The trouble with 'I Kissed A Girl'

Since we first wrote about 'I Kissed A Girl' by Katy Perry, it's become a proper smash across the pond, spending the last three weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The UK is next on Perry's hit list, with 'I Kissed A Girl' being released over here on September 1. You have been warned.

Well, we've listened to 'I Kissed A Girl' quite a lot over the last few months and truth be told we just can't warm to it. We like its sound, essentially a bubblegummy take on Goldfrapp doing electro-glam, and we like its chorus, which is just as instant as you'd expect from a Max Martin/Cathy Dennis co-write. But something about 'I Kissed A Girl' just doesn't feel right.

It's got something to do with the slight whiff of desperation surrounding the track. Katy Perry has been trying to make it as a popstar for years - she released a Christian pop album back in 2001 and was dubbed 'The Next Big Thing' by a US music mag as long ago as 2004. Now that she's finally landed a major label record deal, she's hawking a single with a mildly titillating title to snare maximum publicity.

And it doesn't help that when you actually listen to the lyrics, 'I Kissed A Girl' is as shocking as a pair of multicoloured pop-socks. Perry downs a drink, loses her inhibitions and kisses someone who happens to be the same sex as her. She says she likes it, but this has more to do with the "taste of cherry chap-stick" than anything else. Then, to make abundantly clear that she isn't actually a lesbian, she tells us that she hopes her boyfriend "don't mind".

Actually, Perry comes across as the sort of girl who kisses her best mate at the school disco - while the teachers aren't looking, of course - to catch the eye of spunky Stephen Pearson from year 12. "Ain't no big deal, it's innocent," she sings at one point. Nobody's expecting Perry to live out her lyrics, but at least when Madonna plays lesbian for attention she has the decency to sound like she's enjoying it.

Haven't heard 'I Kissed A Girl'? The video appears for your viewing pleasure below:



What do you think of 'I Kissed A Girl'? Do you think it will be a hit in the UK? Use the space below to have your say.