"Hummingbird Heartbeat" is a song recorded 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 campy style, she has been referred to ...

for her third studio album, '' Teenage Dream'' (2010). It was written by Perry,

Christopher "Tricky" Stewart Christopher Alan "Tricky" Stewart (born January 4, 1974) is an American record producer, record executive, songwriter, and music publisher. In a career spanning over 30 years, Stewart has won 5 Grammys and is responsible for over 50 million rec ...

Stacy Barthe Stacy or Stacey may refer to: Places In the United States: * Stacy, California, an unincorporated community * Stacy, Kentucky * Stacy, Minnesota, a city * Stacy, Virginia, a village People * Stacy (given name) * Stacy (singer) (born 199 ...

, and Monte Neuble. Stewart handled the production of the song, while

Kuk Harrell Thaddis Laphonia "Kuk" Harrell ( ) is an American songwriter, vocal producer, arranger and engineer. He was a member of a songwriting–production team composed of himself, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash. In 2011, Kuk ...

produced Perry's vocals. "Hummingbird Heartbeat" was inspired by Perry's boyfriend at the time,

Russell Brand Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian and actor known for his flamboyant, loquacious style and manner. Brand has received three British Comedy Awards: Best Newcomer (2006), Best Live Stand-Up (2008), and the award for ...

. Musically, it is a

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-styled

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...

song that contains a mixture of elements from rock and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...

. Lyrically, the song compares the feeling of being in love to the speed of a hummingbird's heartbeat. The song received generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, many of whom labeled it as a potential single choice. Upon the release of ''Teenage Dream'', "Hummingbird Heartbeat" charted on the lower regions of the South Korea Gaon International Chart, peaking at 124.

Background and composition

In an interview with

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about '' Teenage Dream'' in August 2010, Perry revealed that "Hummingbird Heartbeat" was one of the first songs she wrote for the album after she finished her

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 ...

(2009). When speaking about the song, Perry said she first had the idea for the song while she was in her hometown of Santa Barbara, California: "I was at breakfast when I saw this hummingbird, and the hummingbird was having breakfast as well..... and I don't know if you know this but hummingbirds are supposedly good luck and I was thinking 'How fast does their hearts beat?' , like 'how many beats per minute?' And using that idea for how someone makes you feel, instead of those butterflies, it makes your heart beat really, really fast." "Hummingbird Heartbeat" is a

-styled

song that contains a mixture of elements from rock and

. The song encompasses electric guitars, a piano, and synthesizers in its production. The song also features an acoustic drum kit, unlike the other songs in the album.

Reception

Upon the release of the ''Teenage Dream'' album, "Hummingbird Heartbeat" charted on the lower regions of the South Korea Gaon International Chart, peaking at 124. Tom Thorogood from

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

gave a positive review of the song, labeling it a strong single choice and calling it a: "nice companion to Teenage Dream, 'the story of the birds and the bees' is more grown up with proper guitars." Jeb Inge of '' The Journal'' called "Hummingbird Heartbeat" the strongest song on the album, while Michael Gallucci of ''

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'' declared the song an album highlight and compared it to " Teenage Dream", adding that they were both "top-down bangers." Gary Trust from ''

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'' compared "Hummingbird Heartbeat" to the first five ''Teenage Dream'' singles, and felt that if released as a single, would help Perry become the first artist with six number-one singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In July 2013, Robert Copsey and Lewis Corner of

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said "a full music video and worldwide push would have been more satisfactory". From February 20, 2011 to January 22, 2012, Perry embarked on the

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 ...

, where she performed "Hummingbird Heartbeat". For most of its shows, the song was the second track performed. It preceded "

Waking Up in Vegas "Waking Up in Vegas" is a song by American singer Katy Perry, released as the fourth and final single from her second studio album, '' One of the Boys'' (2008). Perry wrote the song with Desmond Child and Andreas Carlsson, and Greg Wells produce ...

" and followed " Teenage Dream".

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

of ''Teenage Dream''. *

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, writer * C. "Tricky" Stewart – producer, writer, keyboards,

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

programming * Brian "B-Luv" Thomas –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

guitar 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 string ...

s recording * Andrew Wuepper – engineering, vocal sound, guitars recording * Chris "TEK" O'Ryan – engineering, guitars recording *

Pat Thrall Patrick Thrall is an American rock guitarist. Thrall began his recording career in 1972. He played guitar, vocals, and percussion with the group Cookin' Mama, which had his brother, Preston Thrall, on percussion. They released the album ''New Day ...

– additional engineering, drum programming * Luis Navarro – assistant engineer * Steven Dennis – assistant engineer * Nicolas Essig – assistant engineer * Randy Urbanski – assistant engineer *

Serban Ghenea Șerban Ghenea (born October 13, 1969) is a Grammy award-winning Romanian-Canadian audio engineer and mixer. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1969. In 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. He later attended ...

– mixing * John Hanes – engineering for mix * Tim Roberts – assistant engineer for mix *

– vocals producer * Brent Paschke – guitars * Michael Thompson – guitars,

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Monte Neuble – writer, keyboards *

Josh Freese Joshua Ryan Freese (born December 25, 1972) is an American session drummer. He is the son of tuba soloist Stan Freese and the older brother of musician Jason Freese. He is a member of the Vandals (since 1989) and Devo (since 1996), having f ...

– live drums *

Steve Churchyard Steve Churchyard is an English record producer, recording engineer and mixer who began his career at Sir George Martin’s AIR Studios in London. He currently resides in the United States. He has been nominated for 15 Grammy awards. In 2008 he wo ...

– engineering for live drums *

– writer

Charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2010 songs Katy Perry songs Songs written by Katy Perry Songs written by Tricky Stewart American hard rock songs Songs written by Stacy Barthe es:Hummingbird Heartbeat