One of the Boys is the second studio album by the American singer Katy Perry. It was released on June 17, 2008, through Capitol Records. Perry worked with producers including Butch Walker, Dr. Luke, Benny Blanco, Greg Wells, S*A*M and Sluggo, Ted Bruner, Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, and Dave Stewart. It was preceded by her debut extended play (EP) Ur So Gay in 2007.
One of the Boys is Perry's first album under the stage name Katy Perry, following her debut studio album, Katy Hudson (2001), which was released under her real name on Red Hill Records. One of the Boys received mixed reception from critics, with some deeming it as being filled with "potential hits" and others criticizing the material they perceived to be weak. Commercially, it charted within the top ten in Argentina, Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States. One of the Boys earned Perry two Grammy Award nominations, and has sold seven million copies worldwide. It has been certified multi-platinum in Australia, Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The album's lead single and Perry's debut single, "I Kissed a Girl", became Perry's first US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single and the 1,000th number-one rock song on the chart. Its second single, "Hot n Cold", reached number three in the United States, while topping the charts in Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, and Austria, among others. The third single, "Thinking of You", reached the top-thirty in the US, while the fourth and final single, "Waking Up in Vegas", became a top ten hit and her third top ten hit overall. To further promote the album, Perry embarked on two concert tours: the 2008 Warped Tour and her first solo world tour, the Hello Katy Tour.
Background Perry's change in record label, and adoption of a pseudonymous surname accompanied a shift from the Christian rock of her debut album Katy Hudson. The singer stated that she had been working on the album since she was eighteen years old. During the making of the album, Perry signed to and was dropped from a joint-venture between Java Records and Island Def Jam, and Columbia Records, without releasing any singles or a project from either. The original titles for the album were Katy Perry and Fingerprints during this period.
Several unused songs from the original recording sessions were eventually given to other artists after Perry's success, such as "I Do Not Hook Up" and "Long Shot" going to Kelly Clarkson, "Breakout" and "The Driveway" going to Miley Cyrus, and "Rock God" and "That's More Like It" going to Selena Gomez & the Scene. Perry has stated she had written close to a hundred songs in preparation of an album release.Katy Perry: Part of Me (2012)
Perry collaborated with producers Greg Wells, Dr. Luke, Dave Stewart, and Max Martin among others on One of the Boys. Perry co-wrote every song on the album, as well as writing three entirely by herself, including the title track, "Mannequin", and "Thinking of You", which Perry wrote back in 2002, a year after Katy Hudson released.
Once signed to Capitol, label head Jason Flom started studio sessions between Perry, Dr. Luke, and Max Martin, where they created "I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot n Cold". Perry felt either of the songs would have been a strong lead single for the album, but eventually chose "I Kissed a Girl" as a more notable track. Perry then collaborated again with Greg Wells, creating the songs "Ur So Gay" and "Mannequin". According to Perry's A&R Chris Anokute, they ended up with five new songs and then chose six songs from previously shelved sessions to compile One of the Boys. When talking about the songs on the album Perry said that she released the promotional single "Ur So Gay" as an introduction to the album:
Music and lyrics Themes and influences Although Perry's musical style and way of composing ironic and bawdy songs has been heavily compared to the style of singers Avril Lavigne and Lily Allen, the singer was influenced by Queen and Freddie Mercury in particular. All songs on the album were written by Perry, assisted by musicians Greg Wells, Max Martin, Dr. Luke, Cathy Dennis, Desmond Child, Andreas Carlsson, Sam Hollander, Dave Katz, S*A*M and Sluggo, Ted Bruner, Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, Dave Stewart, and Glen Ballard. The album includes several tracks that tell stories — a balance of sad songs and happier tunes. About these opposites, she said, "I think people can appreciate a songwriter who shows different sides..... I've put everything into [this album] and I feel like it's my baby." Its primary sound is pop, in the styles of pop rock, power pop, soft rock, and teen pop, with inflections of pop-punk. "After landing at Capitol, she revamped some leftover tracks, wrote new material, and assembled her official debut, 2008's pop-punk-inflected One of the Boys."
Songs
The opening track is the title track "One of the Boys", where Perry express that she does not want to "be one of the boys of her love interest", describing the song, Charles A. Hohman from PopMatters noted that "she used to belch the alphabet and tape down her tits, but one summer, the tomboy lifestyle just didn't hold her interest, so she started 'studying Lolita religiously' and noticing guys noticing her." The song was inspired by "Confessions of a Teenage Girl" by Bonnie McKee, who after meeting Perry at a thrift shop became her friend and collaborator. Its second track is the lead single "I Kissed a Girl", which generated some controversy, and dealt with the subject of lesbianism. The song was inspired by actress Scarlett Johansson. Musically, it is a pop rock track. It contains influences of new wave and runs through a throbbing beat and an organic instrumental thump, according to About.com's Bill Lamb. The track features instrumentation provided by drums, guitars and bass. The song sparked controversy for its homosexual themes. The album's third song is "Waking Up In Vegas". The song deals with trips with friends to Las Vegas. "Thinking of You" is the first ballad of the album. It is a downtempo pop rock song, as the singer reflects on settling for the second best: "You said move on, where do I go?"/"I guess second best, it is all I will know", she sings. Reviewing the song, editor CT from Billboard described it as "a mid-'90s No Doubt pop/rock palette".
