Music

Katy Perry: ‘Firework’

By Jesse Kornbluth
Published: May 08, 2011
Category: Rock

250,000,000 views on YouTube.

That’s larger than the population of Pakistan, the sixth largest country in the world.

That massive number makes “Firework,” by Katy Perry, the tenth most popular video in the history of YouTube. [Number One: Justin Bieber, at 507 million. Number Two: Lady Gaga, at 364 million.]

And although the song was released in October of 2010, its numbers keep growing — despite the insistence of our nine-year-old that “’Firework’ is sooo four months ago.”

What is it with this video?

I don’t think it’s the music, though it’s a catchy tune and Perry, whose vocal range is not vast, is a tireless, personable performer. And I don’t think it’s her rabid fan base, which showed up around the release of “I Kissed a Girl” and made the first two singles from this album, “Teenage Dream,” into number one hits. [To buy the download of “Firework” for 69 cents, click here. For the CD of “Teenage Dream,” click here.]

I think it’s something bigger.

On one side: horrifying unemployment numbers, the media’s near-total lack of interest in unemployment and bankruptcies and foreclosures.

On the other: an inspirational message from someone with some cred.

Let’s consider the song and the video.

The song is — no ambiguity about it — addressed to losers. It starts like this:

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind
Wanting to start again

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards
One blow from caving in

Do you ever feel already buried deep
Six feet under scream
But no one seems to hear a thing

Well, Katy Perry’s having none of that negativity. Here’s what follows:

Do you know that there’s still a chance for you
Cause there’s a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you’re a firework
Come on show ’em what you’re worth
Make ’em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky

Now consider the visuals.

Recorded in Budapest — where 38,000 people responded to a casting call — the central image of the video is the sparkling, fireworks-like light that streams from Katy’s chest. Those “fireworks” go viral, and fast, as others come to terms with the light released by their now-courageous souls:

— At a pool party, a chubby girl summons the courage to strip down to her bathing suit and jumps into the pool.

— A bald leukemia patient wanders the hallway of a hospital. She sees a pregnant woman, about to give birth, sparkling from her stomach. Inspired, she walks — confidently — onto the street.

— A young magician, confronted by a gang of thugs who were trying to rob him, produces a flock of white pigeons and escapes.

— Fighting parents are nothing new to their son, but they traumatize his little sister. This time the boy jumps up and pushes his parents apart.

— A shy young man has a crush. He gets over his shyness, goes over to him and gives him a kiss.

— And then what seems like all of Budapest dances, their love and self-regard lighting up the night, and as these scenes flash before us, Katy Perry sings:

Maybe the reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow
And when it’s time, you’ll know

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you’re a firework
Come on show ’em what you’re worth
Make ’em go, "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon….

“Firework” was, on the MuchMusic list, the most popular video of 2010 — not shabby for a video that wasn’t released until October 28. For the week ending January 8, 2011, American downloads of "Firework" hit 509,000 — the second highest ever. But it was the YouTube numbers that exploded in the months since January, and here, I’d suggest, is why:

TEEN UNEMPLOYMENT

In 25 states, the average teen unemployment rates are above 25 percent (January, 2011 figures). As for the national unemployment rate: it rose slightly in April to 9.0%. About 13.7 million workers are currently unemployed. If we count those who are long-term unemployed or no longer look for work, we could be talking about an unemployment rate of 15% — the same rate as 1931, in the early stages of the Great Depression.

REAL ESTATE FORECLOSURES

Mortgage lenders repossessed one million homes in 2010. This year, more than 5 million Americans are at least two months behind on their mortgage payments, putting us on pace for a record high foreclosure rate — 1.2 million foreclosures.

CREDIT CARD DEBT

Credit card debt hit $800.5 billion on December 31, an increase of $2.3 billion in a month. This marked the first increase since August 2008, just before Wall Street melted down.

Bleak. And bleaker for the young, who are generationally inclined to believe they’re unseen, marginalized non-entities. Which they are — if you’ve had the pleasure of listening to the inane policy debate in Washington and on the talk shows, you know that the only “important” issues are the national debt, Social Security and medical costs. The young? The poor? The hungry? The unemployed? Maybe when they hire lobbyists, we’ll remember they exist.

And into that winter storm of bad news on bad news, there’s Katy Perry:

You don’t have to feel like a waste of space
You’re original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe the reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow
And when it’s time, you’ll know

Yeah, if I were suffering and I had the strength not to seek out booze or drugs to dull the pain, I’d crank up my hand-me-down Dell and watch “Firework.” And I’d do it more than once, because from January until now, not a damn thing has changed.

Kudos to Katy Perry for offering up an anthem for the lost in a time when all the smart money could care less.