"E.T." is a song by American singer
Katy Perry from her third studio album, Teenage Dream (2010). She co-wrote the song with its producers
Dr. Luke,
Max Martin, and
Ammo. "E.T." was serviced to radio stations as the album's fourth single on February 11, 2011. One version of the song features verses from American rapper
Kanye West, and that version was included on the reissue of the album, Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection. Musically, it is an
electronic and
hip hopballad which draws heavily from
dubstep and
techno, along with smaller amounts of
drum and bass. According to Perry, the song lyrically speaks of "falling in love with a foreigner".[1]
The song became Perry's fifth non-consecutive number one on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100, and also topped the charts in Canada, New Zealand, and Poland. To date, "E.T." has sold 6 million digital downloads in the U.S., and is certified eight times platinum in the country. It was the fourth biggest song of 2011, according to Billboard.
Perry's decision to write "E.T." came after its beat was accidentally played during a recording session she had with
Dr. Luke,
Max Martin, and
Ammo. It was originally intended for American hip hop group
Three 6 Mafia.[2] However, after hearing it, Perry chose to work with the track. She told
MTV News: "I heard it and I always knew I wanted to write this futuristic, alienistic song, and they pulled it up and I was like, 'Wait, I can wrap my head around this. I know this seems like a long shot, but I think I have the perfect material to put on top of this sound.' And I did, and it really worked out perfectly."[3]
The solo version of the song was released as a promotional single from Teenage Dream, first in the United States on August 17, 2010,[4] and six days later in Australia.[5] In December 2010, Perry asked fans through
Twitter to help her select the album's fourth single. On December 13, 2010, she tweeted, "Thanks for all your great suggestions for the next single today!" and "Your voice has been heard! We're on the same page."[6] In early January 2011, Perry announced via
Facebook that "E.T." would be the record's fourth single. The announcement was accompanied with the single's artwork, which features Perry with "cat eye make-up, bangs, and a sequined top".[7] Unlike the original, the single version features rap verses from rapper
Kanye West.[8]
According to Perry, the song is about "falling in love with a foreigner".[1] James Montgomery of
MTV News also noted that Perry sings about a "lover from different dimension".[30] For its single release, the song was reworked to feature two verses from
Kanye West, in which he raps about "extraterrestriality".[38] "E.T." opens with the first rap verse by West containing the lines "I got a dirty mind / I got filthy ways / I'm trying to bathe my Ape in your milky way / They callin' me an alien / A big-headed astronaut".[38] Then, using metaphors about
extraterrestrials, Perry sings, "You're not like the others / Futuristic lover / Different
DNA".[39] The
chorus has Perry addressing her lover: "Kiss me, kiss me / Infect me with your love and / Fill me with your poison", claiming to be "ready for
abduction".[40] West contributes a second verse to the track, before Perry's final refrain, with heavily
auto-tuned vocals: "I know a bar out in
Mars / Where they driving spaceships instead of cars".[36][39] He finishes with a reference to the fictional animated character
Shrek and lyrics about "alien sex": "I'mma disrobe you then I'mma probe you / See, I abducted you so I tell you what to do."[38] Ben Kaplan from National Post noted West's presence on the track was similar to the work on his fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak (2008).[36]
Critical reception
Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly felt that Perry shows strength on the song, comparing its sound to a combination of American rock musicians
Lita Ford and
Trent Reznor.[41] Kerri Mason from Billboard felt that "E.T." together with some other tracks from the albums is heavier sonically and lyrically, with a boom-boom-pow electro punch and Perry discussing more toxic relationships."[42] Even though Robert Copsey from
Digital Spy stated that West's contribution on the track was "needless", he felt that the track "is a quirky and assured slice of state-of-the-art pop".[43] Ben Kaplan from The National Post lauded the track as a "great duet", praising the vocals of both performers.[36] Speaking for West's contribution on the track Brad Wete from Entertainment Weekly noted that the song was improved from a male perspective.[44]Stephen Thomas Erlewine from
AllMusic commented that Perry "replicates
Ryan Tedder's glassy robotic alienation on 'E.T.', but tellingly avoids ripping off
Lady Gaga".[37]
Matthew Cole of
Slant Magazine disliked the single's "inscrutability" and said that song's
backing track was reminiscent of
t.A.T.u.'s "
All the Things She Said".[45] Jason Richards from Now called the song "awkward" and Sputnikmusic's Rudy Clapper dismissed its attempt at a more mature sound, calling it "cheesy".[46][47]PopMatters' staff writer Steve Leftridge called the song "neither strong nor edgy nor clever nor sonically interesting enough to lend any genuine credibility to Perry as a serious artist with anything to actually say".[48] Amos Barshad of New York magazine felt West's alien metaphors went into jarring,
