English singer-songwriter Adele. Written by Adele and Dan Wilson for her second studio album 21, the song was inspired by a broken relationship of hers, and lyrically it speaks of Adele coming to terms with it...
by Adele
Adele (singer)
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins , known professionally as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008...
in 2011) until it was knocked off the summit by "Sex on Fire
Sex on Fire
"Sex on Fire" is the first single to be taken from Kings of Leon's fourth studio album Only by the Night and as of September 2009, the second most-downloaded digital single ever in the United Kingdom...
" by Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion, Oklahoma but formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill , Ivan Nathan Followill and Michael Jared Followill Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion,...
. It later debuted on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at position number 50. Alongside Basshunter
Basshunter
Jonas Erik Altberg , better known by his stage name Basshunter, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, record producer and DJ. He is best known for his number one hits "Boten Anna", "Dota", "Now You're Gone" and "All I Ever Wanted". Basshunter has so far released a total of six albums, two of which have...
's Now You're Gone and Mercy by Duffy
Duffy (singer)
Aimée Ann Duffy , known as Duffy, is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her 2008 debut album Rockferry entered the UK Album Chart at number one. It was the best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2008 with 1.68 million copies sold...
, "I Kissed a Girl" spent more weeks at #1 on the charts in Britain than any other single in 2008.
A second cover version, by Barnicle, entered the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
(published August 3, 2008) at position #116. British girl-band The Saturdays
The Saturdays
The Saturdays are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London, United Kingdom. The group consists of five members Una Healy, Mollie King, Frankie Sandford, Vanessa White and Rochelle Wiseman. In 2007 the band were formed through Fascination Records which gave them an instant record deal with...
did another cover version, never released commercially. The band performed it in each of their The Work Tour
The Work Tour
The Work Tour is the debut headlining theatre tour by British girl group The Saturdays. The tour became the bands first headlining tour, but their second time actually touring, after they spent part of 2008 as support act for Girls Aloud on their Tangled Up Tour. The tour opened on 2 June 2009, and...
venues. The song was covered in the Pilot episode of Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
. The song is alluded to by Smurfette
Smurfette
Smurfette is a female character from the Smurfs.Smurfette was the only female Smurf until the creation of Sassette. A Granny Smurf was also later introduced, although it is unclear how she was created. Thierry Culliford, the son of Peyo and current head of the Studio Peyo, announced in 2008 that...
, voiced by Perry, in the 2011 film The Smurfs
The Smurfs (film)
The Smurfs is a 2011 American 3D family film based on The Smurfs comic book series created by Peyo and the 1980s animated TV series it spawned. It was directed by Raja Gosnell and stars Neil Patrick Harris, Hank Azaria, Jayma Mays, and Sofía Vergara. It is the first CGI/live-action hybrid film to...
. When mentioning songs to Patrick Winslow (Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris is an American actor, singer, director, and magician.Prominent roles of his career include the title role in Doogie Howser, M.D., Colonel Carl Jenkins in Starship Troopers, the womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, a fictionalized version of himself in the Harold...
), Smurfette mentions "I Kissed a Smurf (and I Liked It)". On March 9 (UK) and March 10 (US) metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
band, Attack Attack!
Attack Attack!
Attack Attack! is an American metalcore band from Westerville, Ohio, formed in 2005. Attack Attack!'s first release, an independent EP titled If Guns Are Outlawed, Can We Use Swords?, was released in 2008, which lead to the signing of the band to Rise Records the same year...
released a cover for the song for the Punk Goes Pop 2
Punk Goes Pop 2
Punk Goes Pop 2 is the eighth compilation album released from the Punk Goes... series created by Fearless Records to feature covers by various artists of pop songs, and is the eighth album in the series overall. It was released on March 9, 2009, in the United Kingdom, and March 10, 2009, in the...
compilation. Because of the success of the cover versions, the official release of Katy Perry's version was brought forward from September 1 to July 30, 2008. On August 3, 2008, the song, which had entered the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at number 139 the week before, climbed 135 places to reach position number 4. The song has become one of the most requested on Radio 1's request hour. The following week it climbed 3 places to reach number 1. The following week it stayed at the top spot for a second consecutive week and then went on to spend 5 consecutive weeks at #1.
Even parodies of "I Kissed a Girl" are seeing chart success. Dr. Demento
Dr. Demento
Barret Eugene Hansen , better known as Dr. Demento, is a radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograph records to the present....
ranked Robert Lund's spoof "I Peed in the Pool" his #1 song of August, 2008, and one of his Funny 25 for the year. The song climbed back into the top 20 (reaching #19) in the UK on January 4, 2009, five months after it was first released. The Blackout
The Blackout (band)
The Blackout is a post-hardcore band from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, formed in 2003. After some time backing Lostprophets on their Liberation Transmission Tour, along with Dopamine, Covergirl, Kids In Glass Houses, The Guns and Men, Women and Children, they released their first mini-album The Blackout!...
also covered this song on their single "Children of the Night". The song is featured in "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
's new album Alpocalypse
Alpocalypse
Alpocalypse is the thirteenth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 21, 2011. It is his first studio release in almost five years, following the release of Straight Outta Lynwood in 2006. It is also his first studio album since 1989's UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and...
in his polka medley "Polka Face".
