"E.T." is a song by American recording artist Katy Perry from her third studio album Teenage Dream (2010). Written by Perry, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Ammo, and produced by the last three, it was released as the album's third promotional single on August 17, 2010. The song was later announced as the album's fourth single and released on February 16, 2011. The single version features vocals by American rapper Kanye West, who also appears in its Floria Sigismondi-directed music video, which was released on March 31, 2011. It is the most recent track to top both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Dance Club Play charts simultaneously. Over a "stomp-stomp-clap" beat similar to Queen's "We Will Rock You" (1977), "E.T." is an electronic ballad that tells of "falling in love with a foreigner". Extraterrestrial metaphors are used throughout, and West continues these metaphors in his two verses, making heavy use of Auto-Tune at times.
Katy Perry "ET" Song ft Kanye West
Though the song was widely noted for its darker and more mature theme, in contrast to Perry's conventional works, critics were overall mixed in response. West's presence on the single also received divided opinions. The single topped the Billboard Hot 100—the fourth from Teenage Dream to do so—for four non-consecutive weeks and is Perry's fifth number one on the chart. It has peaked within the top five in New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland, as well as within the top twenty in ten other European countries.
The decision to write "E.T." came after its beat was accidentally played in the recording studio—it was originally intended for American hip hop group Three 6 Mafia. Admiring its acoustics, Perry chose to work with the track, wishing to write a "futuristic, alienistic song". Following up to the release of Teenage Dream, "E.T." was released as the third and final promotional single on August 17, 2010. In December 2010, Perry asked fans for their opinion on Teenage Dream's next single, through the social networking site Twitter. Speculation arose that "Peacock" would be its next single, but "E.T." was eventually announced as the record's fourth single through her Facebook page. The announcement was accompanied by the single's artwork, which features Perry with cat eye make-up, bangs, and a sequined top. The single version features vocals from American rapper Kanye West and was released on February 16, 2011.An album track of three minutes and twenty-six seconds, "E.T." is an electronic pop and hip hop ballad, with elements of teen pop. BBC Music described the song as a "rave-influenced quasi ballad". It was written by Perry, Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, and Joshua Coleman, and produced by the last three, with Gottwald and Coleman credited as Dr. Luke and Ammo. According to sheet music from Alfred Music Publishing, the song was originally published in F minor and follows a slow tempo of 76 beats per minute in common time.
Perry's voice spans E♭4 to D♭5. According to Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times, "E.T." carries influences from Barbadian singer Rihanna and features Perry using a "hip-hop diva's stutter". The song's instrumentals have been described as "a mishmash and bleeps and blips with a driving drum track". Darryl Sterdan of the QMI Agency noted the song uses the "stomp-stomp-clap" beat from Queen's "We Will Rock You" (1977), while Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted similarities to productions by Ryan Tedder. Matthew Perpetua of Rolling Stone felt the song was similar in sound to hard rock ballads by Evanescence. Following its single release featuring West, on March 5, 2011, the song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number twenty-eight with 110,000 copies sold. "E.T." reached number one on the chart on April 9, 2011 in its seventh week, ending the six-week run of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" to make Teenage Dream the ninth album in the history of the chart to yield four number-one singles. This achievement marked the fifth number-one for Perry and the fourth for West. The song stayed at number-one for three consecutive weeks and returned for a fourth following its American Idol performance, selling 344,000 copies, which according to Nielsen SoundScan, marked a new weekly high for the song. The song has sold over 300,000 digital copies in a week thrice, becoming one of four songs in history to achieve this. "E.T." also reached number one on Billboard's Pop Songs chart, number ten on the Adult Pop Songs chart, and number thirty-eight on the Latin Pop Songs chart. As of April 2011, the song has sold over 2,489,000 in the US.
