"Ur So Gay" is a song released 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 ...

from her EP of the same name. She co-wrote the song with its producer Greg Wells while Drew Pearson served as the track's engineer. It was later included on 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 ...

''.

Background and composition

When asked about the song, Perry said it was about a

metrosexual ''Metrosexual'' is a portmanteau of '' metropolitan'' and ''sexual'' coined in 1994, describing a man of ambiguous sexuality, (especially one living in an urban, post-industrial, capitalist culture) who is especially meticulous about his groomin ...

boy. The song "wasn't meant to be a big single or show what the album is going to be all about. That was for my Internet bloggers, so I'm not coming out of nowhere." Perry's A&R representative

Chris Anokute Chris Anokute is an A&R executive and Founder of the entertainment company, Young Forever Inc. He was born from Nigerian parents, grew up in New Jersey, and currently resides in Los Angeles, California. His first stint in A&R was when he was hired a ...

confirmed this by saying that they had no plans for radio coverage but just wanted to put this "novelty" song out online as an introduction to see "what the attraction was". As expected, sales were low, but Anokute said the track did well in terms of building a press story. Due to the song's content, there was concern from the label over commercially releasing "Ur So Gay". "Ur So Gay" moves at a moderate pace. According to digital

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...

published at Musicnotes.com by

Sony-ATV Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021. US-based, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is itself owned ...

, the song is written in the key of

E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: : Changes needed ...

and the

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 ...

is at 80

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 ( ...

. Perry's vocal's in "Ur So Gay" span from the lower note of E₃ to the higher note of D_#5.

Promotion and reception

The song's lyrics have been described in a positive review as "eighteen different kinds of wrong". The song itself has been described as an "

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

-bashing anthem that's either horribly

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...

, a sly piece of social commentary or, possibly, both". The ''Tampa Bay Times'' wrote that the "boyfriend-skewering..... isn't homophobic, but it does pummel straight guys who can't handle her edge". ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' senior editor Chuck Taylor believed the song "has all the potential to amuse the masses," further commenting that the song is "just too good" for top 40

programmers A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software. A programmer is someone who writes/creates ...

to not play. Some critics, however, conclude the song is homophobic. Ugo.com says the song settles for "catchphrase-homophobia" while

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

describes the lyrics as " gay-baiting".Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2008). "''One of the Boys'' – Katy Perry" review AllMusic. Retrieved June 24, 2008. Writing for ''

Glamour Glamour may refer to: Arts Film * ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film * ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film * ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film Writing * ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women * ''The Glamour ...

'', Christopher Rosa called the track Perry's worst song. He criticized its "offensive queer tropes" and found its lyrics problematic.

Music video

Background

The video was directed by Walter May and released in November 2007. According to senior vice president of A&R 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 ...

Bob Semanovich, the purpose of the video was to introduce Perry to audiences in a way that was "fun and playful". Perry conceived the idea to center the video around dolls, as she wanted audiences to know that the song was meant as a "tongue-in-cheek dis track".

Synopsis

In the video, Perry plays the song in front of a bright cartoon-like background with clouds that have smiley faces on them. The characters in the video are played by Fashion Royalty dolls.

Live performances

Perry performed the song as part of her '' MTV Unplugged '' set. Also on

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 A ...

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 ...

Credits and personnel

Credits and personnel adapted from the ''One of the Boys'' album liner notes. *

– writer, vocals, whistles *

Greg Wells Greg Wells is a Canadian musician, record producer, songwriter and audio engineer. Wells has songs on over 130 million albums sold. He has worked with John Legend, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ariana Grande, Jazmine Sullivan, Kid Cudi, Adele, Rufus Wai ...

– writer, producer, piano, guitar, bass, beats *Drew Pearson – recording at Rocket Carousel Studio (Los Angeles) *Joe Zook – mixing at Aus Studios (Studio City) *

Jerry Hey Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's '' Thriller'', ''Rock with You'', ...

– horn section, horn arrangement *Gary Grant – horn section * Bill Reichenbach – horn section *

Dan Higgins Dan Higgins (born January 28, 1957 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American saxophone and woodwind player. He has worked with such artists as John Williams, Seth MacFarlane, Aerosmith, Stevie Wonder, Neil Diamond, Al Jarreau, Maroon 5, Kenny Loggin ...

– horn section

Charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control 2007 songs Katy Perry songs LGBT-related songs Songs written by Katy Perry Songs written by Greg Wells Song recordings produced by Greg Wells LGBT-related controversies in music Trip hop songs