About This Quiz
Even though she's only in her 30s, Katy Perry has already had a long and complicated career. While still in her teens, Perry got signed to a Christian music label. After the subsequent gospel album they released was a commercial flop, Perry moved to Los Angeles, where she rebranded herself as an Alanis Morisette-style girl rocker. She had some successes during this phase but was still dropped by her new label, Columbia Records.
Luckily, Perry didn't give up. Instead, she made her rock more pop-friendly and was signed by Capital Records. Her 2008 record "One of the Boys" contained several hit songs, including "Hot N Cold" and "I Kissed a Girl." These bops (and their playfully sexy music videos) made Perry famous, setting the stage for future successes, such as her wildly popular albums "Teenage Dream" and "Prism."
Today, Perry is experimenting with electropop sounds and political lyrics. She's also still an A-list star, who regularly puts out insanely charming music videos. That's what this quiz is all about! We've put together a series of screenshots from Perry's vast videography. Given these images (and some verbal clues), can you guess which song each screenshot is from? Warning: this is a tough quiz, which only Perry superfans can master. Are you up for the challenge? Let's get quizzing!
Katy Perry's 2017 hit "Swish, Swish" had an incredibly engaging music video, which centered around Perry's struggles as the leader of an underdog basketball team. Look closely, and you'll spot guest appearances by Rob Gronkowski, Molly Shannon and Doug the Pug.
"Firework" is one of Katy Perry's most successful songs. It was number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also charted internationally. Its music video consisted of a series of vignettes, most of them focused on young people who have to overcome their insecurities.
"California Gurls" was number one on the charts for six weeks. According to Perry, it was intended as a rebuttal to "Empire State of Mind," Alicia Keys and Jay-Z's tribute to New York. Its video, directed by Matthew Cullen, has a memorably saucy candy theme.
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"I Kissed a Girl" introduced Katy Perry to many people for the first time. Its music video, which was directed by Kinga Burza, employs a retro burlesque look. Many of Perry's real-life friends appear in the video, including Kesha.
"You Need to Calm Down" was Taylor Swift's pro-equality ballad, but she also used this song's music video as a way to signal that her feud with Katy Perry is over. Perry appears in "You Need to Calm Down," wearing a hamburger costume.
A big hit for Perry, "Last Friday Night" was the tenth most played single on the radio in 2011. Its music video was equally popular, as it featured a funny storyline as well as hilarious cameos from Cory Feldman, Rebecca Black, Debbie Gibson and several actors from the TV show "Glee."
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Katy Perry's second consecutive top-three single, "Hot n Cold," came out in 2008. In its music video, Perry and her zebra must chase down her handsome bridegroom, who's reluctant to take her to the altar.
An homage to period dramas like "Dangerous Liaisons" and "Anna Karenina," the music video for "Unconditionally" is richly romantic. One of Perry's power ballads, it was inspired by a UNICEF humanitarian trip that the singer took.
A number one hit in the United States as well as Canada, "Dark Horse" has a memorable music video, filled with Egyptian motifs. Notably, the "Dark Horse" music video has been viewed more than 2.7 billion times on YouTube, making it the 16th most viewed video of all time.
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Made when Perry and Mayer were still dating, this 2013 song's music video features a series of real-life couples riding a mechanical bull. According to Perry, the bull is a metaphor for the difficulty of making your relationship work.
"Waking Up in Vegas" is one of Katy Perry's early hits. Its music video story is about a poor couple (Perry and comedic actor Joel David Moore) winning big at the casino before losing everything but a single quarter.
Back in 2008, Katy Perry met 3OH!3 on the Warped Tour, and they decided to collaborate. The result, "Starstrukk," wasn't a massive hit in the U.S. However, it did very well in Belgium, Ireland and Australia.
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One of Katy Perry's more controversial songs, "Ur So Gay," was called homophobic by many critics. However, other critics saw it as clever social commentary. In the music video for "Ur So Gay," Fashion Royalty dolls are shown acting out the song's narrative.
"Hey Hey Hey" wasn't a big hit for Perry, but its playful music video was widely viewed. Directed by Isaac Rentz, the video is set in a dreamy technicolor version of 18th century France.
"Cupid's Chokehold" was a big hit for Gym Class Heroes, a New York-based rap-rock band that flourished in the 2000s. In the "Cupid's Chokehold" video, Perry plays a fan of her then-boyfriend McCoy, who ends up becoming his one true love.
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A very early Katy Perry song, "Simple" came out in 2005. Its music video features Perry wandering around a subway station in Japan during a rainstorm. No matter how passionately she sings, none of the other commuters seem to notice Perry.
Melina Matsoukas, who directed Beyoncé's "Formation" music video, also directed the music video for "Thinking of You," which went to number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. All of the other songs from Perry's 2008 "One of the Boys" album performed better, but some critics praised "Thinking of You" for its raw emotion.
