"Firework" is a song by American singer

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

from her third studio album, '' Teenage Dream'' (2010). She co-wrote the song with

Ester Dean Esther Renay Dean (born April 15, 1982), known professionally as Ester Dean, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. She rose to prominence as a pop songwriter in the late 2000s and wrote numerous hit songs for singers including R ...

and the song's producers

Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...

and

Sandy Vee Sandy Julien Wilhelm (; born 22 April 1975), better known by his stage name Sandy Vee, is a French music producer, DJ and songwriter. He gained much commercial and critical recognition for co-producing Rihanna's " Only Girl (In the World)", Katy ...

. It is a

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

self-empowerment Empowerment is the degree of autonomy and self-determination in people and in communities. This enables them to represent their interests in a responsible and self-determined way, acting on their own authority. It is the process of becoming strong ...

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

with inspirational lyrics, and Perry felt it was an important song for her on the record.

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

released "Firework" as the album's third single on October 26, 2010. The song was commercially successful, charting at number one in Canada, New Zealand, and the United States while reaching the top five in Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Scotland, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. It has also been certified diamond in Brazil and Canada as well as multi-platinum in Australia, Austria, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. On January 5, 2012, "Firework" was ranked the fifth-most-played single on US radio during 2011 by

Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems Broadcast Data Systems (also known as Nielsen BDS, BDS or Luminate BDS) was a service that tracks radio, television and internet airplay of songs. The service, which is a unit of MRC Data, is a contributing factor to North American charts publishe ...

, with 509,000 plays. An accompanying music video, directed by

Dave Meyers David Meyers may refer to: *Dave Meyers (director) (born 1972), American music video director *Dave Meyers (basketball) David William Meyers (April 21, 1953 – October 9, 2015) was an American basketball player who played for the Milwaukee Buck ...

, was released on October 28, 2010. It portrays Perry singing and dancing around

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, with interspersed scenes of young people becoming confident in themselves. An open

casting Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or ...

call for the music video drew an unprecedented 38,000 applicants. On

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

's top 50 videos of 2010, "Firework" reached the top position. The music video was said to be a more upbeat take on

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

's message in "

Beautiful Beautiful, an adjective used to describe things as possessing beauty, may refer to: Film and theater * ''Beautiful'' (2000 film), an American film directed by Sally Field * ''Beautiful'' (2008 film), a South Korean film directed by Juhn Jai-h ...

". It was nominated for three awards at the

2011 MTV Video Music Awards The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards took place on August 28, at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. On July 20, the nominees were announced. Katy Perry received the most nominations this year at ten, ...

, eventually winning one of those, the Video of the Year, the main and final award. "Firework" was nominated for

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...

and

Best Pop Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guides, the Best Pop S ...

at the

54th Grammy Awards The 54th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles being broadcast on CBS honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011. LL Cool J hosted t ...

Production and composition

"Firework" was written by Perry,

, Sandy Wilhelm, and

while produced by Stargate and Sandy Vee at Soapbox Studios in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. It was recorded at Roc the Mic Studios. It was mixed at The Bunker Studios by Vee.

Audio engineering Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound * Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of soun ...

was done by Carlos Oyanedel and Damien Lewis. All instruments were done by Stargate and Vee. Perry provided the

Lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

and

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

, and said in 2010 that "Firework" is her favorite song on ''Teenage Dream'', explaining that:

"Now, people are coming back and almost adopting it as their own anthem, and it's hard, I think, to write an anthem that's not cheesy, and I hope that this could be something in that category. I hope this could be one of those things where it's like, 'Yeah, I want to put my fist up and feel proud and feel strong. But I also don't want to be cheesy, it's a fine line, and I think 'Firework' ... would be like the opus or my one song — if I had to pick a song to play — 'cause it has a great beat. But it also has a fantastic message."

According to Perry, "Firework" is influenced by

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...

's novel, ''

On the Road ''On the Road'' is a 1957 novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, based on the travels of Kerouac and his friends across the United States. It is considered a defining work of the postwar Beat and Counterculture generations, with its protagoni ...

