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Listening to Katy Perry's litany of belched alphabets, fruity boyfriends, Vegas hangovers, and lesbian lip-locks on her debut, One of the Boys, it's easy to assume she'll do anything for attention, and a close read of her history proves that suspicion true. Prior to her transformation into a teen tart, Perry was a Christian singer operating under the name Katy Hudson -- an appellation a little bit too close to Kate Hudson, so she swapped last names and started working with big-name producer after big-name producer, cutting sessions with Glen Ballard and then the Matrix. That was enough to get buzz touting her as a next big thing in 2004, but not enough to actually get a record into the stores, a nicety that often proves invaluable for wannabe pop stars. Given this long line of botched starts, maybe it makes sense that the 24-year-old starlet is singing with the desperation of a fading burlesque star twice her age, yet Perry's shameless pandering on One of the Boys is startling, particularly as it comes in the form of some ungodly hybrid of Alanis Morissette's caterwauling and the cold calculation of Britney Spears in her prime. This fusion is no accident, as Perry works once again with Ballard, the producer behind Morissette's breakthrough Jagged Little Pill, and Max Martin, the writer/producer of "Baby One More Time" -- and that's just for starters. She also brings aboard Desmond Child to give "Waking Up in Vegas" an anonymous, anthemic pulse, Dave Stewart to give "I'm Still Breathing" a Euro sheen, and Butch Walker to amp up the amplifiers, giving her a different sound for every imaginable demographic.
All the pros give One of the Boys a cross-platform appeal, but there's little question that its revolting personality is all down to Perry, who distills every reprehensible thing about the age of The Hills reality show into one pop album. She disses her boyfriend with gay-baiting; she makes out with a girl and she's doesn't even like girls; she brags to a suitor that he can't afford her, parties till she's face-down in the porcelain, drops brands as if they were weapons, curses casually, and trades under-the-table favors. In short, she's styled herself as a Montag monster. Perry is not untalented -- she writes like an ungarbled Morissette and has an eye for details, as when she tells her emo metrosexual boyfriend to hang himself with his H&M scarf on "Ur So Gay" -- but that only accentuates how her vile wild-child persona is artifice designed to get her the stardom she craves. Maybe if the music were as trashy as the style, she could get away with it, as it would have a junky thrill, but that's where all the high-thread-count producers actually work against One of the Boys. They flatten everything out, turning the stomping Gary Glitter beat of "I Kissed a Girl" into a leaden stumble and burying Perry's voice underneath Pro Tools overdubs so it all winds up as a faceless wash of sound designed to be placed in TV shows, movie trailers, and malls -- which is of course part of the plan, as this is music designed to be everywhere after Perry's taboo flirtations break down doors. The problem is not with Perry's gender-bending, it's that her heart isn't in it; she's just using it to get her places, so she sinks to crass, craven depths that turn One of the Boys into a grotesque emblem of all the wretched excesses of this decade.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Butch Walker, Producer, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Hager, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Katy Perry, Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dan Chase, Keyboards, Programming, AssociatedPerformer - Darren Dodd, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Joe Zook, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2008 Capitol Records, LLC
Max Martin, ComposerLyricist - Lukasz Gottwald, ComposerLyricist - Dr. Luke, Producer, Drums, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Programming, AssociatedPerformer - Katy Perry, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Cathy Dennis, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Capitol Records, LLC
Greg Wells, Producer - Katy Perry, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Desmond Child, ComposerLyricist - Andreas Carlsson, ComposerLyricist - Joe Zook, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2008 Capitol Music Group, a division of Capitol Records, LLC.
