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Peacock (song)

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"Peacock"
Song

"Peacock" is a song by American recording artist Katy Perry, taken from her third studio album, Teenage Dream (2010). Filled with suggestive lyrics pertaining to male genitalia, Perry's record label initially went against the idea of including it on her record. Similar to what happened with another song of hers – "I Kissed a Girl" (2008) – she refused. "Peacock" was met with generally negative reviews and, musically, was compared to the 1980's hit "Mickey" by Toni Basil, and Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" (2005).

The song performed well on music charts worldwide despite never being released as a single. Its least successful charting territory was the United Kingdom, while it performed best in the US, topping Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart for a week. Perry has performed "Peacock" on several occasions, including during her 2011 world tour California Dreams Tour. When performing the track, the singer usually wears colorful or glittery clothing.

Background

Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen and Ester Dean assisted Katy Perry in writing "Peacock" for her third studio album, Teenage Dream, released in 2010. According to Perry, the whole point of writing "Peacock" was to play with words.[1] Midway through recording the album, Perry recalled saying to the people she was working with: "Look I've got a lot of jewels, but I really don't have the crown. I really don't have that full-blown presentation". So she then decided to get back into the studio and work with Stargate, a production team co-producing Teenage Dream, during a late-night session and made several more songs, including "Firework" and "Peacock".[1]

Originally, the singer's recording label, Capitol Records, was against the inclusion of the song as a track on Teenage Dream as they deemed "Peacock" too controversial.[2] "They were all a bit worried about the word ‘cock’ and it gave me déjà vu because they did the exact same thing with 'I Kissed a Girl,'" Perry stated. Unhappy with the idea of making her music more family friendly, she refused. "They said, 'We don't see it as a single, we don't want it on the album.' And I was like, 'You guys are idiots'."[2] When asked about "Peacock", Perry stated: "I’m hoping it will be a gay-pride anthem, peacocks represent a lot of individuality.... It’s not just like, 'I wanna see your bulge.'" And then she went on to clarify: "It does have the word cock in it, but art is also in fart! It’s all in how you look at it."[3] Prior to the release of Teenage Dream, the singer debuted "Peacock" in early August 2010 when she performed it at the MTV World Stage in Malaysia.[4]

Composition

"Peacock" (2010)
A 23-second sample of the song's chorus, where Perry sings "I wanna see your peacock-cock-cock" repeatedly.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Peacock" is a dance-pop song, with an up-tempo dance beat, that lasts for three minutes and 52 seconds.[5] The song is composed in the key of D minor and is set in time signature of common time, with a tempo of 138 beats per minute. Perry's vocal range spans over an octave, from B♭3 to D5.[5] Lyrically, the track contains a double entendre with suggestive wording. New York Magazine writer Willa Paskin observed that Perry did the obvious with the song's hook ("she used a common word for penis and made it mean penis!"). Paskin also wrote that "Peacock" could perhaps be the most outrageous example of an entirely obvious double entendre.[6] Perry herself has considered it to be the biggest innuendo in the world. During an interview with MTV News, the singer said that she is a fan of using puns and double entendres and often looks for ways to incorporate it into her material.[1] In the song, Perry repeatedly asks to see their peacock, if they are "brave enough" to do so.[6] Its composition was compared to Toni Basil's's cheerleader anthem "Mickey" by many reviews as both songs are stomping jams, bursting with double meanings.[7][8] In her review of the album, Entertainment Weekly writer Lean Greenblatt dubbed it a shamelessly inane revival of Basil's 1980s hit.[9] Rob Sheffield, of the Rolling Stone publication, noticed the two songs shared a drum hook, and thought of "Peacock" as a sequel to Gwen Stefani's 2005 single, "Hollaback Girl".[10]

Critical reception

Perry performing "Peacock" in Bournemouth, England during 2011.