''. The line "Cause baby, you're a firework / Come on, show 'em what you're worth / Make 'em go, awe, awe, awe" is based on Kerouac's line "burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!'" "Firework" is a

song that runs for 3 minutes and 47 seconds. The song is composed in the key of

A major A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The A major scale is: Changes needed for the ...

and is set in

time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...

common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...

with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 124

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

. Perry's vocal range spans from A₃ to E₅.

Critical reception

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's Tom Thorogood praised Perry's vocals, though felt the lyrics were "clunky". Matthew Cole of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

'' stated that the song is "not an actively painful listen. Sure, the would-be inspirational lyrics ('Baby you're a firework/Come on show them what you're worth') are nonsensical, ... but the chorus gains some momentum and the song would work well enough in a club setting that you could forgive its otherwise glaring weaknesses."

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

ranked "Firework" among the top tracks on the album while Nick Levine of

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...

gave the song five out of five stars, calling it "a straight up self-empowerment anthem wrapped in a

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

-on-poppers club banger from the

team." ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' wrote that "Firework" is "the record's last hurrah; though nothing particularly memorable ... 'Firework' has at least a bit of staying power". ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' described the song as "too mushy". Al Fox of

BBC Music BBC Music is the arm of the BBC responsible for the music played across its services. The current director of music is Lorna Clarke. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio operational division; however, its remit also includes music used i ...

said that the song "displays a breezy maturity and serious set of pipes, a true demonstration of Perry's musicianship without contradicting the kittenish mischief of the bigger picture." The song was nominated for

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for

at the

but lost to

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...

's "

Rolling in the Deep "Rolling in the Deep" is a song by English singer-songwriter Adele from her second studio album, '' 21'' (2011). It is the lead single and opening track on the album. The song was written by Adele and Paul Epworth. The singer herself describes ...

Chart performance

In the United States, "Firework" debuted at position 57 on the issue dated November 6, 2010. On the issue dated December 18, 2010, it reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Perry's fourth number-one single in the US and third number-one single from the album. This made Perry the first female artist since Monica to have three consecutive singles from an album top the chart. It spent four non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Hot 100. The song topped

Hot Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set list ...

Pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

Adult Pop Songs The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...

and

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stati ...

. On the week ending January 8, 2011, "Firework" sold 509,000 digital downloads within the US, which at the time was the fourth ever largest amount of weekly downloads in the country behind

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), known professionally as Flo Rida ( ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 debut and breakout single "Low (Flo Rida song), Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the ...

's "

Right Round "Right Round" is a single performed by American rapper Flo Rida featuring guest vocals from American singer Kesha. It was released as the lead Single (music), single from his second studio album, ''R.O.O.T.S.'' (2009). It was released to radio ...

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. Her first major success came in 2009 when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single, "Right Round". Kesha's music and ima ...

's "

Tik Tok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration from three seconds t ...

", and

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...

's "

Grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

". The song was certified 12× platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). In 2014, she became the first artist in digital history to sell 5 million or more copies of six different songs with "Firework", "

Hot n Cold "Hot n Cold" is a song by American singer Katy Perry. The song was written by Perry, Dr. Luke, and Max Martin and produced by Luke and Benny Blanco for her second studio album, ''One of the Boys'' (2008). It was released as the album's second s ...

", "

California Gurls "California Gurls" is a song by American singer Katy Perry from her third studio album, '' Teenage Dream'' (2010). It was released as the album's lead single on May 7, 2010, through Capitol Records. The song features rap verses from Snoop Dog ...

", " ET", "

Roar A roar is a type of animal vocalization that is loud, deep and resonating. Many mammals have evolved to produce roars and other roar-like vocals for purposes such as long-distance communication and intimidation. These include various species of ...

", and "

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person, team or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, that is unlikely to succeed but has a fighting chance, unlike the underdog who is exp ...

