All of Katy Perry’s ‘Teenage Dream’ No. 1 Songs, Ranked
Katy Perry‘s Teenage Dream became the first album by a woman to have five No. 1 songs. One of those tracks is among the best pop songs ever recorded. Another is painfully overrated.
5. ‘Firework’
Blasphemy, I know. To many, “Firework” is one of the best self-empowerment anthems of all time, a perfect pick-me-up to combat sadness and anxiety. As someone who finds self-empowerment anthems almost inherently disingenuous, I never liked “Firework” much. However, I can recognize that it combines baroque strings and dance-pop synthesizers expertly.
After “Firework” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, Perry wrote many other songs in this vein. Her other uplifting tracks — “Part of Me,” “Roar,” and “Woman’s World” — got worse and worse. Se should have written another “Teenage Dream” instead of several more “Firework” clones.
4. ‘E.T.’
Of all the Teenage Dream chart-toppers, “E.T.” is the strangest by far. It’s a techno song about human-alien romance that sounds like it was written in The Matrix. For some, this track is too strange for its own good. To me, this song is a great example of what pop music can be when you throw out the rule book.
Auto-Tune can be used to lazily cover an artist’s vocal deficiencies. However, Perry uses it on “E.T.” to makes herself sound robotic and futuristic. Few pop songs use the technology as creatively as “E.T.”
3. ‘California Gurls’
Perry’s first pop record, One of the Boys, had a few hits on it: “I Kissed a Girl,” “Hot n Cold,” and “Waking Up in Vegas.” It wasn’t clear at that point if Perry was a flash in the pan or if she was here to stay. The moment we all heard the opening riff from “California Gurls,” everyone knew Perry was going to become an era-defining superstar.
Taking its title from The Beach Boys’ “California Girls,” both songs stand as some of the best summer jams ever. One listen will make you want to get to the beach. Or Candyland.
2. ‘Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)’
Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” started a revolution in pop music. She geared it more toward synthesizers, the dancefloor, and the club. Several years into that revolution, “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” showed us that dance music could be funny.
Perry has repeatedly tried to work humor into her catalog, but none of her jokes have worked as well as “Pictures of last night ended up online, I’m screwed / Oh, well / It’s a blacked out blur, but I’m pretty sure it ruled / Damn.” “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” isn’t Perry’s best song. However, it’s the song that best represents her as an artist.
1. ‘Teenage Dream’
During a 2017 interview with The New York Times Magazine, Lorde revealed her opinions on “Teenage Dream.” “When I put that song on, I’m as moved as I am by anything by David Bowie, by Fleetwood Mac, by Neil Young,” she said. “It lets you feel something you didn’t know you needed to feel. There’s something holy about it.”
“Teenage Dream” didn’t reinvent the wheel. It’s another pop love song. It’s just one of the best pop love songs you’ll ever hear.