The track was met with mostly negative reviews from critics, who mostly criticized the song's "cock, cock, cock" line. Chicago Tribune staff writer Greg Knot said that "Peacock" adapting the beat from Basil's "Mickey" into a suggestive metaphor "barely qualifies as an off-color joke let alone a song."[8] For his commentary in Allmusic, Stephen Thomas found the singer to have distinguished herself through desperate vulgarity". Thomas concluded: "All this stylized provocation is exhausting, and not just because there’s so much of it (none of it actually arousing). It’s tiring because, at her heart, Perry is old-fashioned and is invested in none of her aggressive teasing."[11]

USA Today's Elysa Gardner advised people who buy the album to skip the song.[12] In his negative review for the album, Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine found it difficult to think of a song more unrefined or more irritating than "Peacock". He believed all reviews of Teenage Dream will discuss the track, which will be because it is "potentially historic in its badness, to the point that, once you've heard it, you too will have to describe it to other people just to convince yourself that it really exists."[13] Spin magazine writer Mikael Wood remarked that the song contains a double entendre that even a performer such as Ke$ha could find crude.[14]

Writing in music website Sputnikmusic, Rudy Klapper said she would bet that "Peacock" will "never seeing the light of day, primarily because it's a terrible song with a double entendre so blunt it would make Ke$ha blush". Klapper also said the lyrics do not compliment Perry's writing skills.[15] Washington Post staff writer Chris Richards' review of the track was also negative. Talking about how hooks on Teenage Dream are catchy, but quickly start to erode if listeners pay more attention to the words, he cited "Peacock" as an example of this. Describing its chorus as "an earworm of the highest order," he said some of the lyrics are enough to make people clench their teeth.[16] Bill Lamb from About.com was more positive, considering the track to be a pleasant singalong.[17]

Chart performance

Despite not being released as a single, "Peacock" managed to enter on a few charts around the world. The song peaked at number fifty-six on the Canadian Hot 100.[18] It did similarly in the Czech Republic, where it charted at number fifty-two.[19] The UK Singles Chart was where "Peacock" had its lowest charting entry. In the week ending on September 11, 2010, the track found its peak at number one-hundred-twenty-five.[20] On Billboard's US Hot Dance Club Songs, the song had its highest peak position. After eight weeks of appearing on the chart, "Peacock" reached the top spot, replacing La Roux's "In for the Kill",[21] on December 4, 2010.[22] However, by next week, it was superseded by the Richard Vission song "I Like That".[23] As of September 17, 2011 the song has sold over 403,000 copies.[24]

Live performances and cover versions

For most performances of "Peacock", the singer usually dons a glittery aquamarine bustier[25] or a colorful piece of clothing attached to her back that is to resemble peacock feathers. Perry's first performance of the song took place during August 2010 at the MTV World Stage.[4] The stage she performed on included props such as lifesize candy canes, background dancers dressed up like candy canes and a video of a blue eye surrounded by peacock feathers playing in the backdrop. While dancing across the stage, Perry wore a white glitter unitard and tutu.[4]

In November, Perry also performed "Peacock" at New York's Roseland Ballroom, where she introduced herself by popping out of a giant cake, dressed in a purple skin-tight cupcake print dress.[26] Additionally, Perry included "Peacock" in her setlist for her worldwide 2011 concert tour, California Dreams Tour (February–November). When singing the song, the performance would include an elaborated feathered fan dance number. Concert reviewer Jim Abbott for the Orlando Sentinel felt that detailed performances such as the ones done for "Peacock" were a highlight for the singer's tour.[27]

Monthly LGBT-interest magazine The Advocate deemed "Peacock" to be "very gay".[28] Having already parodied another of Perry's song's, "California Gurls", Ryan James Yezak did the same for "Peacock". The idea was conceived after he happened to see one of Perry's music-video producers in Laguna Beach.[28] After being told about the track, and that it was going to be popular and a gay anthem, James Yezak immediately agreed to do a parody. While less than James Yezak's parody of the former, his "Peacock" video received more than 130,000 reviews on the internet just two days after its release.[28]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the Teenage Dream liner notes.[29]

Track listing

Promotional CD
No.TitleLength
1."Peacock" (album version)3:54
2."Peacock" (Hecto Fonseca Main Squeeze Dub Edit)5:50
3."Peacock" (Hector Fonseca Club Edit)8:38
4."Peacock" (Hector Fonseca 12" Mix)8:53
5."Peacock" (Hector Fonseca Main Squeeze Dub)7:48
6."Peacock" (Manny Lehman Progressive Club Vocal Mix)10:25
7."Peacock" (Manny Lehman Tribal Big Room Dub)10:22
8."Peacock" (Cory Enemy & Mai Morreti Vocal Club Mix)5:32
9."Peacock" (Cory Enemy & Mai Moretti Club Mix)5:22