". As of August 2020, the song has sold 7,400,000 copies in the United States. In Canada, "Firework" debuted at number 51 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

issue dated November 6, 2010 and reached number one on December 18, 2010. On October 31, 2010, "Firework" debuted at number 37 in Australia on the official

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

and moved to number 15 the next week. It peaked at number three and was certified six-times platinum by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

(ARIA) for sales over 350,000 copies. The song debuted at number 34 in New Zealand on October 4, 2010 and reached number one. The song entered at number five on the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number three. "Firework" became Perry's first song to sell over one million copies in the United Kingdom, and has sold a total of 1,091,743 copies in the nation as of February 2017. It has also been certified

triple platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI). Across Europe, "Firework" reached the top five in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland, while reaching the top ten in France and the Netherlands. The song stayed 80 weeks in the former with many re-entries, and debuted at number 7 by the end of January 2011, becoming her fifth top ten in France and the first since "California Gurls", while reaching the summit at French Airplay by the end of December 2010. It is Perry's longest-running song to date and the fourth best-selling song of her career, with 140,000 units sold, tying with "California Gurls".

Music video

Development and release

The video is part of a cross-promotional deal with European telecommunications group

Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. It was formed in 199 ...

. Deutsche Telekom hosted a series of activities and competitions from which fans around Europe would be recruited to be in the video.

MTV News MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...

reported that Perry started filming the video on September 28, 2010. The video was directed by

, choreographed by

Natricia Bernard Natricia Tara Bernard is a choreographer and creative director based in the UK who has worked with many leading artists for over 20 years. After appearing in a commercial at the age of 5, she trained at the Super Arts Stage school for 12 years ...

, and shot in

. The official teaser trailer of the music video was released on October 15, 2010. An open

call for the music video drew an unprecedented 38,000 applicants. Perry dedicated it to the

It Gets Better Project It Gets Better is an Internet-based 501(c)3 nonprofit with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth around the globe. It was founded in the United States by gay activist, author, m ...

. The video was released on TwitVid, DirectLyrics, and Youku on October 28, 2010. It premiered on October 28, 2010, on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

, and as of January 2024, has amassed more than 1.4 billion views.

Synopsis

Perry opens the video gazing down upon the city from a balcony. As she sings into the night,

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

burst from her soul and soon inspire young people throughout the city to overcome their fears and insecurities, in the process igniting their own fireworks. A boy confronts his parents, who are in a heated argument and upsetting his little sister, and pushes them apart. A shy overweight girl, playing the role of

wallflower ''Erysimum'', or wallflower, is a genus of flowering plants in the cabbage family, Brassicaceae. It includes more than 150 species, both popular garden plants and many wild forms. ''Erysimum'' is characterised by star-shaped and/or two-sided) tr ...

at a pool party, finds the courage to shed her clothes and jump in the pool with her friends. A

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

patient at a children's hospital proves to herself that she can show herself out on the street and in public despite her loss of hair. A

closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for LGBTQ people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior. This metaphor is associated and sometime ...

homosexual teenage boy approaches his male friend in a club and kisses him. A struggling young performer walking home in a dark alley uses tricks from his magic act to win over a group of street toughs who were trying to rob him. Soon the youth of the city are converging upon the courtyard of

Buda Castle Buda Castle (, ), formerly also called the Royal Palace () and the Royal Castle (, ), is the historical castle and palace complex of the King of Hungary, Hungarian kings in Budapest. First completed in 1265, the Baroque architecture, Baroque pa ...

, dancing and lighting up the night with their fireworks, as the camera pans up to the sky for their popping sounds, ending the video.

Reception

's top 50 videos of 2010, "Firework" was ranked No. 1. The video won Video of the Year at the

and was nominated for Best Female Video and the newly introduced Best Video with a Message category.

