"Harleys in Hawaii" is a song by American singer

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

. It was released as a standalone single on October 16, 2019, by

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, along with its music video. It was later included on Perry's sixth studio album, '' Smile'' (2020). The song was written by Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Perry and its producers Charlie Puth and Johan Carlsson.

Development and release

The song's cover art, revealed in October 2019, was called "retro" on '' Fox News''. She said the inspiration for the song was a trip to Hawaii with fiancé

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. Perry shot a music video for the song in Hawaii in July 2019. The video was produced by Catalan video producer Canada and directed by Pau Lopez, Gerardo del Hierro, and Tomas Pena under the name Manson and was released on October 16, 2019.

Composition

"Harleys in Hawaii" is a tropical,

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, reggae and R&B song, which describes Perry's emotions as she rides Harley-Davidson motorcycles in Hawaii with her lover. It has a moderately fast tempo of 140 beats per minute and follows a common time signature of . It is played in the key of B minor and follows a chord progression of Bm-Em-Fm. The song is three minutes and five seconds long.

Critical reception

Dani Blum from '' Pitchfork'' believed that Perry remains " master at executing proven chart-topping formulas". He praised Perry's vocals and deemed the track " standard, breezy pop: a gently writhing beat". Mike Wass of

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wrote that Perry "switches it up with a soft and sexy bop" after "delivering a double dose of emotional pure-pop" with her previous singles "

Never Really Over "Never Really Over" is a song by American singer Katy Perry, released on May 31, 2019 by Capitol Records. The song was later included on the track list of her fifth studio album, ''Smile'' (2020), as the first song on the album. It is an ele ...

" and "

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". He also stated that the song is "a mid-tempo earworm" and a "refreshingly grown pop song" despite its " kitsch title". Louise Bruton from '' The Irish Times'' described the song as "hazy and oddly brilliant". "Harleys in Hawaii" was deemed as a highlight on ''Smile'' by

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

of AllMusic. John Dolan of '' Rolling Stone'' described "Harleys In Hawaii" as " cute island R&B escapade".

Chart performance

"Harleys in Hawaii" debuted at number one in the

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chart, 67 in Scotland and 71 in Canada. The song did not chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but landed at number ten on the Bubbling Under Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at No. 45 on the

Official Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in October 2019. It saw resurgence in sales and streams in September 2021, where its chart sales rose 426% month-on-month. A part of this can be attributed to the song going viral on TikTok. The track was streamed 215,000 times in the UK, a large increase from the 25,000 average weekly streams it was getting earlier in the year prior to going viral.

Impact

Mark Gardiner from '' The New York Times'' noted the song's marketing value for the Harley-Davidson company. He said that "Harleys in Hawaii" has been viewed extensively by a demographic that "the motorcycle maker has had a hard time reaching." According to '' Business Insider'', the publicity is estimated to be worth over $40 million for Harley-Davidson. In 2021, the song became a popular TikTok trend.

Accolades

Track listing

*Digital download and streaming #"Harleys in Hawaii" — 3:06 *Digital download and streaming (Win and Woo Remix) #"Harleys in Hawaii" (Win and Woo Remix) — 3:26 *Digital download and streaming (KANDY Remix) #"Harleys in Hawaii" (KANDY Remix) — 2:45

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. *

– vocals, songwriter * Charlie Puth – producer, songwriter, backing vocals, drum programming, synthesizer * Johan Carlsson – songwriter, producer, backing vocals, drum programming, synthesizer, guitar, rhodes *Jacob Kasher Hindlin – songwriter *Peter Karlsson – vocal editor, vocal producer *Jeremy Lertola – engineer, assistant recording engineer *Cory Bice – engineer *Rachael Findlen – engineer *Sam Holland – engineer * Serban Ghenea – mixing *John Hanes – mix engineer *Dave Kutch – mastering engineer

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2019 singles 2019 songs Katy Perry songs Capitol Records singles Harley-Davidson Songs about bicycles Songs written by Charlie Puth Songs written by Johan Carlsson (musician) Songs written by Katy Perry Songs written by Jacob Kasher Tropical songs Trap music songs American reggae songs