Katy Perry and her team clearly want to beat Michael Jackson’s record of 5 #1 Hot 100 singles off the Bad album. In March, they will release a deluxe edition of the album (with new tracks) titled Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection. How titillatingly sweet? This album title conjures up images of salivated lollipops wiped all over a man’s genitals. The record company would probably prefer that you think of a pretty little round candy-cane covering Katy’s vajayjay or popping out of her bosom.
It seems as though a rerelease filled with fresh single possibilities is the equivalent of steroid use in sports; Michael Jackson never added a mini-album to his already successful record just so that he could break one. Furthermore, as entertaining as I’ve found this Candifornia theme, it’s time for Katy to move onto a new iteration. If I see one more whipped cream bra, I’m going to replace its contents with pepper spray.
With all that said, Peacock would be the perfect way to end the Teenage Dream era. The One That Got Away was a bit sad, and possibly a bit too real for Katy. It would be best to end the party with just as much noise, energy, and fun as it began. Stargate, the party-track production duo behind many of Rihanna’s hits, including Don’t Stop The Music and Only Girl, and Katy’s Firework, have created a delicious sonic atmosphere that perfectly suits Ms. Perry's tongue-in-cheek bubblegum persona. Some would most definitely find the song annoying, but most of us would love it (if we don’t, already!). I mean, c’mon, she sings the most obvious innuendo out there with the words “I wanna see your peacock, cock, cock, your peacock, cock…” Could there BE better lines to shake your booTAY to? No.
There’s just one problem: The label execs won’t release it as a single. I was thinking and thinking why this could possibly be? Is it that the song is too sexy? Nopes! After all, sexuality has been a mainstay on the airwaves for years. We’ve heard everything, and we’ve heard it straight up with no filter, from Madonna’s Like A Virgin to Rihanna’s recent sadomasochist anthem. We’ve heard Katy Perry’s own over-the-top ode to every frat boy’s fantasy, I Kissed A Girl. We’ve even heard the male equivalent of Peacock with Lil’ Wayne’s Lollipop and 50 Cent’s Candy Shop.
After mulling all this over, I finally figured it out. In all of the aforementioned songs, men sexualize and objectify women. Females are painted as luscious, colorful and kitschy sexual characters, ready to satisfy any man. However, in Peacock, a woman objectifies a man, and she does so more obviously than any pop chick has before! While Peacock certainly has HIT potential (analytics prove it – without any individual promotion, Peacock quickly rose (hehe) to the #1 spot on the Billboard dance chart), it goes against our society’s infrastructure. Within this infrastructure, men possess and maintain power (over women, female reproductive health, male-female interaction, male/female stereotypes/proper behavior, etc.).
The label won’t release the song because it fears radio won’t play it. Radio execs/DJs won’t spin it because they fear audiences won’t listen, or worse, that they will protest. Those who do protest will claim the song’s inherent sexuality is inappropriate, but they won’t get specific. Doing so would force them to admit that they only take issue when women sexualize men, not when men objectify women. In other words, they’d be overtly highlighting their politically incorrect misogynist sentiments, which, in this day and age, would defeat the false façade of logic supporting their argument against Peacock.
Overall, these corporate fears are unjustified. So what? Middle America won’t buy/listen to Peacock. They protested against, and didn’t listen to, GaGa’s Born This Way, and that song was tremendously successful. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not comparing these two tracks – GaGa’s is obviously significantly more profound. Peacock, on the other hand, is a simple, fun, easy-breazy dance track, so let’s not create an issue where there shouldn’t be one. RELEASE IT AS A SINGLE, CAPITOL RECORDS! If you agree, leave your support below in the comments!
Unapologetically,
Gregory
