Top 10 Katy Perry Songs

Katy Perry Songs

Photo: Antonio Muñoz, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Our Top 10 Katy Perry Songs list looks back at one of the most popular musical artists of the 21st century who dominated the pop charts with an incredible string of number 0ne hits. For a period of time in the 2000s and 2010s, one could not go too long listening to popular radio without hearing a Katy Perry song. In a span of five years, Katy Perry scored eight number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 music charts. That put her in the same league as artists such as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Madonna and Mariah Carey as far as chart success went. Her concerts have been dazzling spectacular shows that only the biggest stars in the world could produce from a financial perspective. From her songwriting to her soaring vocal abilities and her shining entertaining performances, Katy Perry has became one of the most popular, endearing and much loved stars of the 21st century. Our Top 10 Katy Perry songs are defined by a combination of her biggest hits spread out across her career that we have enjoyed the most. There are so many more that we would have liked to have included on this list. This one was fun to do.

Katy Perry Songs

Photo: Manfred Werner – Tsui, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons

# 10 -Bon Appétit ft. Migos

We open up our top 10 Katy Perry songs list with the great track “Bon Appétit.” The song was released on the album Witness. The album stood as Katy Perry’s fifth studio release. It was issued in 2017. The song “Bon Appétit.” was not a big hit as it hovered in the mid-50s on most music charts around the world. Nonetheless, what a fun ride it was. This song utilized just about every musical style Katy Perry ever explored and then some. Songwriting credit for the song “Bon Appétit.” was given to a boatload of songwriters including Katy Perry, Quavious Marshall, Kirsnick Ball, Kiari Cephus, Max Martin, Karl Schuster, Oscar Holter, and Ferras Alqaisi.

# 9 – Daisies

Continuing with our top 10 Katy Perry songs list we turn to her most recent album entitled Smile. The album was released in 2020. The song “Daises,” was released as the album’s lead single. The song is fueled by Katy Perry’s powerhouse vocals soaring over a rhythmic mix of dance electronica. This is a musically mature work for Katy Perry that still retains that passionate delivery that she is known for. “Daises,” broke the top 40 in the United States and the United Kingdom. It had better success in various Eastern and Northern European countries. The song was written by Katy Perry, Jonathan Bellion, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Michael Pollack, Jordan K. Johnson and Stefan Johnson.

# 8 – Rise

Besides releasing a series of spectacular studio albums filled with number one singles Katy Perry has been involved in various side projects throughout her career. The song “Rise,” was released as a single in 2016. The song was written by Katy Perry for the Olympics.  It was used by NBC all throughout the 2016 Olympics. In many ways it sounded as sort of a sequel to her huge hit “Roar,” released a few years earlier. The song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hit 100 in the Unites States. It became a number one single in Australia and had much chart success around the world. Katy Perry has always been a successful international artist, so writing a song for the Olympics made complete sense. “Rise,” is a soaring inspirational song further cementing Katy Perry’s legacy as one of the biggest stars of the 21st century.

# 7 – Wide Awake

Continuing with our Top 10 Katy Perry songs list we turn now to all her big hits. Obviously, if we were going to include all her big hits we would have to widely expand this list, but that would defeat the purpose of a top 10 list. The song “Wide Awake,” was sort of a coming of age song for Katy Perry. The artist had gone through major personal changes in her life including a divorce from British actor Russell Brand. The song’s poignant serious lyrics, melody and production were in stark contrast to the rest of her material.

Despite the change of style, the song “Wide Awake,” still had major chart success. “Wide Awake,” became a number one hit in The Netherlands and Canada. It just missed the number one spot in the United States as it peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.  The song was written by Katy Perry, Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, Henry Walter and Bonnie McKee.

# 6 – Firework

All these Katy Perry songs are so well crafted and produced that sometimes it seems that the amazing vocals of Katy Perry do not get the credit that they deserve. Listen to Katy Perry sing the chorus on “Firework.” That is a powerhouse vocals comparable to the chops of a Whitney Houston, or a Mariah Carey. She my not utilize the falsetto that those divas did, but Perry’s mid-range is thunderous.

Katy Perry’s “Firework,” was released on the album Teenage Dream in 2010. It was the third single released from the album. The song “Firework,” would become Katy Perry’s fourth number one single on the United States Billboard Hot 100. The song won MTV’s Video of the Year award in 2011. The song was written by Katy Perry, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Sandy Wilhelm and Ester Dean.

# 5 – Teenage Dream

When I first head this song I had two reactions. The first one was of a fan who just simply could not get enough of such a great new very “catchy” song. It had it all, an unstoppable groove, a fantastic verse, and a soaring chorus full of energy, power, and fun. The second way I heard it was as a professional musician and I was blown away by how well crafted the song was. This was pop songwriting at its best 2000’s style.

