# Legendary Lovers (song)

"Legendary Lovers" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Katy Perry for her fourth studio album Prism (2013). The song was written by Perry, Bonnie McKee, Cirkut, Dr. Luke, and Max Martin, while the latter three also handled its production. Musically, it is a worldbeat song set to a danceable bhangra beat and is influenced by country music, while its instrumentation is composed of tablas, oriental strings, a coral sitar, and a double violin. Its lyrical content combines Eastern philosophy with mild sexual references, expressing "eternal passion" and also referencing the romances of infamous fictional characters and historical figures. The song received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who praised its production but were ambivalent towards its lyrics. With digital downloads exceeding 2,330, the song entered the South Korea Gaon International Chart (GIC) at number 69.

## Background

Perry told Entertainment Weekly in October 2013 that she penned "Legendary Lovers" through electronic mail, inspired by her then-boyfriend and American musician John Mayer. "We had a long courtship before anything was [public], just writing letters to each other — and seeing 'legendary lovers,' it sounded so nice", she commented on the song's development. "Some things float into my mind, and I process them, and [then] I make songs about them." The track was the second to be written by Perry and Bonnie McKee for the former's fourth studio album Prism (2013). The latter deemed the writing process "fun", and mused that the song was inspired by her own early "Eastern-influenced" material and "classic" Bollywood themes. McKee categorized it as a love song, despite recognizing it had a "could have been" feeling. She stated, "When you're writing love songs, it's always forever; they seem to always last throughout time."
The recording of "Legendary Lovers" took place at various studios, including Playback Recording Studios in Santa Barbara, California, MXM Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, Luke's in the Boo in Malibu, California and Secret Garden Studios in Montecito, California. Serban Ghenea and mixing engineer John Hanes mixed the song at MixStar Studios, located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Audio engineering was helmed by Peter Carlsson, Clint Gibbs, Sam Holland, and Michael Illbert; Rachael Findlen, Justin Fox, Elliott Lanam and Cory Bice served as assistant engineers. Dr. Luke played coral sitar, Gingger Shankar played the double violin, Ronobir Lahiri played sitar and Aditya Kalyanpur played tabla. The track's producers Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Cirkut programmed the instruments.
On 16 October 2013, "Legendary Lovers" leaked online, becoming the second song off Prism to leak after the album's lead single "Roar" leaked in August. The song was officially released alongside the album on 22 October. In March 2014, Perry revealed to a fan that "Legendary Lovers" will be released as a single in 2014. On 16 October 2014, producer Max Martin published details of a track titled "Legendary Lovers (feat Drake)" on his production company Maratone Studios' website, sparking rumors that a remix of the song featuring Canadian rapper Drake will be released as a single. Capital FM commented on the potential remix that it would be "bound to be AMAZING", while Kevin Apaza from Directlyrics proclaimed that "Katy's new Hot 100 #1 seems to on its way". In November 2014, PureCharts reported that "Legendary Lovers" has received radio airplay for weeks in France, and that the French market acts as a "test zone" before deciding whether or not the song will be released as a single globally.
Perry included "Legendary Lovers" on the setlist of her 2014-2016 Prismatic World Tour. While performing the song, she showcased her dance skills through steps, turns, and lifts alongside two male dancers dressed as pharaohs.

## Composition

At a length of three minutes and forty-four seconds (3:44), "Legendary Lovers" is a "mystical" worldbeat and folk song, replete with sitars, tablas, a double violin and oriental strings". "Legendary Lovers" contains danceable beats and a fast-sung pre-chorus. Musically, it contains elements of country music, It is composed in the key of E minor and set in a 4/4 time signature at a metronome of 126 beats per minute. The melody spans the tonal range of B$_3$ to E$_5$, while the music follows the chord progression of C—G—Em—D. Its bridge is characterised by an instrumental percussion break, which was likened to Timbaland's works. At a listening party for Prism in September 2013, Perry described "Legendary Lovers" as having "a little bit of curry in it".
Lyrically, it discusses infinity and karma, and revolves around Eastern philosophy, which is used to describe the "eternal passion she and her man could experience". Perry makes references to historical and infamous characters, including Cleopatra and Romeo and Juliet protagonist Juliet, which are well known for their romances. In the chorus, Perry sings "Take me down to the river / Underneath the blood-orange sun / Say my name like a scripture / Keep my heart beating like a drum", which Jason Lipshutz from Billboard classified as the album's "most interesting chorus". John Walker from MTV Buzzworthy opined that "Legendary Lovers" was reminiscent of Perry's "Pentecostal upbringing", while Rob Harvilla from Spin deemed it a "Bollywood swipe" and a "boudoir jam".

## Critical reception

"Legendary Lovers" received mostly mixed reviews from music critics, who, despite praising the instrumentation and overall production, criticized its lyrical content. Helen Brown from The Daily Telegraph found the lyrics to be subpar to the "great, playfully exotic tune", describing them as being "of the level you might find in a day spa". Jon Dolan from Rolling Stone compared the song to works by Robyn and Lykke Li, stating that they "go for a darker, moodier intimacy", and that they "set stark revelations to torrential Euro splendor". Allison Stewart from The Washington Post described the lyrics as "one-size-fits-all spiritual catchphrases of someone who once read a self-help book in an airport".
Sam Lansky from Idolator thought the song "didn't feel like a surprise" in Prism, although he considered that its chorus was the album's "catchiest". He also thought the first verse had "closet shade" directed to Christina Aguilera and Lady Gaga. Trent Wolfe from The Verge hailed the song's chorus, recognizing it as grand, and praised Dr. Luke for "transforming obscure sounds into popular ones". Glenn Gamboa from Newsday criticized "Legendary Lovers"' lyrical content, describing the song as "such a bad 'tribute' to Buddhism and Indian music that it's practically a joke, with lyrics like 'I feel my lotus bloom' and 'You are my destiny, my mantra'". Jason Lipshutz from Billboard acknowledged "unforgivingly clobbered" drums on the chorus. Mesfin Fekadu from ABC News stated that Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Bonnie McKee did not "bring out the best Perry in the song," deeming it "forgettable." Jonathan Hamard from PureCharts characterized the song as "effective and made for the radio", while noting that it "has the potential to become the pop star's next hit".

## Credits and personnel
### Recording

* Recorded and engineered at Playback Recording Studios in Santa Barbara, California, MXM Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, Luke's in the Boo in Malibu, California, and Secret Garden Studios in Montecito, California.
* Mixed at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

### Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Prism, Capitol Records.

## Charts

Upon the release of Prism, "Legendary Lovers" debuted at number 69 on the South Korea Gaon International Chart, with sales of over 2,330.
| Charts (2013–14) | Peak position |
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia) | 9 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) | 33 |
| South Korea International (GAON) | 69 |
| US Pop Digital Songs (Billboard) | 50 |