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Ur So Gay
2007 song by Katy Perry From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Ur So Gay" is a song released by American singer Katy Perry from her EP of the same name. She co-wrote the song with its producer, Greg Wells, while Drew Pearson served as the track's engineer. The song was recorded at Rocket Carousel Studio in Los Angeles, California in 2007, and was first released on an EP of the same name (alongside a remix by Junior Sanchez) that same year. The song was later included on Perry's second studio album, One of the Boys (2008). The song was released through Capitol Records, and is a trip hop, pop rock, and electronic rock about sex.
Although the song was only released as a promotional single, it would become popular online and was decently successful on the charts, at least for Perry at the time, as it was her first charting song since 2001. The track hit number 146 on the ARIA Charts in Australia, number 2 on the Billboard US Hot Singles Sales chart, and its highest peak at the top of the Billboard US Dance/Electronic Singles Sales chart. The song was later certified Platinum by Pro-Música Brasil and Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). A music video was also made of the song, directed by Walter May. The song would later feature on Perry's MTV Unplugged set.
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Background and composition
When asked about the song, Perry and her mother said it was about sex. The song "wasn't meant to be a big single or show what the album is going to be all about. That was for my Internet bloggers, so I'm not coming out of nowhere."[3] Perry's A&R representative Chris Anokute confirmed this by saying that they had no plans for radio coverage but just wanted to put this "novelty" song out online as an introduction to see "what the attraction was". As expected, sales were low, but Anokute said the track did well in terms of building a press story.[4] Due to the song's content, there was concern from the label over commercially releasing "Ur So Gay".[5]
"Ur So Gay" moves at a moderate pace.[1] According to digital sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony-ATV Music Publishing, the song is written in the key of E minor and the tempo is at 80 beats per minute. Perry's vocal's in "Ur So Gay" span from the lower note of E3 to the higher note of D#5.[6]
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Critical reception
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The song's lyrics have been described in a positive review as "eighteen different kinds of wrong".[7] The song itself has been described as an "emo-bashing anthem that's either horribly homophobic, a sly piece of social commentary or, possibly, both".[8] The Tampa Bay Times wrote that the "boyfriend-skewering..... isn't homophobic, but it does pummel straight guys who can't handle her edge".[9] Billboard senior editor Chuck Taylor believed the song "has all the potential to amuse the masses," further commenting that the song is "just too good" for top 40 programmers to not play.[10]
Some critics, however, concluded that song was homophobic. Ugo.com says the song settles for "catchphrase-homophobia"[11] while AllMusic describes the lyrics as "gay-baiting".[12] Writing for Glamour, Christopher Rosa called the track Perry's worst song. He criticized its "offensive queer tropes" and found its lyrics problematic.[13]
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Music video
Background
The video was directed by Walter May[14] and released in November 2007. According to senior vice president of A&R at Capitol Records Bob Semanovich, the purpose of the video was to introduce Perry to audiences in a way that was "fun and playful". Perry conceived the idea to center the video around dolls, as she wanted audiences to know that the song was meant as a "tongue-in-cheek dis[s] track".[5]
Synopsis
In the video, Perry plays the song in front of a bright cartoon-like background with clouds that have smiley faces on them. The characters in the video are played by Fashion Royalty dolls. At the end of the video, the clouds had sad faces on them because of Perry's lyrics.
Live performances
Perry performed the song as part of her MTV Unplugged set, released on the 13th of November, 2009. The song was also performed on Perry's Hello Katy Tour (for One of the Boys) and her California Dreams Tour (for Teenage Dream).
Credits and personnel
Credits and personnel adapted from the One of the Boys album liner notes.[15]
- Katy Perry – writer, vocals, whistles
- Greg Wells – writer, producer, piano, guitar, bass, beats
- Drew Pearson – recording at Rocket Carousel Studio (Los Angeles)
- Joe Zook – mixing at Aus Studios (Studio City)
- Jerry Hey – horn section, horn arrangement
- Gary Grant – horn section
- Bill Reichenbach – horn section
- Dan Higgins – horn section
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Charts
Certifications and sales
References
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