Firework (song)

"**Firework**" is a 2010 song by Katy Perry from her second major-label album, _Teenage Dream_. It was released on October 26, 2010. The song received a good review by music critics and claimed the top spot on _Billboard_ Hot 100. The single hit top 5 on twenty charts worldwide.  It reached the top three in most of the countries where it charted, including Australia and the UK.  It topped charts in the US, Canada, and New Zealand.  In the US, it was Perry's fourth number-one song altogether and the third in a streak of five number-ones.  At the 2012 Grammy Awards, "Firework" was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.

The song was certified Diamond in the US for shipments of over 10 million copies in that country alone.

## Background

"Firework" was written by Perry, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Sandy Wilhelm, and Ester Dean while produced by Stargate and Sandy Vee at Soapbox Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It was recorded at Roc the Mic Studios in New York City. It was mixed at The Bunker Studios by Vee. Audio engineering was done by Carlos Oyandel and Damien Lewis. All instruments were done by Stargate and Vee. Lead and background vocals were provided by Perry. Perry said that "Firework" is her favorite song on _Teenage Dream_.

### Development and release

The music video was part of a partnership with European telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom, which ran competitions to recruit fans for the video. Katy Perry started filming it on September 28, 2010. Directed by Dave Meyers and choreographed by Natricia Bernard, it was shot in Budapest. The official teaser was released on October 15, 2010, and the open casting call received a record 38,000 applicants. Perry dedicated the video to the It Gets Better Project. It was released on TwitVid, DirectLyrics, and Youku on October 28, 2010, and premiered on YouTube the same day. By January 2024, it had over 1.4 billion views.

### Synopsis

The video begins with Perry looking down at the city from a balcony, singing as fireworks explode from her soul. These fireworks inspire young people around the city to overcome their fears. A boy stops his parents’ fight to protect his sister, a shy girl at a pool party gains the courage to join in, a leukemia patient bravely walks outside despite losing her hair, a closeted gay teen kisses his friend at a club, and a young performer uses magic to escape muggers. Eventually, the youth gather at Buda Castle, dancing and lighting up the night with their fireworks, as the camera pans up to the sky.

### Reception

"Firework" was ranked No. 1 on MuchMusic's top 50 videos of 2010. The video won Video of the Year at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards and was also nominated for Best Female Video and Best Video with a Message.

### Weekly charts

|scope="col" style="width:20em"|Chart (2010–2012)|scope="col"|Peak position|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|style="text-align:center;"|6|||
|9||||
|5||||
|style="text-align:center;"|1|||
|3||||
|4||||
|2||||
|15||||
|1||||

### Year-end charts

|scope="col" style="width:20em"|Chart (2010)|scope="col"|Position|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|24||||
|88||||
|94||||
|9||||
|75||||
|17||||
|19||||
|scope="col" style="width:20em"|Chart (2011)|scope="col"|Position|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|28||||
|37||||
|57||||
|32||||
|14||||
|8||||
|style="text-align:center;"|50|||
|34||||
|53||||
|26||||
|38||||
|31||||
|88||||
|32||||
|43||||
|36||||
|65||||
|3||||
|2||||
|6||||
|19||||
|8||||
|29||||
|scope="col" style="width:20em"|Chart (2012)|scope="col"|Position|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|133||||
|187||||

### Decade-end charts

|scope="col" style="width:20em"|Chart (2010–2019)|scope="col"|Position|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|25||||
|43||||

### All-time charts

|scope="col" style="width:20em"|Chart (1958–2018)|scope="col"|Position|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|205||||

## Release history

|scope="col"|Region|scope="col"|Date|scope="col"|Format|scope="col"|Version(s)|scope="col"|Label|scope="col"||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|October 26, 2010|Contemporary hit radio|rowspan="4"|Original|rowspan="7"|Capitol|style="text-align:center;"||||||
|November 2, 2010|Digital download|style="text-align:center;"||||||||||
|November 16, 2010|Rhythmic contemporary radio|style="text-align:center;"||||||||||
|November 22, 2010|Hot adult contemporary radio|style="text-align:center;"||||||||||
|December 2, 2010|rowspan="3"|CD|rowspan="2"||style="text-align:center;"|||||||
|December 3, 2010|style="text-align:center;"|||||||||||
|January 24, 2011|Original|style="text-align:center;"||||||||||

## Infobox (song)

- **name**: Firework
- **artist**: Katy Perry
- **album**: Teenage Dream
- **released**: October 26, 2010
- **recorded**: 2009 at the Roc the Mic Studios in New York City
- **genre**: Dance-pop
- **length**: 3:47
- **label**: Capitol Records, Capitol
- **prev title**: Teenage Dream (song), Teenage Dream
- **prev year**: 2010
- **next title**: E.T. (song), E.T.
- **next year**: 2011