In the fifth track, "Mannequin," Perry critiques a stoic man, singing "You're not a man, you're just a mannequin!" Rolling Stones Nicole Frehsee compared "Mannequin" to 1980s Cher songs. "Ur So Gay" was composed as a tool of revenge by the singer on her ex-boyfriend, where Perry satirizes his exaggerated emo style and metrosexual attitude. It is a trip hop track with a moderate tempo. In the seventh track "Hot n Cold", Perry discusses the theme of uncertainty and the ups and downs of relationships. It is a synthpop song which utilizes guitars and synthesizers. "If You Can Afford Me" cops a mixed message about female materialism. Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine compared the song with Madonna's song "Material Girl" (1984). "Lost" and "I'm Still Breathing" are both ballads, in the latter, she sings: "I leave the gas on/Walk the alleys in the dark", the verse use a metaphor for a dying relationship.
Release and promotion
The album was first released on June 17, 2008. It was released in separate editions: the standard edition, the Australian Tour edition,"Amazon.com: One of the Boys: Australian Tour Edition (Slip): Katy Perry: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved December 29, 2010. which contains the standard CD plus a bonus CD (which was also released as a separate EP on the Australian iTunes Store) containing an acoustic version of "Thinking of You" and remixes, the special edition,"KATY PERRY One of the Boys CD IN DIGIPAK - Music CDs" . Atomic Mall. Retrieved December 29, 2010. which is packaged in a digipak and contains four bonus tracks, and the Japanese re-issue."Amazon.com: One of the Boys (Special Edition) (Incl. Bonus Tracks): Katy Perry: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved December 29, 2010. The European, Japanese, and iTunes editions of the album all contain bonus tracks.
Upon its release, the singer had been heavily criticized for her song, "Ur So Gay", considered by the site The New Gay to be homophobic. The author of the publication added, "It's time for Katy Perry to stop talking nonsense" because "the song trots out a number of tired gay stereotypes to condemn one of Perry's ex-boyfriends and includes a paradoxical chorus". Jane Czyzselska from The Guardian commented that "Perry's song is a rather sweet, refreshing antidote to the avalanche of overtly sexualized boy-grinds-girl songs." She promoted the song in Portugal, and it was not very well received by the public. Her first single, "I Kissed a Girl", became a worldwide controversy. Despite the context, Perry mentioned several times that she does not define herself as heterosexual.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: She has been strongly criticized by the LGBT community, who believe that the singer used music to make money and not on behalf of homosexuals, and by critics who claimed that music leads the girls to be lesbian. The song was criticized by the local headquarters of the evangelical Havens Corners Church, which has set the following sentence in its garden in September 2008: "I kissed a girl and liked it. So I went to hell." To promote the album Perry embarked on three tours: the Warped Tour 2008, her first solo world tour, the Hello Katy Tour, with 89 shows performed, and No Doubt's Summer Tour 2009 as its opening act.
Singles
The album's lead single, "I Kissed a Girl" was released in late April and subsequently soared up the charts. "I Kissed a Girl" was a commercial success. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, 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 twenty countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
The second single, "Hot n Cold", made it onto the chart after the album came out due to digital downloads. It was released as a single in early September, and peaked at number three on the US charts, making it Perry's second consecutive top five single.[ "The Billboard Hot 100"]. Billboard. January 14, 2009. On November 14, the song became Perry's first number one on radio airplay. It is officially one of the ten best-selling digitally downloaded songs of all time after its initial run.
"Thinking of You", the penultimate single, was originally planned to be the first single from the album, but was scrapped for "I Kissed a Girl" due to latter song's surge in popularity. "Thinking of You" received a video in late April 2008, but the video was removed from YouTube and replaced by a new video after the single was re-released as the third international single from the album. Perry shot the second video with director Melina Matsoukas in the first week of December 2008. The video for the single was released on December 23, 2008. The track peaked at number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week of February 12, 2009 where it remained for the next two weeks before declining to number thirty-one in its seventh week on the chart.
"Waking Up in Vegas" is the fourth and final single from the album. It went for radio adds on April 21, 2009, in the US. It was released to Australian radio on March 23, 2009, where it became the fourth most added song in its release week.The Music Network Perry performed it on American Idol in May, resulting in a surge of sales for the song. The music video was shot by Joseph Kahn during March 2009 in Las Vegas and officially premiered on the iTunes Store in the US, and Australia on April 28, 2009. It peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the third top-ten single from the album.