Hummingbird Heartbeat

"Hummingbird Heartbeat"
Song by Katy Perry
from the album Teenage Dream
Recorded	2009
Studio	The Boom Boom Boom (Burbank), Henson Recording Studios (Los Angeles)
Genre	Hard rock
Length	3:32
Label	Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Katy Perry Christopher Stewart Stacy Barthe Monte Neuble
Producer(s)	Christopher "Tricky" Stewart
Audio video
"Hummingbird Heartbeat" on YouTube

"Hummingbird Heartbeat" is a song recorded by American singer Katy Perry for her third studio album, Teenage Dream (2010). It was written by Perry, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Stacy Barthe, and Monte Neuble. Stewart handled the production of the song, while Kuk Harrell produced Perry's vocals. "Hummingbird Heartbeat" was inspired by Perry's boyfriend at the time, Russell Brand.^[1]

Musically, it is a 1980s-styled hard rock song that contains a mixture of elements from rock and electronica. Lyrically, the song compares the feeling of being in love to the speed of a hummingbird's heartbeat. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, many of whom labeled it as a potential single choice. Upon the release of Teenage Dream, "Hummingbird Heartbeat" charted on the lower regions of the South Korea Gaon International Chart, peaking at 124.

Background and composition

Perry was inspired to write the song after she began dating Russell Brand

In an interview with YouTube about Teenage Dream in August 2010, Perry revealed that "Hummingbird Heartbeat" was one of the first songs she wrote for the album after she finished her Hello Katy Tour (2009). When speaking about the song, Perry said she first had the idea for the song while she was in her hometown of Santa Barbara, California:

"I was at breakfast when I saw this hummingbird, and the hummingbird was having breakfast as well..... and I don't know if you know this but hummingbirds are supposedly good luck and I was thinking 'How fast does their hearts beat?' , like 'how many beats per minute?' And using that idea for how someone makes you feel, instead of those butterflies, it makes your heart beat really, really fast."^[2]

"Hummingbird Heartbeat" is a 1980s-styled hard rock song that contains a mixture of elements from rock and electronica.^[3][4] The song encompasses electric guitars, a piano, and synthesizers in its production. The song also features an acoustic drum kit, unlike the other songs in the album.^[5]

Reception

Perry performing "Hummingbird Heartbeat" during California Dreams Tour

Upon the release of the Teenage Dream album, "Hummingbird Heartbeat" charted on the lower regions of the South Korea Gaon International Chart, peaking at 124.^[6] Tom Thorogood from MTV gave a positive review of the song, labeling it a strong single choice and calling it a: "nice companion to Teenage Dream, 'the story of the birds and the bees' is more grown up with proper guitars."^[7] Jeb Inge of The Journal called "Hummingbird Heartbeat" the strongest song on the album,^[4] while Michael Gallucci of Cleveland Scene declared the song an album highlight and compared it to "Teenage Dream", adding that they were both "top-down bangers."^[8] Gary Trust from Billboard compared "Hummingbird Heartbeat" to the first five Teenage Dream singles, and felt that if released as a single, would help Perry become the first artist with six number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100.^[9] In July 2013, Robert Copsey and Lewis Corner of Digital Spy said "a full music video and worldwide push would have been more satisfactory".^[10]

From February 20, 2011 to January 22, 2012, Perry embarked on the California Dreams Tour, where she performed "Hummingbird Heartbeat". For most of its shows, the song was the second track performed. It preceded "Waking Up in Vegas" and followed "Teenage Dream".^[11]

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Teenage Dream.^[12]

• Katy Perry – vocals, writer
• C. "Tricky" Stewart – producer, writer, keyboards, drum programming
• Brian "B-Luv" Thomas – engineering, guitars recording
• Andrew Wuepper – engineering, vocal sound, guitars recording
• Chris "TEK" O'Ryan – engineering, guitars recording
• Pat Thrall – additional engineering, drum programming
• Luis Navarro – assistant engineer
• Steven Dennis – assistant engineer
• Nicolas Essig – assistant engineer
• Randy Urbanski – assistant engineer
• Serban Ghenea – mixing
• John Hanes – engineering for mix
• Tim Roberts – assistant engineer for mix
• Kuk Harrell – vocals producer
• Brent Paschke – guitars
• Michael Thompson – guitars, bass
• Monte Neuble – writer, keyboards
• Josh Freese – live drums
• Steve Churchyard – engineering for live drums
• Stacy Barthe – writer

Charts

Chart performance for "Hummingbird Heartbeat"

Chart (2010)	Peak position
South Korea International Download (Gaon)[6]	124

Certifications

Certifications for "Hummingbird Heartbeat"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[13]	Gold	35,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Brand Inspired Perry's Teenage Dream". Contactmusic. July 16, 2010. Archived from the original on August 31, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
2. "Katy Perry talks 'Hummingbird Heartbeat'". Katy Perry Music. YouTube. August 3, 2010. Archived from the original on September 2, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
3. Annie Zaleski (25 August 2010). "CD review: Katy Perry". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
4. Inge, Jeb (September 2, 2010). "Katy Perry smacks her gum, drops sonic napalm". The Journal. Ogden Newspapers. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
5. Teenage Dream (liner notes). Katy Perry. Capitol Records. 2010.
6. "Gaon Digital Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Chart. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
7. Thorogood, Tom (August 27, 2010). "Katy Perry Teenage Dream Track By Track". MTV. Viacom Media Networks. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
8. Gallucci, Michael (August 24, 2010). "Out Today: Katy Perry". Cleveland Scene. Times-Shamrock Communications. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
9. Trust, Gary (August 23, 2011). "Can Katy Perry Pass Michael Jackson For Hot 100 History?". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on August 29, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
10. Corner, Lewis; Copsey, Robert (July 17, 2013). "Lady GaGa, Robbie, Kylie: 19 pop singles that should have been". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines. Archived from the original on September 2, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
11. Mitchell, John (June 18, 2011). "Katy Perry Satisfies New York Fans' Sweet Tooth — Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. Archived from the original on June 20, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
12. Teenage Dream (CD liner notes). Katy Perry. Capitol Records. 2010. 509999 07410 2 9.
13. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 25, 2023.