misogynistic directions.[39] Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club gave the song a C−, saying that while its lyrical content was "borderline-embarrassing", it did earn "a couple bonus points for showing a relatively darker side" of Perry, while A.V. Club editor Steven Hyden was more critical of both Perry's and West's lyrics, saying that "borderline-embarrassing" was too generous and that "the whole concept of the song is so beyond either side of
sanity" that it was impossible to grade.[49]
Chart performance
One week before the official release of Teenage Dream, the solo version of "E.T." was released as a promotional single and debuted on the US
Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 42, selling 64,000 digital copies.[4] Following its single release featuring West, the song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 on March 5, 2011, at number 28 with 110,000 copies being sold.[50] In its fifth week, for the issue dated April 9, 2011, "E.T." topped the chart, giving Perry her fifth and West his fourth number-one single on the Hot 100.[51] It ended the six-week run of
Lady Gaga's "
Born This Way" and made Teenage Dream the ninth album in history to yield four number-one singles.[52] "E.T." spent five non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Hot 100 chart and was replaced one week by "
S&M" by
Rihanna featuring
Britney Spears and later by
Adele’s "
Rolling in the Deep." It was certified eight times Platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[53] It topped the BillboardHot Digital Songs chart for seven weeks, the longest since
Eminem and
Rihanna's "
Love the Way You Lie" in 2010.[54] "E.T." is one of the
best-selling singles worldwide, and is the second-highest-selling single of Perry's career. "E.T." was the fourth-biggest Billboard hit of 2011,[31] and third best-selling digital song of 2011 in the United States with sales of 4.83 million.[55]
It debuted the same week on the
Canadian Hot 100 at number 13.[56] In Australia, the song debuted at number 12 and peaked at number five for two weeks in February 2011.[57] Since then "E.T." has been
certified double platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Association.[58] One week after debuting at number 17, "E.T." topped the
New Zealand Singles Chart on January 31, 2011, becoming her sixth number-one in the country, and has been certified platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand for sales of 15,000.[59] As of July 20, 2011, it also became Perry's third single to be on New Zealand's Best Singles of All Time, just behind "
Firework" and "
California Gurls".[60] On February 26, 2011, the solo version of the song entered the BillboardHot Dance Club Songs chart at number 36, and later topped it, becoming her sixth number-one on the chart.[61][62]
On the BillboardMainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs), "E.T." set a record for most weekly plays in the 18-year history of the chart: for the tracking week of April 25 – May 1, 2011,
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems registered 12,330 plays over its 131 stations—an average of 94 plays per station. This figure rewrote Perry's previous record held with "California Gurls" in July 2010 (12,159).[63] That record was later broken yet again by Perry, when her single "
Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" registered 12,468 plays for the week dated August 13, 2011.[64] Meanwhile, on the
Rhythmic Airplay Chart, she achieved her first number-one hit, a rare feat for female pop artists considering she was the third to ever do so.[65]
In other Billboard charts, "E.T." reached number two on the
Adult Pop Songs chart, and the top 20 on the
Adult Contemporary and
Latin Pop Songs charts.[66][67] Its highest sales week according to
Nielsen SoundScan came in its fourth week at the summit of the Billboard Hot 100, where it sold 344,000 copies following its American Idol performance.[68] The song sold over 300,000 digital copies in a week four times, becoming one of four songs in history to achieve this.[54] The song sold three million digital copies by May 2011, becoming Perry's sixth song to achieve the feat, more than any other artist in digital history.[69] The song sold four million in digital sales by July 2011, Perry's fifth song to reach this mark, no other artist had more than three 4 million-sellers.[70] "E.T." was the highest selling track for the first half of 2011. The song is Perry's fourth and West's first song to reach the five million range which, for Perry is more than any other female artist in digital history.[71][72] As of August 2020, the song has sold six million copies in the US.[73]
The song re-entered the
Canadian Hot 100 at number 18 following its single release and topped the chart in its twelfth week, on May 7, 2011.[74][75] In the British Isles, the single peaked at number three in its eighth week on the
UK Singles Chart, becoming her eighth top ten hit there while reaching number three in Scotland and number five in Ireland.[76] It reached the top ten in Austria (7), Germany (9), Italy (9), France (10), and became a top twenty hit in the Walloon region of Belgium (14), Denmark (12), Finland (15), Norway (13), Sweden (12), and Switzerland (14).[57][77][78][79] Elsewhere in Europe, the song charted in its solo version at number 18 on the Slovak airplay chart, 20 on the Czech airplay chart, 27 on the
