"Ur So Gay" is the song released by pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 singer Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...

, produced by Greg Wells and engineered by Drew Pearson. The song was Perry's first major label release, and was later placed on her major label album, One of the Boys

One of the Boys (Katy Perry album)

One of the Boys is the second studio album by American recording artist Katy Perry and her major-label debut. Her change in record label and adoption of a pseudonymous surname accompanies a notable shift from the Christian gospel rock of her self-titled debut album. The album was released on June...

. Capitol Records

Capitol Records

Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...

 offered the song as a free download on their website. The song failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100.

Background

When asked about her debut single, Perry said the song was a "soft hello". The song "wasn't meant to be a big single or show what the album is going to be all about. That was for my Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

 bloggers, so I'm not coming out of nowhere." Perry's A&R Chris Anokute

Chris Anokute

Chris Anokute is an A&R executive. While at Capitol Records he oversaw artists including Katy Perry, Joss Stone and Varsity Fanclub. He is currently Senior Vice-President of A&R at Universal Motown.-Career:...

 confirmed this by saying that they had no plans for radio coverage but just wanted to put this "novelty" song out online as an introduction to see "what the attraction was". As expected, sales were low but Anokute said the single did well in terms of building a press story.

For the release of the single, Perry's label told her to include a cover. She originally wanted to cover a Queen

Queen (band)

Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...

 song, but couldn't think of a particularly club-worthy song. While at a club with her friends, The Outfield

The Outfield

The Outfield are an arena rock-influenced English pop rock/power pop power trio based in London, England. The Outfield are unusual for a British band in that they enjoyed commercial success in the U.S., but never reached the album or singles charts in their homeland...

's "Your Love

Your Love (The Outfield song)

"Your Love" is a song from The Outfield's debut album, Play Deep. It was written by John Frederick Spinks. The song reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 & #7 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1986.-Covers:...

" was played. Perry said that when the song came on, every girl in the place went onto the dance floor, and she wanted to have that same effect.

Promotion and reception

The song's lyrics have been described in a positive review as "eighteen different kinds of wrong". The song itself has been described as an "emo

Emo

Emo is a style of rock music and its associated subcultureEmo may also refer to:- Businesses :* Emo , an Irish oil company and filling station chain* Emo Speedway, a racetrack in Emo, Ontario...

-bashing anthem that's either horribly homophobic

Homophobia

Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...

, a sly piece of social commentary or, possibly, both." The St. Petersburg Times

St. Petersburg Times

The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...

writes that the "boyfriend-skewering...isn't homophobic, but it does pummel straight guys who can't handle her edge."

Some critics, however, conclude the song is homophobic. Ugo.com says the song settles for "catchphrase-homophobia" while Allmusic describes the lyrics as "gay-baiting". Simon Amstell

Simon Amstell

Simon Marc Amstell is a BAFTA nominated, award-winning English comedian, television presenter, screenwriter and actor, best known for his roles as former co-host of Popworld, former host of Never Mind the Buzzcocks and co-writer and star of the sitcom Grandma's House.-Early life:Amstell was born...

 sardonically commented on Katy Perry's use of the phrase that "if you think that's homophobic, you should just Jew off and stop being so bloody black about it!" on an episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks

Never Mind the Buzzcocks

Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game television show with a pop music theme, currently without a permanent presenter. It stars Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding as team captains. The show is produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC, and is usually aired on BBC Two...

.

Music video

The video was directed by Walter May. In the video, Perry plays the song in front of a bright cartoon-like background with clouds that have smiley faces on them. The characters in the video are played by Fashion Royalty dolls.

Track listings

• 7" Pink Vinyl"

1. "Ur So Gay" (Clean) – 3:39
2. "Use Your Love" – 3:01

• CD Single

1. "Ur So Gay" (Clean) – 3:39
2. "Ur So Gay" (Junior Sanchez Club Remix) – 5:53
3. "Use Your Love" – 3:01
4. "Lost" – 4:20
5. "Ur So Gay" (Instrumental) – 3:38
6. "Ur So Gay" (Junior Sanchez Club Instrumental) – 5:55
7. "Ur So Gay" (Acappella) – 3:15

• Digital Download

1. "Ur So Gay" (Clean) – 3:39
2. "Ur So Gay" (Junior Sanchez Club Remix) – 5:54
3. "Use Your Love" - 3:03
4. "Lost" – 4:20

Charts

Chart (2008)	Peak position
US Hot Singles Sales (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... )	2
US Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes...  (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... )	2

Certifications

Country	Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds)
Brazil Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos The Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos is an official representative body of the record labels in the Brazilian phonographic market.- About :...	Platinum