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ET

Promotional single cover.

ETUNR

Urban Noize Remix cover.

"E.T." is a song by Katy Perry from her third studio album Teenage Dream. It was written by Perry, Lukasz Gottwald, Martin Sandberg, and Joshua Coleman. The song was released as the last promotional single for the Countdown to Katy Perry's Teenage Dream on August 17, 2010. A demo of the song was leaked months before the album's official release which features a longer intro and vocals. The song is also listed as "Extra Terrestrial" on Perry's official ASCAP.

The song replaced "Peacock" as the fourth single of the album. A remix of the song was released on February 16, 2011 as the official single and features rapper, Kanye West, along with a slightly altered instrumentation. Katy Perry tweeted on February 1, 2011 about the collab saying: "verrrry happy about the new collab remix that just went down... it's on another level." The single featuring Kanye West was released on February 18, 2011. The promotional version of the single was digitally released for promotion through iTunes and entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #42 due to strong digital downloads. The re-released single peaked at number one in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Poland as well as within the top five in Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom and the top 20 in ten other European countries

Background

The decision to write "E.T." came after it was accidentally played in the recording studio—it was originally intended for American hip hop group Three 6 Mafia.[1][2] Admiring its acoustics, Perry chose to work with the track, wishing to write a "futuristic, alienistic [sic] song".[3] Perry has said she is very interested in aliens and wanted to write a song about the idea of a "foreign love".

Inspiration for the song

Composition

An album track of three minutes and twenty-six seconds, the song is an electronic pop and hip hop ballad, with elements of teen pop. BBC Music described the song as a "rave-influenced quasi ballad". It written by Perry, Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, and Joshua Coleman, and produced by the last three, with Gottwald and Coleman credited as Dr. Luke and Ammo. According to sheet music from Alfred Music Publishing, the song was originally published in F minor and follows a slow tempo of 76 beats per minute in common time. Perry's voice spans E♭4 to F5. According to Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times, the song carries influences from Barbadian singer Rihanna and features Perry using a "hip-hop diva's stutter". The song's instrumentals have been described as "a mishmash and bleeps and blips with a driving drum track". Darryl Sterdan of the QMI Agency noted the song uses the "stomp-stomp-clap" beat from Queen's "We Will Rock You" (1977), while Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted similarities to productions by Ryan Tedder. Matthew Perpetua of Rolling Stone felt the song was similar in sound to hard rock ballads by Evanescence. According to Perry, the song is about "falling in love with a foreigner". Using metaphors about extraterrestrials, she sings, "You're not like the others / Futuristic lover / Different DNA". The chorus has Perry addressing her lover: "Kiss me, kiss me / Infect me with your loving / Fill me with your poison", claiming to be "ready for abduction". For its single release, the song was reworked to feature two verses from Kanye West, which continue the extraterrestrial metaphors. Opening the track with "I got a dirty mind / I got filthy ways", he then goes on to say, "They callin' me an alien / A big-headed astronaut". West contributes another verse before Perry's final refrain, with heavily Auto-Tuned vocals: "I know a bar out in Mars / Where they driving spaceships instead of cars". He finishes with a reference to the fictional character Shrek and lyrics of "alien sex": "I'mma disrobe you then I'mma probe you / See, I abducted you so I tell you what to do." The National Post's Ben Kaplan noted West's presence on the track was similar to his work on his fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak (2008).

Lyrics

You're so hypnotizing
Could you be the devil?
Could you be an angel?
Your touch, magnetizing
Feels like I am floating
Leaves my body glowing
They say be afraid
You're not like the others
Futuristic lover
Different DNA
They don't understand you

You're from a whole 'nother world
A different dimension
You open my eyes
And I'm ready to go, lead me into the light

Kiss me, ki-ki-kiss me
Infect me with your lovin'
Fill me with your poison
Take me, ta-ta-take me
Wanna be your victim
Ready for abduction
Boy, you're an alien
Your touch so foreign
It's supernatural
Extraterrestrial

You're so super sonic
Wanna feel your powers
Stun me with your lasers
Your kiss is cosmic
Every move is magic

You're from a whole 'nother world
A different dimension
You open my eyes
And I'm ready to go, lead me into the light

Kiss me, ki-ki-kiss me
Infect me with your lovin'
Fill me with your poison
Take me, ta-ta-take me
Wanna be your victim
Ready for abduction
Boy, you're an alien
Your touch so foreign
It's supernatural
Extraterrestrial

This is this transcendental
On another level
Boy, you're my lucky star
I wanna walk on your wavelength
And be there when you vibrate
For you I'll risk it all, all

