Originally, "California Gurls" was intended to be sent tomainstream andrhythmic airplay on May 25, 2010. However, it instead debuted on May 7, 2010, after the song leaked online. It was subsequently released toiTunes on May 11, 2010. Upon its release, "California Gurls" received generally positive reviews from music critics, with the majority of critics labeling it a "summer anthem",[1] as well as complimenting its production and chorus. The song earned aGrammy Award nomination forBest Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the53rd Annual Grammy Awards. In 2012,Billboard ranked it No. 1 on a special "The 30 Summer Songs of All Time" listing.
"California Gurls" was a commercial success, topping the USBillboard Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks, giving Perry her second No. 1 single in theUnited States and Dogg his third. It also topped the record charts in seven other countries, was thebest-selling single of 2010 in Canada, and is certified Platinum or higher in nine countries, including 9× Platinum inAustralia, and Diamond inCanada and the United States. When "California Gurls" was certified Diamond by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Perry became the first female artist to have four Diamond-certified singles in the United States, the others being "Firework", "Roar" and "Dark Horse".
The accompanying music video for "California Gurls" was directed byMathew Cullen, and depicts Perry and her backup dancers as pieces of a board game, set in the fictional "Candyfornia". Perry has said that the inspiration behind the music video was artistWill Cotton, who was also the artistic director for the video. It has also been noted that the music video was influenced by several other works, includingCharlie and the Chocolate Factory,Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and the board gameCandyland. The song would be performed on all of Perry's tours since herCalifornia Dreams Tour, alongside her concert residency,Play. It was also included in Perry's performance atPepsi'sSuper Bowl XLIX halftime show in 2015, atGlendale, Arizona. It has also appeared in numerous pieces of media, including the video gameJust Dance 3.
Perry found Snoop Dogg as a rapper with whom to collaborate on "California Gurls" through a search on Wikipedia.
In an interview withHitQuarters, Perry'sA&R agent at the time,Chris Anokute, said that while travelling back from an Oscar after-party, Perrytexted him to say she did not think the album was finished and that it needed one more song. She said that she wanted to write a song about California girls.[2] During aRolling Stonephoto shoot in April 2010, Perry revealed details about the song, reportedly a response toJay-Z's "Empire State of Mind", she stated:
"It's so great that 'Empire State of Mind' is huge and that everybody has the New York song, but what the fuck? What about LA? What about California? And it's been a minute since we've had a California song and especially from a girl's perspective. We took the references of Prince, which is always a great reference, and we took a lot of the '90s, ... almost that house music, some of those references."[3]
Perry used Wikipedia to research which rapper she wanted to collaborate with for "California Gurls", browsingWest Coast artists before selecting Snoop Dogg.[4] Initially, the song was going to be titled "California Girls". The spelling was changed to "California Gurls" after the death ofBig Star memberAlex Chilton as a nod to their song, "September Gurls".[5] Rondor Music, the company that owns the publishing rights tothe Beach Boys' "California Girls", allegedly threatened a lawsuit due to the lyric "I wish they could all be California Girls", a line that was taken from the Beach Boys' song.[6]
After the song was leaked online,Capitol Records decided to release it early, and it was posted on Perry's official website, and the radio date was moved down from May 25, 2010, to May 7, 2010.[7]
"California Gurls" received widespread critical acclaim. The song was given five stars from Nick Levine ofDigital Spy who commended Perry's "charismatic" vocals on the song as well as its "unstoppable pop chorus".[12] Leah Greenblatt ofEntertainment Weekly and Katie Hasty ofHitFix called it "the summer jam" of 2010.[13][14] Rob Sheffield ofRolling Stone said that the song sets the tone forTeenage Dream.[15] Chris Richards ofThe Washington Post praised the song, calling it "fresh" and "fierce". He commended the expertise of the song's arrangement and its "buoyant" chorus. Richards went on to say that "California Gurls" is "an ever-lasting gobstopper of a tune" and that "summertime megahits rarely feel this good".[16] MusicianBrian Wilson, who had co-written the Beach Boys' "California Girls", commended Perry's vocal on her song and described its melody as "infectious".[17]
Glenn Gamboa ofNewsday reviewed the song saying, "'California Gurls' is a fizzy-pop concoction of empty calories, but it sure does stick with you." He went on to note that the craftsmanship of the song was of a high standard.[18] Steve Leftridge ofPopMatters called "California Gurls" the radio jam of the summer of 2010 and "the gargantuan singalong fantasy that delivered on the promise built by the disco thump of hits like 'I Kissed a Girl' and 'Hot n Cold'." Leftridge also praised the song's musical composition, lyrical content and chorus which he said "you know by heart halfway through your first listen."[19] The track was deemed as a highlight onTeenage Dream byStephen Thomas Erlewine ofAllMusic.[20] Michael Cragg ofmusicOMH praised the song, "First single California Gurls is brilliant, brattish fun, Perry sounding sweet and coy on the verses before that huge chorus erupts".[21]Edna Gundersen ofUSA Today said that the track is "an effervescent toast to summer fun."[22] In a negative review,Greg Kot ofChicago Tribune dismissed the song as "relentlessly mechanical". He went on to describe Perry's vocal performance on the song as "a series of syllables digitally stitched together."[23] The single received aGrammy nomination forBest Pop Collaboration with Vocals.[24] On May 25, 2012,Billboard ranked the song number one on a special The 30 Summer Songs of All Time listing.[25]
