Katy Perry: Queen of Pop?
Celebrities attend the awards press room after the 28th Annual MTV Video Music Awards at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles. (FlynetPictures.com)But just three years and one smash hit album later, that's just what happened. Katy Perry made pop music history last August when she tied Michael Jackson's record for the most #1 singles from the same album. Perry has had the same number of number #1 singles on the Billboard Top 100 from her mega-hit Teenage Dream album as Jackson did from 1987's Bad.
Katy's success is even more noteworthy because she's the only woman with five #1 singles from the same album and the only living artist with the record. "California Gurls," "Teenage Dream," "Firework," "E.T.," and "Last Friday Night" all went to #1 on the Billboard charts. As for Michael Jackson, he hit the same milestone in 1988 with "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," "Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Man in the Mirror" and "Dirty Diana" from his Bad album.
Perry was ecstatic when she tied Jackson's record, telling Billboard magazine, "Hitting No. 1 is always a great moment, but when it turns into a small piece of history, you're reminded of how many millions of people are connected to each other by even one tiny event," she said. "Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen. Ever since I was 9 years old, singing into my hairbrush, I've dreamed very big dreams, but today is bigger than my dreams. What a nice first birthday present for Teenage Dream!"
When they tied Jackson's record with "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)," Katy and her record label seemed content to enjoy the accomplishment for a little while. When asked about the possibility of releasing a 6th single, Capitol Records' Greg Thompson was coy: We want to savor five right now, but in the world of Katy, you never know.
Just two months later, Katy and her label have put Michael Jackson's record on notice with the release of a 6th single from Teenage Dream, a mid-tempo ditty called "The One That Got Away." Can the girl with the Crayola colored hair and the cupcake bra possibly top the King of Pop? Let's take a look back at the hits that got Katy to this point and see whether "The One That Got Away" will be the song that helps her break MJ's record.
California Gurls (featuring Snoop Dogg)
Number of weeks spent at #1: 6Why America loved it: With a little help from Snoop Dogg, Katy crafted the ultimate summer song. The insanely catchy ode to West Coast gals had us dancing around in our daisy dukes and bikinis on the beach -- and we loved every minute of it.Teenage Dream
Number of weeks spent at #1: 2Why America loved it: The carefree song about the magic of teenage love was instantly infectious! . Rolling Stone magazine listed it as the fourth best song of 2010 and Glee scored a hit with their version of it.FireworkNumber of weeks spent at #1: 4Why America loved it: Perry has said that this soaring self-empowerment anthem is her favorite track off the album. She devoted the song's music video to the LGBT campaign against bullying and urged her fans to find their own inner fireworks.E.T. (featuring Kanye West)Number of weeks spent at #1: 5Why America loved it: "E.T." offered a grittier sound than the sticky sweet hits that had come before it, but Katy's fans ate it up all the same. The addition of a few Kanye West rhymes and an out of this world music video sent this song into the stratosphere.Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)