Track listing
- Digital Download
- "I Kissed a Girl" - 3:00
- European CD Single
- "I Kissed a Girl" - 3:00
- "I Kissed a Girl" (Jason Nevins Funkrokr Extended Mix) - 6:51
- "I Kissed a Girl" (Dr. Luke & Benny Blanco Remix) - 3:28
- European Maxi Single
- "I Kissed a Girl" - 3:00
- "I Kissed a Girl" (Instrumental) - 3:00
- "I Kissed a Girl" (Acapella) - 3:07
- "I Kissed a Girl" (Rock Mix) - 2:57
- "I Kissed a Girl" (Rock Mix Instrumental) - 2:57
- "I Kissed a Girl" (Jason Nevins Funkrokr Edit) - 3:30
- "I Kissed a Girl" (Jason Nevins Funkrokr Extended Mix) - 6:51
- "I Kissed a Girl" (Dr. Luke & Benny Blanco Remix) - 3:28
- Australian CD Single
- "I Kissed a Girl" - 3:00
- "I Kissed a Girl" (Instrumental) - 3:00
- UK CD Single
- "I Kissed a Girl" - 3:00
- "I Kissed a Girl" (Jason Nevins Funkrokr Extended Mix) - 6:51
Charts
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!Chart (2008)
!Peak
position
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Decade-end charts
{|class="wikitable sortable"|-
! (2000–2009)
! Position
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|Australian Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
| style="text-align:center;"|22
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|German Singles Chart
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
| style="text-align:center;"|29
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|U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
| style="text-align:center;"|66
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Certifications
{| class="wikitable"|-
! Country
! Certifications
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
(sales thresholds)
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|Australia
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
|2× Platinum
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|Austria
Ö3 Austria Top 40
Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann...
|Platinum
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|Belgium
Ultratop
Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts...
|Gold
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|Brazil
Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos
The Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos is an official representative body of the record labels in the Brazilian phonographic market.- About :...
|Platinum
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|Canada
Canadian Recording Industry Association
Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...
|7× Platinum
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|Denmark
|3× Platinum
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|France
Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique
The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry...
|Gold
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|Finland
|Platinum
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|Germany
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
|Platinum
|-
|New Zealand
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...
|Platinum
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|Spain
|Platinum
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|Sweden
|Platinum
|-
|Switzerland
Swiss Music Charts
The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...
|Platinum
|-
|United Kingdom
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
|Platinum
|-
|United States
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
|4× Platinum
|}
Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable sortable"|-
!Chart (2008)
!Peak
position
|-
|Australian Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
| style="text-align:center;"|9
|-
|Austrian Singles Chart
Ö3 Austria Top 40
Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann...
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|-
|Belgian Flanders Chart
Ultratop 50
Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995...
| style="text-align:center;"|7
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|Belgian Wallonia Chart
Ultratop 50
Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995...
| style="text-align:center;"|41
|-
|Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
| style="text-align:center;"|5
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|Eurochart Hot 100 Singles
| style="text-align:center;"|4
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|French Singles Chart
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
t
| style="text-align:center;"|34
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|German Singles Chart
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
|Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
|New Zealand Singles Chart
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...
| style="text-align:center;"|9
|-
|Swedish Singles Chart
|align="center"|5
|-
|Swiss Singles Chart
Swiss Music Charts
The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...
| style="text-align:center;"|8
|-
|UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|-
|U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
| style="text-align:center;"|14
|}
{|class="wikitable"
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!Chart (2009)
!Position
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|Hungarian Singles Chart
|align="center"|12
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|Swiss Singles Chart
|align="center"|48
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|UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
| style="text-align:center;"|176
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Covers
The song is featured in "Weird Al" Yankovic"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
's new album Alpocalypse
Alpocalypse
Alpocalypse is the thirteenth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 21, 2011. It is his first studio release in almost five years, following the release of Straight Outta Lynwood in 2006. It is also his first studio album since 1989's UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and...
in his polka medley "Polka Face"
The song is covered by The Vibrators
The Vibrators
- Early career:The Vibrators were founded by Ian 'Knox' Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John 'Eddie' Edwards. They first came to public notice at the 100 Club when they backed Chris Spedding in 1976. On Spedding's recommendation, Mickie Most signed them to his...
on the Troops of Tomorrow single released in 2009 on Cleopatra Records
Cleopatra Records
Cleopatra Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label.- History :Founded in 1992 by Brian Perera, it specializes in gothic rock, hard rock, heavy metal and reissues of out-of-print music...
This Song was featured in Glee
Glee
Glee may refer to:* Glee , an English type of song music* Glee , an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media* Glee * Glee...
in seasons one and three.
Film
Since Katy Perry voiced Smurfette in The SmurfsThe Smurfs (film)
The Smurfs is a 2011 American 3D family film based on The Smurfs comic book series created by Peyo and the 1980s animated TV series it spawned. It was directed by Raja Gosnell and stars Neil Patrick Harris, Hank Azaria, Jayma Mays, and Sofía Vergara. It is the first CGI/live-action hybrid film to...
, Smurfette said while in the company, "I kissed a Smurf! And I liked it."
See also
- List of Ultratop 50 number-one singles of 2008
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2008 (Canada)
- List of Danish number-one hits
- List of European number-one hits of 2008
- List of number-one hits of 2008 (Germany)
- List of number-one singles of 2008 (Ireland)
- List of number-one hits of 2008 (Italy)
- List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 2008
- List of number-one hits of 2008 (Austria)
- List of number-one singles of 2008 (Australia)
- List of number-one singles (Sweden)
- List of number-one hits of 2008 (Switzerland)
- List of 2000s UK Singles Chart number ones
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2008 (U.S.)
- List of number-one songs in Norway
- List of number-one singles from the 2000s (New Zealand)
- List of Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles in 2008
- List of best-selling singles in the United States
- List of best-selling singles worldwide
- Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal PerformanceGrammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal PerformanceThe Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance is the latest in a series of awards recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. The award goes to the artist...