Perry in a soundcheck at the MuchMusic Video Awards in 2010
"California Gurls" sold 294,000digital downloads in its first week and debuted at number one on the USBillboardDigital Songs chart. It debuted at number two on theBillboard Hot 100, making it Perry's highest debut on the chart at the time. On the issue dated June 19, 2010, the song reached number one, becoming Perry's second number-one song and Snoop Dogg's third.[26] "California Gurls" became the first single by an artist signed toCapitol Records in nearly 43 years to ascend to the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in its fourth week sinceBobbie Gentry's single "Ode to Billie Joe" reached the top after four weeks on the chart.[26] It is Perry's third number one on the Pop Songs chart. "California Gurls" became the first song to top the 300,000 mark in digital sales more than once in 2010 with 318,000 and 359,000 copies sold in the first and second week of June, respectively.[27] Within seven weeks of its release, "California Gurls" sold over two million downloads, which is the second fastest pace to do so in digital history behindFlo Rida's "Right Round".[28] It debuted at number 31 on theBillboardRadio Songs chart and in the July 10, 2010, issue it reached number one on the magazine'sHot Dance Airplay chart, giving Perry her second number-one single on that chart. As of June 2023, the song has been certified Diamond by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA),[29] making Perry the first female artist to achieve this with 4 singles and sold 5.9 million copies in the US.[30]
On May 24, 2010, "California Gurls" debuted on the Australian Singles Chart at number three, and later reached the number-one spot.[31] On theRIANZ Top 10 Radio Airplay Charts, the song came in at number one in New Zealand[32] and also received Gold certification fromRecording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ). "California Gurls" entered theUK Singles Chart on June 27, 2010, at number one, becoming her second chart-topper in the country. The single sold 123,607 copies in the UK in its first week (the second highest number in 2010 after the Helping Haiti charity single "Everybody Hurts").[33] After two weeks, the song sold 216,000 copies in the UK.[34] On October 29, 2010, theBritish Phonographic Industry classified the single as a "platinum record" (meaning it has sold over 600,000 units).[35][36] As of October 2013, the single had sold 780,787 copies in the United Kingdom, becoming Perry's third best-selling single there behind "Firework" and "Roar".[37] Elsewhere, "California Gurls" reached number one in Canada. In Germany, the song rose to number three, staying 37 weeks on the chart.[38] "California Gurls" was certified Platinum in Germany in November 2011 for 300,000 units sold.[39] "California Gurls" has sold 13 million copies worldwide as of May 2022.[40]
Perry in the music video, seen as she engages in a battle with Snoop Dogg
The video was directed byMathew Cullen and was inspired by the work ofWill Cotton, who was also the artistic director of the video.[41][42] Filming of the video began on May 14, 2010. It premiered on June 14, 2010.[43][44][45] Perry explained the use of a candy theme instead of a beach theme for the video, saying, "It's definitely something to watch when you have the munchies. ... It's all edible. We named it 'Candyfornia' instead of 'California', so it's a different world," she said. "It's not just like, 'Oh, let's go to the beach and throw a party and then shoot a music video!' It's more like, 'Let's put us California Gurls in a whole different world!"[46] The video has been controversial since there were several accusations of plagiarism against Perry, one due to similarities between the video and "Fergalicious" byFergie, particularly in the sets and the outfits.[47]
In the music video, Perry is a game piece in Candyfornia, a game based inpoker andboard games. The settings are inspired in part byAlice's Adventures in Wonderland,Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the board gameCandy Land, with much of the set decorated withcupcakes,ice creams,cotton candy, andlollipops.Snoop Dogg, who is referenced in the lyrics by his old name Snoop "Doggy" Dogg, appears in the video as a king named "Sugar Daddy" that is holding several young women (Queens of Candyfornia) captive throughout the game, using candy-related devices to hold them. Perry moves around, experimenting with objects. She moves through the land, making discoveries and freeing the women. In the chorus, she appears lying down on a cotton candy cloud, naked. Snoop Dogg tries to block her advances in many ways. When all the women are free, Perry leads them in a dance on the beach. Seeing the women freed, "Sugar Daddy" becomes enraged, marching on the women's position with an army ofgummy bears. Perry defeats the army with whipped cream guns attached to her breasts, after which the stunned king throws down his staff and surrenders. The video ends with "Sugar Daddy" buried up to his neck in the sand by the women, nonetheless admiring their beauty and (in a nod to theBeach Boys song) wishing that women everywhere could be California girls. Various California landmarks appear in the video, such as theHollywood Walk of Fame, theHollywood Sign,Sunset Boulevard, theCapitol Records Building, theGolden Gate Bridge andVenice Beach which were all made out of confectionery.[48][49]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.
^"Certified Awards Search".British Phonographic Industry. Archived fromthe original on May 24, 2024. RetrievedNovember 8, 2010. Customise search with the following settings – Search by: "Keyword", By Award: "Platinum", By Format: "Single" – then search by "California Gurls".
.jpg)
