Katy Perry 'Hot N Cold'

Chart Peak:
YouTube

The feisty Ms Perry's second big hit single 'Hot N Cold' stormed into the UK chart in October 2008... Katy joins that rare breed of artist that have had two tracks on the same Now album!

I'm open to correction on this point, but I think this is the only time a sleevenote actually refers to a double appearance explicitly. So here Ms Perry follows in the footsteps of UB40, All Saints, Oasis, Culture Club and, er, Kajagoogoo.

It's amazing the stuff you read can find out on Wikipedia. Apparently one of the bridesmaids in the video is played by a friend of hers who was a contestant on the US equivalent of Fame Academy: the show proved such a monumental flop that it was cancelled after two weeks with no winner ever made public. That's more interesting than the song itself which is notable only for proving me wrong; I'd been pretty sure that the novelty of 'I Kissed A Girl' would have made her a one-hit-wonder. I suppose I was better off being totally wrong that just slightly. 'Hot N Cold' is essentially what her first hit would have been without the shock value, ie a second-rate P!nk song. It hints at controversy with the lyric "You PMS like a bitch", which is obviously dropped from most radio edits, and there is reportedly a special edit for theme parks (thanks again, Wikipedia!). Otherwise it's just poorly-sung doggerell that doesn't sound as bad as I thought it might after five years, but it doesn't really sound any good either.

Also appearing on: Now 72, 73, 75 [with Timbaland], 76 [with Snoop Dogg], 77, 78 [with Kanye West], 79, 81, 82, 83, 86
Available on: One Of The Boys

Katy Perry 'I Kissed A Girl'

Chart Peak: 1 (5 weeks)

YouTube

Katy Perry is the middle child of two American pastors - she grew up on a strict diet of religious music and often sang in church... She decided she wanted to be a pop star after hearding a Queen song at a sleepover abs now her sassy single 'I Kissed A Girl' has topped the charts in 20 countries worldwide - it hit the UK No. 1 spot in late August 2008.

Right, I'm going to come straight out now (no pun intended) and say I never liked this track. Still, at leat I knew it was just a gimmick and she was bound to be a one-hit wonder. Oops. Indeed, it says something about the growth of the singles market that this single lasted five weeks at Number One and isn't even her biggest seller. It's another sign of the times that the single climbed to the top of the chart not because it lacked advance publicity but because an anonymous cover version threatened to beat this to the chart so the label rush-released the original in the middle of the week and it entered at 4.

I had just about heard of Perry before this single, as I was aware she'd released a song called 'U R So Gay' in the US. I was not surprised that she followed it up with another tawdry effort, cleverly both an appeal to lad's mag fantasies and a controversial enough concept to provoke a backlash and look edgy. Notice how the references to "I hope my boyfriend don't mind" safely establish the protagonist as a heterosexual rather than someone actually gay which might be threatening. McFly, of all people, did subvert this by covering the song without changing any words and thus implying that their protagonist was a gay man flirting with going the other way.

As the debate raged about whether this song promoted homosexuality or homophobia I could appreciate what a good PR stunt it was but as a song it's less impressive, though I suppose using the Glitter beat was distinctive at the time, and a downward key change makes a change from the typical upward ones. I still struggle to get through the whole thing, and to this day I've never dared watch the video, but apparently Ke$ha's in it. I'd also forgotten until I came to write this post that this is another example of a hit co-written by Cathy Dennis, which is why she can afford not to do nostalgia tours.

Also appearing on: Now 72, 73, 75 [with Timbaland], 76 [with Snoop Dogg], 77, 78 [with Kanye West], 79, 81, 82, 83, 86
Available on: Me To You With Love