Dutch Top 40, and 28 on the Greek airplay chart.[80][81][82][83]
Music video
Background and production
MTV debuted the video on March 31, 2011.[84] A backstage picture of West wearing street clothes along with Perry in a pastel-colored makeup and a giant braided headpiece was shown on MTV.[8] On March 21, a
teaser trailer was released; it was 12 seconds long and showed clips of an
unidentified flying object.[85] Prior to release, Perry aspired to make it "larger than life".[8][85]
The music video was directed by
Floria Sigismondi. It was produced by Natasha Alexsa Garcia, Danny Lockwood and
Kelly Norris Sarno. The director of photography was
Jonathan Sela. The video was edited by Jarrett Fijal. The online artist was Bill Pollock. VFX were produced at Dot & Effects by
Jeff Dotson. Colorist was Beau Leon at New Hat. The style team included makeup artist Kabuki, hair stylist Pamela Neal and costume designer Carol Beadle, along with wardrobe stylist Johnny Wujek.[86]
Synopsis
The video begins with the song "Where in the World Can My Lover Be?" by
Midge Williams & Her Jazz Jesters playing in the background. As the music begins, West is shown in a
Sputnik-like spacecraft revealing pictures before zooming out of the craft.[87] In the video, Perry, as an alien, drifts through
outer space while slowly evolving into a humanoid appearance before landing on an abandoned
Earth filled with trash. Clips are interspersed of large felines hunting
game.[88] She comes across a broken robot, resembling a spaceman; upon her kiss, it turns into a naked man, played by
Shaun Ross.[89] It is eventually revealed that Perry's legs resemble those of a
gazelle.[90] Meanwhile, West is featured in the video floating in a traveling spacecraft.[91][92] The video also alludes to a presumable future, as Perry finds a box containing a skeleton of a
pigeon (a species said to have gone
extinct in 2030) and a pair of Vogue sunglasses, which she later wears. Throughout the video, Perry wears heavy cosmetics,[93] including blue and pink make-up, catlike and reptile-like eyes, and braids resembling those of
Medusa.[94][95]
Reception
The video received positive reviews from critics. Willa Paskin of New York magazine praised Perry's looks in the video as "detailed, outlandish, [and] semi-gorgeous rainbow-
kabuki".[90] Kara Warner from MTV News also praised her appearance in the video, calling her an "angelic alien princess". She also felt the video was Perry's "most complex, stylized and out-there video production yet".[88] Joseph Brannigan Lynch of Entertainment Weekly felt that West's rap verses helped the song top the
Billboard Hot 100, and called the video an "awesomely bizarre sci-fi video, which impressively resists any obvious Spielberg references".[96] Matthew Perpetua from Rolling Stone described the video as "a sequel to Avatar or a Katy Perry video game", and felt the song and video were "a bold move away from Perry's usual silliness and sexuality".[35]Los Angeles Times described the video as a "sweeping visual manifestation".[97] In a more negative review, Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine criticized Perry, saying she looked like an "animated video-game character" while saying West was a "non-presence". Cinquemani later went on to say: "It's a step up from bras that shoot whipped cream and fireworks, but this is ultimately Sigimondi's vision, and it's far from her finest five minutes."[98] At the
2011 MTV Video Music Awards, the video for "E.T." won awards for
Best Collaboration and
Best Special Effects, while also receiving nominations for
Best Art Direction,
Best Direction and
Best Editing.[99][100] The video earned a nomination for
Best International Artist Video at the
2011 MuchMusic Video Awards.
Live performances and cover versions
The song was included on the set list of the
California Dreams Tour, Perry's second concert tour.[101] Perry has also performed "E.T." at several venues, including a performance at
Madison Square Garden in
Manhattan on December 10, 2010, for
Z100's Jingle Ball.[102] The song was released as a free track on Katy Perry Revenge 2, a game for the
iOS application Tap Tap.[103] A lyrics video for the single was released on March 16, 2011.[104] After playing "We Will Rock You", West performed "E.T." without Perry at the 2011
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.[105] Perry performed the single with West for the first time on the
tenth season of American Idol on April 21, 2011. Carried by background dancers, she wore a flickering outfit and was joined by West, who was previously unannounced.[106]
An acoustic version of "E.T." was performed by
VersaEmerge in May 2011 at The Fueled By Ramen Studios.[107] On June 27, 2011, the video of a stripped-down cover of the song by the American pop punk/alternative rock band
Yellowcard was featured in Billboard's Mashup Mondays series.[108]
In addition, the single was included on the setlists of Perry's
Prismatic World Tour and
Witness: The Tour, her third and fourth concert tours, respectively.
The song was used as the opening number in her Las Vegas concert residency,
Play.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
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ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201124 into search. Retrieved May 18, 2011.