On the Canadian Hot 100, the song re-entered the chart at number eighteen following its single release. It reached its peak of number two on April 23, 2011. The single has charted in Ireland at number five, and has become a top ten hit in Germany and Italy, a top twenty hit in Austria, Belgium (Wallonia), Denmark, France, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland, and a top forty hit in Belgium (Flanders). On the UK Singles Chart, the single peaked at number three in its eighth week, becoming her eighth top ten hit there. Elsewhere in Europe, the song charted in its solo version at number twenty-two on the Slovak airplay chart, number twenty-seven on the Dutch Top 40, and number twenty-eight on the Czech airplay chart.Perry has performed "E.T." at several venues, including as a bonus song for her Walmart Soundcheck set, and at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan on December 10, 2010 for Z100's Jingle Ball. The song has also been included on the set list of the California Dreams Tour, Perry's second concert tour. The song was released as a free track on Katy Perry Revenge 2, a game for the iOS application Tap Tap. A lyrics video for the single was posted on Perry's website on March 16, 2011. After playing "We Will Rock You", West performed "E.T." without Perry at the 2011 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Perry performed the single on the tenth season of American Idol on April 21, 2011. Carried by background dancers, she wore a flickering outfit and was joined by West, who was previously unannounced.
A music video for "E.T." with West was released on March 31, 2011, premiering on MTV.com. The date was announced in a teaser trailer released on March 21, 2011, which showed clips of an unidentified flying object. The video was directed by Canadian Floria Sigismondi, known for her "dark, feminine" music videos for artists including Christina Aguilera and Marilyn Manson. In an interview with NRJ's French radio show Le 6/9 on March 10, 2011, Perry revealed she was satisfied with her decision to collaborate with Sigismondi, after having previewed a 30-second clip. The video begins with the song "Where in the World Can My Lover Be?" by Midge Williams & Her Jazz Jesters playing in the background. In the video, Perry, as an alien, drifts through outer space before landing on an abandoned Earth covered with litter. Clips are interspersed of large felids hunting game. She comes across a broken robot (resembling a spaceman), which turns into a naked male, played by Shaun Ross upon her kiss. It is eventually revealed Perry's legs are in fact those of a gazelle. Meanwhile, West is featured in the video floating in a travelling spacecraft. Throughout the video, Perry wears heavy cosmetics and extravagant outfits, including blue and pink make-up, cat- and reptile-like eyes, and Medusa-esque braids. New York's Willa Paskin compared her looks to "detailed, outlandish, [and] semi-gorgeous rainbow-kabuki". She has also received comparisons to Lady Gaga's look in the music video for "Born This Way", the Queen of Sheba, Ziggy Stardust, the alter ego of English musician David Bowie, and fictional characters Lara Croft, Padmé Amidala, and Jadzia Dax. The video itself has been described as "a sequel to Avatar or a Katy Perry video game".
"E.T." has received mixed reviews from professional critics. It has been noted for bringing out a different side of Perry, with a darker, deeper, and more mature tone. This was praised by BBC Music's Al Fox who enjoyed the contrast from her conventionally upbeat pop tracks like "Hot n Cold" and "California Gurls". Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly felt Perry showed strength on the song, comparing its sound to a combination of American rock musicians Lita Ford and Trent Reznor. Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine disliked the track's inscrutability and said that "E.T."'s backing track was reminiscent of t.A.T.u.'s "All the Things She Said" (2002). Now's Jason Richards called the song "awkward" and Sputnikmusic's Rudy Clapper dismissed its attempt at a more mature sound, calling it "cheesy". Bill Lamb, writing for About.com, gave a three-and-a-half star review out of five: he was disappointed with the lack of a defined hook, remarking the song could have had more potential and that its "edginess builds without release." Reviewing the remix, critics were divided over West's appearance. Kaplan lauded the track as a "great duet", praising the vocals of both performers, a statement echoed by Lamb, who felt West's verses intensified the song. Further, Entertainment Weekly's Brad Wete felt the song was improved with a male perspective. Digital Spy's Robert Copsey gave a review of four stars out of five, but felt, on the other hand, that the rapper's contribution added nothing to the track. Amos Barshad of New York felt West's alien metaphors went into "strange directions".
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