The song “Teenage Dream,” was released in 2010. It’s hard to believe that this song is already over ten years old as of this writing in 2021. The song was issued as the second single from her Teenage Dream album.  As a single, Katy Perry had herself another number one on her hands. During the summer of 2010 the song “Teenage Dream,” hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

# 4 – Dark Horse

There are casual Katy Perry fans and there are die hard Katy Perry fans. The song “Dark House,” is loved by both groups but especially loved by her die hard fans. “Dark Horse,” is hip hop pop at its finest. From the song’s million dollar production to Katy Perry’s million dollar vocal, everything abut this recording shines brighter than all the Egyptian gold featured in the video. And speaking of the video, Holy son of the pharaohs!  or should we say daughter? Easily one of the most entertaining and spectacular videos we have even seen.

“Dark Horse,” was released as a single from the album Prism. The song hit number one in various countries around the world including the Unites States. The song was written by Katy Perry, Jordan Houston, Lukasz Gottwald, Sarah Hudson, Max Martin and Henry Walter.

# 3 – Roar

As we continue through this top 10 Katy Perry songs list it continues to just be so amazingly inspiring as to how well-crafted these songs are. Of course, they are all written with hit potential in mind, but in the end they are beyond well written. “Roar,” is an amazing song. It’s stunning to watch Katy Perry in this video and compare it to the “I Kissed a Girl,” video which we love incredibly. There was so much artistic growth, but in many ways she was still able to keep that captivating sound fueled with melodic groove or whatever you want to call it that made people originally fall in love with her. This one soars into a stadium sized sounding chorus that makes you want to scream in union with Mrs. Perry.

“Roar,” was released on the album Prism. The album was Katy Perry’s fourth studio album. It was released in 2013. “Roar,” was the lead single from the album. Once again, Katy Perry had a massive hit single on her hands. The song went to number one in multiple countries around the world including the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. The song was written by Katy Perry, Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee and Henry Walter.

# 2 – California Gurls (Official Music Video) ft. Snoop Dogg’

As we close in on the number one spot on our top 10 Katy Perry songs list we turn to the fun song “California Gurls.” Obviously a play on The Beach Boys title “California Girls,” but sounding nothing like it, Katy Perry released the perfect summer song wrapped in a melody and arrangement that was simply undeniably addicting. How could you not love this song” It’s the perfect song to drive along with the windows down on that perfect summer day. It doesn’t matter what age you are, music like this is for everyone.

“California Gurls,” was released on the album Teenage Dream. It was the album’s lead single. The song went straight to number one on the U.S. Hot 100. Songwriting credit for the song went to Katy Perry, Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, Benjamin Levin, Bonnie McKee, Calvin Broadus, and the Beach Boys Brian Wilson and Mike Love.

# 1 – I Kissed A Girl

We close out our top 10 Katy Perry Songs list with the song that made Katy Perry a star. While she had been around the music business for a while, she was still relatively unknown. Her single and video for “I Kissed A Girl,” changed all of that instantly. This was one of the most memorable songs to come out of the 2000s and so far the 21st century. It stands as one of the biggest selling singles of all time.

Katy Perry’s song “I Kissed A Girl,” was released on her debut album One Of The Boys. The song was added to the album at the last minute and was met with resistance from her record company. Record company executives were scared to release it because of the sexual taboo content matter. Yet, once it was released to radio it was met with a striking response from listeners demanding to hear it again and again. And of course, they did, because this is an incredibly well-crafted pop song that pushed the boundaries of accepted norms like all great art does.

“I Kissed A Girl,” went to number one in the United States, The United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Canada, Switzerland, Italy, The Netherlands, and many more. The song was written by Katy Perry, Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin and Cathy Dennis.

List of Number One Katy Perry Songs

The Katy Perry Songs below all hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The songs are  listed in chronological order

From The One Of The Boys Album

I Kissed A Girl

First number one hit: Placed number one in 2008

Katy Perry had five straight number one records in 2010 and 2011 all from the album Teenage Dream

California Gurls

Number One 2010

Teenage Dream

Number One 2010

Firework:

Number One 2010

 E.T.

Number One 2011

Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)

Number One 2011

Part Of Me

Number One 2012

Katy Perry’s final two number one singles so far as of this writing in 2021 were released on her 2013 album Prism

Roar

Number one 2013

Dark Horse

Number One 2013

Katy Perry Songs

Photo: Sleepyibis from New York City, USAUploaded by C.Jonel, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Katy Perry Songs

Photo: Antonio Muñoz, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Katy Perry Songs

Photo: slgckgc, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Katy Perry Songs  article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2021

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