Song #961: "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry

Date: July 5, 2008
Weeks: 7

The first time I heard about this song, I assumed it was a cover of Jill Sobule's 90s song of the same name. It's a unique title. I really like Jill Sobule's song. It's a song about the serious issue of exploring sexuality disguised beneath light and fluffy music and vocals. I was curious what had been done with it.

Instead, Katy Perry's song is very different, and quite the opposite. Light and fluffy lyrics describe a scene intended mainly to titillate while the music gets to the serious business of creating thumping bass to dance to.

Not that the song totally lacks serious consideration of the topic, with lyrics like "It felt so wrong, it felt so right" and "my head gets so confused." But that consideration is undermined by lyrics like "I kissed a girl just to try it" and "don't mean I'm in love tonight" and "you're my experimental game."

At risk of harping too much on the comparison between the two songs, I think the difference can be best realized by looking at the different lyrics about the two women's boyfriends. Sobule sings that her boyfriend proposed and says "I'm not giving him an answer yet, I think I can do better." She's not certain about this guy, and by the chorus, it's apparent she's decided she doesn't need him. Perry sings, "I hope my boyfriend don't mind it." She's made up her mind by the chorus that she's sticking with her boyfriend. And then she continues to spend two minutes singing about kissing the girl, just for the sake of getting attention.

I've heard Katy Perry criticized across the Internet for not having much vocal ability. That's clear in this song as you can hear her voice straining in some parts. And I assume Auto-Tune was used to improve her performance. The song deserves credit for using Auto-Tune as intended to correct pitch problems, rather than to create a performance with a fake sound.

I have to say, though, that although she may not be a conventionally talented singer, Perry's vocals fit the song. It's not necessary to sing well to make entertaining pop songs, as long as you can find the right piece of music to match.

And I really enjoy the music. The synthesized thumping bass, synth-guitar, and drum lines are varied and always stay fun. The vocals match the music, particularly when she sings "It felt so wrong, it felt so right, don't mean I'm in love tonight." In that moment, all the sound layers are clicking and they fit together to make a great pop music moment.

My verdict: Like it. This was a tough call because I really wanted to hate it for the lyrics. But the catchy song got stuck in my head and ruined that. Also, it got the annoying lyrics stuck in my head. Anyone know a good mashup or foreign-language translation I can listen to instead?