Kiss me, ki-ki-kiss me
Infect me with your lovin'
Fill me with your poison
Take me, ta-ta-take me
Wanna be your victim
Ready for abduction
Boy, you're an alien
Your touch so foreign
It's supernatural
Extraterrestrial

Extraterrestrial
Extraterrestrial
Boy, you're an alien
Your touch so foreign
It's supernatural
Extraterrestrial

Kanye West
I got a dirty mind, I got filthy ways
I'm tryna to bathe my ape in your milky way
I'm a legend, I'm irreverent, I be reverend
I’ll be so fa-a-a-a-a-ar up
We don't give a fuh-uh-uck
Welcome to the danger zone
Step into the fantasy
You are not invited to the other side of sanity
They callin' me an alien, a big headed astronaut
Maybe it's because ya boy Yeezy get ass a lot

Katy Perry
You're so hypnotizing
Could you be the devil?
Could you be an angel?
Your touch, magnetizing
Feels like I am floating
Leave my body glowing
They say be afraid
You're not like the others
Futuristic lover
Different DNA
They don't understand you

You're from a whole 'nother world
A different dimension
You open my eyes
And I'm ready to go, lead me into the light

Kiss me, ki-ki-kiss me
Infect me with your lovin'
Fill me with your poison
Take me, ta-ta-take me
Wanna be your victim
Ready for abduction
Boy, you're an alien
Your touch so foreign
It's supernatural
Extraterrestrial

You're so super sonic
Wanna feel your powers
Stun me with your lasers
Your kiss is cosmic
Every move is magic

You're from a whole 'nother world
A different dimension
You open my eyes
And I'm ready to go, lead me into the light

Kiss me, ki-ki-kiss me
Infect me with your lovin'
Fill me with your poison
Take me, ta-ta-take me
Wanna be your victim
Ready for abduction
Boy, you're an alien
Your touch so foreign
It's supernatural
Extraterrestrial

Kanye West
I know a bar out in Mars
Where they driving spaceships instead of cars
Cop a Prada space suit about the stars
Getting stupid high straight up out the jars
Pockets on Shrek, rockets on deck
Tell me what's next? Alien sex
I'mma disrobe you
Then I'ma probe you
See, I abducted you
So I tell you what to do
I tell you what to do, what to do, what to do

Katy Perry
Kiss me, ki-ki-kiss me
Infect me with your lovin'
Fill me with your poison
Take me, ta-ta-take me
Wanna be your victim
Ready for abduction
Boy, you're an alien
Your touch so foreign
It's supernatural
Extraterrestrial

Extraterrestrial
Extraterrestrial
Boy, you're an alien
Your touch so foreign
It's supernatural
Extraterrestrial

Music video

ETMV-icon
Information
Shot 2011
Director (s) Floria Sigismondi
Length 5:09
Videography
From
TEENAGE DREAM
"California Gurls"
"Teenage Dream"
"Firework"
"E.T."
"Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"
"The One That Got Away"
"Part of Me"
"Wide Awake"

The music video for "E.T." was released on March 31, 2011 and was directed by Floria Sigismondi. The video features rapper, Kanye West. In an interview with NRJ's French radio show Le 6/9 on March 10, 2011, Katy Perry revealed she was satisfied with her decision to collaborate with Sigismondi, after having previewed a 30-second clip. Prior to the release of the music video, posters of Perry resembling an alien were posted around different cities announcing the release date of the music video. Prior to its release, there have been posts on Katy's official Facebook page in alien writing saying how much longer the wait would be. On the release date of the video, there was a post saying that 'E.T. has landed'. A link to the video in YouTube was added.

Synopsis

The video begins on a deserted plant corvered in litter. You then see what looks to be a broken robot. This is when the excitment begins. First, Kanye West is rapping in a spacepod. The scene is then cut to where, Perry, as an alien, drifts through outer space singing in alien form before transforming into a human-like appearence (see picture below). When she is singing Katy starts entering the abandoned planet. West begins rapping again as Katy comes across the broken robot. She kisses the robot, which turns into a naked male, played by Shaun Ross, upon her kiss. After kissing Shaun, Katy removes the sheet covering her legs and reveals that Perry's legs are in fact those of a gazelle. The video ends with Katy and Shaun looking at a beautiful sunset.

References

  1. Montgomery, James; Calloway, Sway (April 1, 2011). [[1]] Katy Perry Says She Swiped 'E.T.' From Three 6 Mafia". MTV News. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
  2. Herrera, Monica (July 23, 2010). "Katy Perry: The Billboard Cover Story". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. p. 2. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
  3. Montgomery, James; Calloway, Sway (April 1, 2011). "Katy Perry Says She Swiped 'E.T.' From Three 6 Mafia". MTV News. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
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