Katy Perry, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Capitol Records, LLC
Greg Wells, Producer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Katy Perry, Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Joe Zook, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2008 Capitol Records, LLC
Greg Wells, Producer, Piano, Programming, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist, Bass (Vocal) - Jerry Hey, Horn, Horn Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Katy Perry, Vocals, Whistle, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Dan Higgins, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - Joe Zook, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Gary Grant, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Reichenbach, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - Drew Pearson, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2007 Capitol Records, LLC
Max Martin, ComposerLyricist - Lukasz Gottwald, ComposerLyricist - John Hanes, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Benny Blanco, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Serban Ghenea, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Tim Roberts, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dr. Luke, Producer - Katy Perry, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Steven Wolf, Drums, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 Capitol Records, LLC
Sam Hollander, Programming, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Katy Perry, Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Joe Zook, Guitar, Mix Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Sean Gould, Guitar, Recording Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - D. Katz , Guitar, Programming, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - S*A*M & Sluggo, Producer
℗ 2008 Capitol Records, LLC
Greg Wells, Producer - Ted Bruner, ComposerLyricist - Katy Perry, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2007 Capitol Records, LLC
Paul Bushnell, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Doug Boehm, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Josh Freese, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Katy Perry, Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - ANNE PREVEN, Producer, ComposerLyricist - SCOTT CUTLER, Producer, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Joe Zook, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - David Levita, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 Capitol Records, LLC
Jeff Bova, Programming, AssociatedPerformer - Katy Perry, Piano, Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dave Stewart, Producer, Guitar, Music Production, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Bill Malina, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ned Douglas, Recording Engineer, Programming, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Joe Zook, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Stephanie Kubiak, Conductor, Assistant Conductor
℗ 2008 Capitol Records, LLC
Greg Wells, Producer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Katy Perry, Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Joe Zook, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2008 Capitol Records, LLC
Matthew Thiessen, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Lance Morrison, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - GLEN BALLARD, Producer, Guitar, Keyboards, Programming, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Serban Ghenea, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Katy Perry, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Scott Campbell, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jolie Levine-Aller, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Stephanie Kubiak, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Angela Vicari, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Liz Isik, A&R Admin - Bryce Bordone, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2023 Capitol Records, LLC
Ted Bruner, Producer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Chris Gehringer, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Serban Ghenea, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Katy Perry, Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Liz Isik, A&R Admin - Bryce Bordone, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2023 Capitol Records, LLC
Album review
Listening to Katy Perry's litany of belched alphabets, fruity boyfriends, Vegas hangovers, and lesbian lip-locks on her debut, One of the Boys, it's easy to assume she'll do anything for attention, and a close read of her history proves that suspicion true. Prior to her transformation into a teen tart, Perry was a Christian singer operating under the name Katy Hudson -- an appellation a little bit too close to Kate Hudson, so she swapped last names and started working with big-name producer after big-name producer, cutting sessions with Glen Ballard and then the Matrix. That was enough to get buzz touting her as a next big thing in 2004, but not enough to actually get a record into the stores, a nicety that often proves invaluable for wannabe pop stars. Given this long line of botched starts, maybe it makes sense that the 24-year-old starlet is singing with the desperation of a fading burlesque star twice her age, yet Perry's shameless pandering on One of the Boys is startling, particularly as it comes in the form of some ungodly hybrid of Alanis Morissette's caterwauling and the cold calculation of Britney Spears in her prime. This fusion is no accident, as Perry works once again with Ballard, the producer behind Morissette's breakthrough Jagged Little Pill, and Max Martin, the writer/producer of "Baby One More Time" -- and that's just for starters. She also brings aboard Desmond Child to give "Waking Up in Vegas" an anonymous, anthemic pulse, Dave Stewart to give "I'm Still Breathing" a Euro sheen, and Butch Walker to amp up the amplifiers, giving her a different sound for every imaginable demographic.
All the pros give One of the Boys a cross-platform appeal, but there's little question that its revolting personality is all down to Perry, who distills every reprehensible thing about the age of The Hills reality show into one pop album. She disses her boyfriend with gay-baiting; she makes out with a girl and she's doesn't even like girls; she brags to a suitor that he can't afford her, parties till she's face-down in the porcelain, drops brands as if they were weapons, curses casually, and trades under-the-table favors. In short, she's styled herself as a Montag monster. Perry is not untalented -- she writes like an ungarbled Morissette and has an eye for details, as when she tells her emo metrosexual boyfriend to hang himself with his H&M scarf on "Ur So Gay" -- but that only accentuates how her vile wild-child persona is artifice designed to get her the stardom she craves. Maybe if the music were as trashy as the style, she could get away with it, as it would have a junky thrill, but that's where all the high-thread-count producers actually work against One of the Boys. They flatten everything out, turning the stomping Gary Glitter beat of "I Kissed a Girl" into a leaden stumble and burying Perry's voice underneath Pro Tools overdubs so it all winds up as a faceless wash of sound designed to be placed in TV shows, movie trailers, and malls -- which is of course part of the plan, as this is music designed to be everywhere after Perry's taboo flirtations break down doors. The problem is not with Perry's gender-bending, it's that her heart isn't in it; she's just using it to get her places, so she sinks to crass, craven depths that turn One of the Boys into a grotesque emblem of all the wretched excesses of this decade.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 14 track(s)
- Total length: 00:50:23
- Main artists: Katy Perry
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Capitol Records (CAP)
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 2023 Capitol Records, LLC ℗ 2023 Capitol Records, LLC
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