"Hot n Cold" 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 ...
. The song was written by Perry,
Dr. Luke
Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American record producer and songwriter. His professional music career began in the late-night television sketch comedy ...
, and
and produced by Luke and
Benny Blanco
Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also ...
for her second studio album, ''
One of the Boys
''One of the Boys'' is the second studio album by American singer Katy Perry. It was released on June 17, 2008, by Capitol Records. She collaborated with producers Greg Wells, Dr. Luke, Dave Stewart (musician and producer), Dave Stewart, Max Marti ...
'' (2008). It was released as the album's second single on September 9, 2008. The lyrics address an unstable romantic relationship caused by a partner's
mood swing
A mood swing is an extreme or sudden change of mood. Such changes can play a positive part in promoting problem solving and in producing flexible forward planning, or be disruptive. When mood swings are severe, they may be categorized as par ...
s.
The song reached number three on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Perry's second consecutive top-five single, following "
I Kissed a Girl
"I Kissed a Girl" is the debut single of American singer Katy Perry from her second studio album, ''One of the Boys'' (2008). It was released on April 28, 2008, by Capitol Records as the lead single from the record. Perry co-wrote the song with ...
". It also became Perry's second top-five single in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand, and topped the charts in Finland, Germany, Canada, Norway, and Denmark, among others. "Hot n Cold" has sold over 5.8 million pure sales in the US, making it one of Perry's highest-selling singles in the nation.
To promote "Hot n Cold", Perry marked the song's live debut with a performance on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
's ''
Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now''
* Current era, present
* The current calendar date
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...
''. She also performed the song at the
2008 MTV Europe Music Awards, which she hosted. The song's music video, which was directed by
Alan Ferguson, was released on October 1, 2008, and features Perry as a bride who is about to marry her fiancé, who experiences a daydream in which she pursues him after he flees from the wedding. "Hot n Cold" was nominated for the
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
for
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...
at the
52nd Annual Grammy Awards
The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares Pe ...
. Perry has also performed the song on all of her tours:
Hello Katy Tour
The Hello Katy Tour was the debut concert tour by American singer Katy Perry, in support of her second studio album ''One of the Boys'' (2008). It ran from January 23, 2009 to November 28, 2009. The tour visited North America, Europe, Asia, and ...
,
California Dreams Tour
The California Dreams Tour was the second concert tour by American singer Katy Perry, in support of her third studio album '' Teenage Dream''. The tour played 124 shows beginning February 20, 2011 in Lisbon, Portugal and concluding on January 22 ...
,
Prismatic World Tour
The Prismatic World Tour was the third concert tour by American singer Katy Perry, in support of her fourth studio album, ''Prism'' (2013). The tour began on May 7, 2014, in Belfast, Northern Ireland at the Odyssey Arena, concluding on October ...
, and
Witness: The Tour.
Background and composition
"Hot n Cold" was written by Perry, Dr. Luke, and Max Martin and produced by Dr. Luke and
Benny Blanco
Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also ...
. It was recorded in December 2007 in three studios: Dr. Luke's Studios in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Conway Recording Studio in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, and Legacy Recording Studios in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. It was mixed in MixStar Studios in
Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...
.
The collaboration between Perry and Dr. Luke was set up by record executives at
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
, who felt that ''One of the Boys'' was lacking an "undeniable smash or two", and the two co-wrote "I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot n Cold" as a result. Perry revealed that the song was originally considered for release as the album's first single, before "I Kissed a Girl" was chosen.
Written in the key of
G major
G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor.
The G major scale is:
Notable compositi ...
,
"Hot n Cold" is a
pop and
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
song which utilizes
guitars
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
and
synthesizers
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
.
It has a length of three minutes and forty seconds (3:40), and runs at a moderately fast
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...
of 132
beats per minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ( ...
.
The lyrics of the song address a lover of Perry whose
mood swing
A mood swing is an extreme or sudden change of mood. Such changes can play a positive part in promoting problem solving and in producing flexible forward planning, or be disruptive. When mood swings are severe, they may be categorized as par ...
s are affecting the couple's relationship. The song opens with Perry confronting her former partner over his frequent changes of mind, singing "You change your mind like a girl changes clothes / Yeah you
PMS / Like a bitch, I would know". In the chorus, she uses
antonyms to describe her partner's mood changes, with the chorus of the song including the lines, "You're hot then you're cold / You're yes then you're no / You're in then you're out / You're up then you're down".
Critical reception
Alex Fletcher of
Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
gave the song three out of five stars, saying "this track doesn't live up to the hype surrounding its singer, but the choppy guitars and whooshing synths have a certain charm."
In his review for ''
musicOMH
MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.
History
MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...
'', Darren Harvey called "Hot n Cold" a "
Tiffany-style
'80s pop number".
''
ChartAttack
''Chart Attack'' was a Canadian online music publication. Formerly a monthly print magazine called ''Chart'', it was published from 1991 to 2009. While the web version appears to be available online, the domain is now used as a popular media outle ...
'' noted the "frenetic dance-pop" of the track.
In a less positive review, Sal Cinquemani from ''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' criticized the song, saying "Perry confuses
political incorrectness
''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...
with being subversive on tracks like 'Hot n Cold', in which she, in the process of skewering guys who change their minds 'like girls change clothes', just winds up sounding mildly
sexist
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...
."
Jon Caramanica
Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music.
Biography
Born in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, Caramanica received his ba ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' compared the song to "
U + Ur Hand
"U + Ur Hand" is a song by American pop singer Pink. It was lined up as the third single from her fourth studio album '' I'm Not Dead'' (2006). It was released on August 28, 2006, and ignited controversy due to its explicit lyrical content and st ...
" by
Pink
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
, which was also produced by Dr. Luke, saying that it does not share the latter's "passion". Lizzie Ennever of
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
felt the track was not "the most single-worthy song". ''
'' wrote that the song "didn't seem to capture the public's imagination" the way her previous single "I Kissed a Girl" did. The song was nominated for the
".
at number 88 on June 28, 2008, due to strong digital downloads after the album's release, falling off the chart the next week. It re-entered the Hot 100 on August 23, again at number 88. The song peaked at number three on the Hot 100 on November 22, making it her second top-three hit after "I Kissed a Girl". "Hot n Cold" was in the top ten for 18 weeks, spending more time in the top ten than Perry's previous single "I Kissed a Girl", which spent 14 weeks. The song was also a bigger radio hit than "I Kissed a Girl", becoming Perry's first number one on both US
radio charts. It remained in the Hot 100 for a total of 39 weeks. As of August 2020, "Hot n Cold" has been certified 8 times platinum by the