Claim: California Gurls is a song.

`` California Gurls '' is a song recorded by American singer Katy Perry for her third studio album , Teenage Dream -LRB- 2010 -RRB- . The song features verses from rapper Snoop Dogg . Both artists co-wrote the song with Bonnie McKee and its co-producers Dr. Luke and Max Martin , with additional production from Benny Blanco . According to Perry , the song is an answer song to `` Empire State of Mind '' -LRB- 2009 -RRB- , by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys . `` California Gurls '' is a midtempo disco-pop , and funk-pop song , with influences of new wave , and electropop . Its lyrics are an ode to the state of California , in which both Perry and Snoop Dogg were born and raised .   `` California Gurls '' garnered positive reviews from music critics , with the majority of them labeling it a `` summer anthem '' , as well as complimenting its production and chorus . Originally intended to be sent to mainstream and rhythmic airplay on May 25 , 2010 , the song debuted on May 7 , 2010 , after clips from the Teenage Dream album were leaked online . It was subsequently released to iTunes on May 11 , 2010 as the album 's lead single . The song was a worldwide success , peaking at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks , giving Perry her second US number-one single in and Snoop Dogg his third . The song reached number-one in ten other countries , including Australia , Canada , Ireland , New Zealand , and the United Kingdom .   A music video for the song was released on June 15 , 2010 , and features Perry and her dancers as pieces of a board game , set in the fictional `` Candyfornia '' . Perry has said that the inspiration behind the video was artist Will Cotton , who was also the artistic director of the video . It has been noted that the video is influenced by several other works , including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , Alice 's Adventures in Wonderland , and the board game Candyland . On December 2 , 2010 , the song received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals . In 2012 , Billboard ranked the song number one on a special The 30 Summer Songs of All Time listing .