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[18] 56
Czech Republic (IFPI)[19] 52
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[20] 125
US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[22] 1

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Vena, Jocelyn (August 24, 2010). "Katy Perry Says 'Peacock' Is 'The World's Biggest Innuendo'". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved August 22, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  2. ^ a b "Katy Perry Calls Record Label 'Idiots'". MTV. United Kingdom: Viacom. August 15, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  3. ^ Stransky, Tanner (August 2, 2010). "Katy Perry debuts new song 'Peacock': 'I'm hoping it will be a gay-pride anthem'". Entertainment Weekly. Time Warner Inc. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  4. ^ a b c Landman, Gabriella (August 3, 2010). "Katy Perry Debuts 'Peacock' At MTV World Stage in Malaysia". Billboard. New York: Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  5. ^ a b "Katy Perry Peacock – Digital Sheet Music". MusicNotes.com. Universal Music Publishing Group. Retrieved December 23, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  6. ^ a b "Katy Perry's 'Peacock' and the Dying Art of the Double Entendre". New York Magazine. The New York Times Company. August 3, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2011. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  7. ^ Ryan, Chris (August 2, 2010). "Song You Need To Know: Katy Perry, 'Peacock'". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved August 22, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  8. ^ a b Kot, Greg (August 22, 2010). "Album review: Katy Perry, 'Teenage Dream'". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  9. ^ Greenblatt, Leah (August 11, 2010). "Teenage Dream (2010)". Entertainment Weekly. Time Warner Inc. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  10. ^ Sheffield, Rob (August 23, 2010). "Teenage Dream by Katy Perry". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  11. ^ Thomas, Stephen (August 24, 2010). "Teenage Dream: Katy Perry". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  12. ^ Gardner, Elysa (August 18, 2010). "Review: Katy Perry is 'Dream'-ing of Madonna". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  13. ^ Cole, Matthew (August 22, 2010). "Katy Perry: Teenage Dream". Slant Magazine. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  14. ^ Wood, Mikael (2010). "Katy Perry, 'Teenage Dream' (Capitol)". Spin. Spin Media LLC. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  15. ^ Klapper, Rudy. "Katy Perry Teenage Dream". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  16. ^ Richards, Chris (August 24, 2010). "Album review of 'Teenage Dream' by Katy Perry". Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  17. ^ Lamb, Bill (2010). "Katy Perry – Teenage Dream". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved August 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  18. ^ a b "Week of September 11, 2010". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
  19. ^ a b "Radio Top 100 Oficiální" (in Czech). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  20. ^ a b "Chart Log UK: New Entries Update". Zobbel. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  21. ^ "Week of November 27, 2010". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  22. ^ a b "Week of December 04, 2010". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  23. ^ "Week of December 11, 2010". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  24. ^ Trust, Gary. "Ask Billboard: Katy Perry First With Five 4-Million Sellers". Music. Billboard. Retrieved 9/18/2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  25. ^ Daly, Sean (June 11, 2011). "Live Review: Katy Perry "California Dreams Tour," St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, June 10". St. Petersburg Times. Times Publishing Company. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  26. ^ Adickman, Erika Brooks (November 9, 2010). "Katy Perry Turns NYC's Roseland Into Candyland (Photos)". Idolator. Buzz Media. Retrieved August 22, 20110. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  27. ^ Abbott, Jim (June 9, 2011). "Concert review: Katy Perry at UCF Arena". Orlando Sentinel. Tribune Company. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  28. ^ a b c McPherson, Scott (September 1, 2010). "Ruffling Some (Peacock) Feathers". The Advocate. Here Media. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  29. ^ Perry, Katy (2010). Teenage Dream (Liner Notes) (Media notes). Los Angeles, California: Capitol Records. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |coauthors= and |notestitle= (help); Text "p" ignored (help)

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