"If We Ever Meet Again" isn't a typical Katy Perry OR Timbaland song, but it charted in the U.S., as well as in Ireland, the U.K. and New Zealand. The music video for the song tells the story of an art thief and a jewel thief who fall for each other.
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Katy Perry released the stand-alone single "Harleys in Hawaii" in 2019. It was not a hit with critics. Forbes Magazine called it "The 7th worst song of 2019" and said it was "forgettable."
A monster hit for Perry, this Kanye West collaboration has it all: a great hook, an irresistible beat and a music video that Entertainment Weekly called "awesomely bizarre." The "E.T." music video went on to be nominated for six MTV Video Music Awards.
The ska- and disco-influenced "Feels" helped put Calvin Harris on many people's radars. The music video for this rollicking tune is set on a desert island. It depicts Perry, Harris, Williams and Big Sean relaxing on a fantastically beautiful desert island.
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"Rise" actually had two music videos. The first one featured Olympic athletes and was acclaimed by critics for its emotional power. The second video shows Perry struggling to fly her parachute through a perilous landscape.
A wistful 2019 love song, "365" only spent a week on the Billboard charts but was a number one hit in Israel, Belgium and other European countries. Its music video stars Perry as a robot who falls in unrequited love with a human test subject, played by Zedd.
Critics agreed that "Birthday" was a banger, but some felt that the song's music video was offensive. In it, Perry dresses up as a series of birthday party entertainers. Her appearance as a Jewish character, Yosef Shulem, was called anti-Semitic by Entertainment Weekly.
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"Wide Awake" almost made it to the top of the Billboard charts, but was beaten by Carly Rae Jepson's "Call Me Maybe." Its music video focuses on Perry's journey through a dangerous labyrinth, on which she is accompanied by a child version of herself.
An indie band from Virginia, Carbon Leaf has been performing since the early '90s. Perry appears in the music video for Carbon Leaf's 2006 song "Learn to Fly" as a girl who attends one of their shows.
"The One Who Got Away" music video was directed by Floria Sigismondi, who also directed the award-winning music video for "E.T." In "The One Who Got Away," Perry plays an elderly woman who regrets letting go of her lover, played by Diego Luna.
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At the beginning of her career, Perry worked with producer Glen Ballard on an album that was never released, called "(A) Katy Perry." After Perry was dropped by Columbia Records and the album was shelved, the music videos for "Diamonds" and other songs were put on YouTube, where they attracted avid attention.
"Small Talk" has an extremely engaging music video, featuring Perry's real-life dog Nugget. Much of its action takes place at a dog show, where owners and their seemingly identical dogs compete.
A best-selling single, "Roar" was certified Diamond after 9.9 million copies of it were sold. Its music video, which tells the story of Perry surviving a jungle crash landing, was filmed at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.
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The music video for Perry's 2017 song "Bon Appétit" was called "as creepy as it is bonkers" by Entertainment Weekly. It depicts Perry as a piece of meat being prepared and served to restaurant patrons. Just before she's eaten, Perry suddenly traps the patrons and has them turned into a pie.
A stand-alone single that was released on vinyl and digitally in 2019, "Never Really Over" performed well internationally. Its music video has a retro New Age look, and depicts Perry and her dancers gyrating in a field while wearing hippie outfits.
When "Teenage Dream" came out in 2010, it topped charts worldwide. Its music video was shot in Perry's hometown of Santa Barbara, a poignant location considering the wistfulness for high school love that permeates the song's lyrics.
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A 2017 song from her "Witness" album, "Chained to the Rhythm" performed well on charts around the world. Its music video, which takes place in a twisted theme park, is a metaphor for the current political climate, according to Billboard writer Gil Kaufman.
A song from Perry's 2014 album "Prism," "This Is How We Do" has a stunning music video, which was directed by Joel Kefali. It uses pop art motifs, included animation, Mondrian paintings and Pee-wee Herman costumes, to create an effect that Rolling Stone called a "dazzling, eye-popping colorgasm."
In 2015, H&M made Perry a central part of their holiday campaign by funding the production of "Every Day Is a Holiday" and its accompanying music video. In the video, Perry frolics with teddy bears, snowflakes and elves while wearing various H&M outfits.
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"Bigger Than Me" is a track from Perry's 2017 album "Witness." In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Perry said that this song is about her disappointment with the results of the 2016 election.
"Act My Age" is a bop from Perry's 2017 album "Witness." With lyrics about Perry's refusal to conform to the "appropriate" behavior for a person in their 30s, its music video depicts Perry palling around with a bewigged cat.
Katy Perry's 2012 song "Part of Me" was originally part of her "Teenage Dream" album, but she cut it because she felt that it didn't fit well with the rest of the album's songs. Its music video depicts Perry joining the Marines.
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In 2004, when Katy Perry was only 20, she worked with The Matrix on "Broken," a song from their self-titled debut album "The Matrix." The Matrix had attained their fame by writing songs for several 2000s-era songstresses, including Christina Aguilera, Hilary Duff, Avril Lavigne and Ashley Tisdale.