| "Circle the Drain" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Promotional single byKaty Perry | |
| from the albumTeenage Dream | |
| Released | August 10, 2010 |
| Studio |
|
| Genre | |
| Length | 4:32 |
| Label | Capitol |
| Songwriters |
|
| Producer | C. "Tricky" Stewart |
| Audio video | |
| "Circle The Drain" onYouTube | |
"Circle the Drain" is a song by American singerKaty Perry, from her third studio album,Teenage Dream (2010). It was written by Perry,Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Monte Neuble. Stewart would also produce the song. Lyrically, "Circle the Drain" candidly focuses on a former lover's drug-addiction and the strains it put on both of them. Following its release, several media outlets reported it to have been inspired by her former relationship withTravie McCoy.Capitol Records released the track as apromotional single two weeks before the album's release on August 10.
Critics were divided on the track, with some finding Perry to be in a hypocritical position, given the album's other material. Other reviewers found it nice to see a different side to the singer. The song achieved modest charting, with its highest peak position being number 30 on theCanadian Hot 100. It charted similarly in New Zealand and managed to enter the USBillboard Hot 100 at number 58. "Circle the Drain" has been performed by Perry on her 2011 world tour,California Dreams Tour. On the tour, she was dressed in a catsuit and the stage was decorated incartoonish meat. Concert reviewers gave her performances mixed reviews.
Along withChristopher "Tricky" Stewart and Monte Neuble, Perry wrote the song entitled "Circle the Drain" for her third studio album,Teenage Dream. A total of 17music engineers contributed to the track's composition.[1] Upon its release, critics suggested the song was about her former relationship withGym Class Heroes' lead vocalistTravie McCoy.[2][3][4] When MTV asked for his opinion on the track in 2010, McCoy admitted to hearing about "Circle the Drain", but had never actually listened to the song. Nonetheless, he commented: "I heard she put out a song that's about me, or about some old habits or whatever. [And] I look at it like this: I'm just stoked that she finally has a song with some substance on her record. Good job."[5] McCoy, who has been open about his battle with drug addiction, later revealed that at first he found the song comical, but then he became hurt that she threw him under the bus.[6][7][8] "There's a way that I had to be felt the wrong way or told the wrong way ... maybe I needed to hear that for myself, but it was definitely grimey," he said in a 2021No Jumper interview.[6]
"Circle the Drain" is a rant song where, lyrically, Perry is telling off aself-destructive drug-addicted ex-boyfriend. Its candid lyrics[9][10] also discuss the strains his addiction put on both of them. In the track'schorus, she sings about how she wants to be his lover, not someone who has to take care of him, such as a maternal figure. She also sings about how he had ultimately lost large opportunities.[9] Styled in the genres ofdisco-rock,[11]gothic rock,[12] andhard rock tones,[13] it is anup-tempo song that lasts for four minutes and 32 seconds, and also has influences oftechno.[9] The track is composed in thekey of E♭ minor and is set intime signature ofcommon time, with atempo of 135beats per minute. Perry'svocal range spans over anoctave, from A♭3 to D♭5.[11][14]
Entertainment Weekly writer Leah Greenblatt stated that Perry's lyrical talent is not her strength, adding: "neither, in fact, is rhyming 'forte' with 'foreplay,' as she does painfully on the druggie-boyfriend takedown 'Circle the Drain'."[15]Billboard journalist Monica Herrera found the song to have been inspired byPat Benatar's material, while Perry herself said: "It's kind of like my 'You Oughta Know'Alanis Morissette moment."[2] Al Fox ofBBC News wrote that the song has "menacing undertones" which unveils a different side to Perry, unlike her current "unsolicited residency in many a showbiz column."[16]
Capitol Records released "Circle the Drain" as apromotional single fromTeenage Dream two weeks before the album's release on August 10. The song charted modestly and only remained on music charts for its debut week. The track's highest peak position was on theCanadian Hot 100, where it debuted at number 30; "Circle the Drain" became the biggest jump on that chart (28 places, from number 58) for the week ending on August 28.[17] On theNew Zealand Singles Chart, the song performed similarly, peaking at number 36 on August 23.[18] Additionally, "Circle the Drain" managed to enter the USBillboard Hot 100 at number 58.[19]
Critical reaction to "Circle the Drain" was mixed. Keri Mason fromBillboard believed that tracks like "Circle the Drain" made theTeenage Dream album "get heavier sonically and lyrically, with a boom-boom-pow electro punch".[20]Slant Magazine's Matthew Cole found the singer to be virtually less sympathetic than her former lover. This being because her "put-downs are alternately pedantic" and hypocritical even, as she finds offense to his substance use beforeforeplay, but was singing about blacking out and hooking up on another of the album's tracks – "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)".[21] Chris Richards ofThe Washington Post had a similar reaction, finding it impossible to take any of the cautionary advice "Circle the Drain" offered, as Perry had just bragged about being very drunk on the very same record.[22]
MTV News reporter James Montgomery, said when discussing several tracks onTeenage Dream, one of which included "Circle the Drain", that "they are all really pretty great" and are "destined to be smash hits."[23]Yahoo! Music journalist Chris Parkin found the song to be the only track onTeenage Dream to offer something deep and dark, citing the lyric "You fall asleep during foreplay because the pills you take are more your forté".[24] In his review of the record forPopMatters, Steve Leftridge stated that tracks such as "Circle the Drain" are not strong, edgy or clever enough "to lend any genuine credibility to Perry as a serious artist with anything to actually say."[25]
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Perry included the song on thesetlist for her 2011 worldconcert tour entitledCalifornia Dreams Tour. For performances of the track, the stage was decorated withcartoonish link sausages and rib-eye steak that dangled from therafters,[26] while Perry was dressed in a catsuit.[27] Along with Perry's performances of "Teenage Dream" and "E.T.",music blogIdolator staff writer Erika Brooks Adickman cited "Circle the Drain" as being a highlight of the tour.[28]The Patriot Ledger's Jay N. Miller found "Circle the Drain" to be "the most rocking" out of the setlist's line-up atTD Garden.[29]
In contrast,The Hollywood Reporter quotedRolling Stone's Meredith Blake in her concert review saying she found it pointless to have those items onstage given the song's theme.[26] Writing forNME, Emily MacKay did a live review of the singer's tour at theHammersmith Apollo in London during March 2011. She said that the spiritless "Circle the Drain", "Hummingbird Heartbeat" and "Who Am I Living For?" were enough to make you feel somewhat like that of a "fractious toddler having a series of expensive toys waved in its mottled face by a fretful aunt to keep it from deciding it wants to cry."[30]
Credits adapted fromTeenage Dream album liner notes.[31]
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| CanadaHot 100 (Billboard)[17] | 30 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] | 36 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[19] | 58 |
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)| Studio albums | |
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| Related articles |
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