Live performances

Perry performed "Firework" live for the first time on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

'' on August 24, 2010. On November 7, 2010, she performed the song at the

2010 MTV Europe Music Awards The 2010 MTV Europe Music Awards took place on 7 November 2010 at Caja Mágica in Madrid, Spain. The awards ceremony was presented by Eva Longoria and Justin Bieber was the official MTV EMA 2010 digital host. Nominations were announced on 20 Septe ...

held in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

on November 7, 2010, in an outdoor performance in the front of the

Puerta de Alcalá The Puerta de Alcalá is a Neo-classical gate in the Plaza de la Independencia in Madrid, Spain. It was a gate of the former Walls of Philip IV. It stands near the city center and several meters away from the main entrance to the Parque del Bu ...

monument. Perry also performed the song again in the United Kingdom, this time on the chat show ''

Paul O'Grady Live ''Paul O'Grady Live'' is a British comedy chat show hosted by Paul O'Grady, that began airing on 10 September 2010 on ITV. The show is a Friday night chat show that features a mixture of celebrity guests, airing at 21:00. The show culminates w ...

'' on November 12, 2010, the

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

Teen Awards on November 14, 2010, and at the

American Music Awards of 2010 The 38th Annual American Music Awards were held November 21, 2010, at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California. The awards recognized the most popular artists and albums from 2010's music list. Nominees were announced on October 12 ...

. She performed "Firework" at the 2010 annual

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is an annual promotional event sponsored by and featuring Victoria's Secret, a brand of lingerie. From 1995 to 2018, Victoria's Secret used the show to market its goods in high-profile settings. Models under ...

which aired on November 30, 2010. Perry's performance of "Firework" on '' Willkommen bei Mario Barth'' aired December 4, 2010, in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, a performance that was recorded in October 2010. She appeared on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...

'' on December 8, 2010, to perform an acoustic version of the song. Also, she performed the song in the 2010 ''

VH1 Divas VH1 hosted the first annual ''VH1 Divas'' concert in 1998. ''VH1 Divas Live'' was created to support the channel's Save the Music Foundation and subsequent concerts in the series have also benefited that foundation. The ''VH1 Divas'' concerts wer ...

'' show at the closing of the event. Perry also performed the acoustic version on the 12th Annual ''A Home for the Holidays'' special on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

. On May 1, 2011, Perry sang "Firework" at the 53rd TV Week Logie Awards in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The song is featured on the set list of the

California Dreams Tour The California Dreams Tour was the second concert tour by American singer Katy Perry, in-support of her third studio album, '' Teenage Dream'' (2010). The tour played 124 shows, beginning February 20, 2011 in Lisbon, Portugal and concluding on J ...

. Perry performed the song as part of a ''

Live Lounge The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cott ...

'' special for

Fearne Cotton Fearne Cotton (born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author. She began her career in the late 1990s as a children’s television presenter for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. She went on to present various television shows, including ''To ...

on March 19, 2012, along with " Part of Me", " The One That Got Away", " Thinking of You" and " Niggas in Paris". On October 13, 2012, Perry performed the song as a duet with

Jodi DiPiazza Jodi DiPiazza (born October 3, 2001) is an American musician, composer, vocalist, and autism advocate. She was diagnosed with autism some time before her second birthday. A musical prodigy, she has absolute pitch. She learned to play the piano at ...

, an 11-year-old girl with

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

, as part of the ''Night of Too Many Stars'' benefit, later broadcast on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

. For Barack Obama's 2012 presidential candidacy, Perry performed several of her hit songs dressed as a

ballot A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16th cent ...

, including " Teenage Dream", "Firework", and " Wide Awake". Expressing solidarity for his campaign, the box next to Obama's name was shaded. On May 25, 2014, Perry performed the song as her encore at

BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by BBC Radio 1. It is held once a year, in a different l ...

in Glasgow. Perry was the headliner of

Super Bowl XLIX halftime show The Super Bowl XLIX halftime show took place on February 1, 2015, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, as part of Super Bowl XLIX. It featured American singer Katy Perry, with singer Lenny Kravitz and rapper Missy Elliott ...

, which took place on February 1, 2015, and "Firework" was the last song of the performance. On May 27, 2017, Perry performed the song at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Hull. On January 20, 2021, Perry performed the song in front of the

Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is a List of national memorials of the United States, U.S. national memorial honoring Abraham Lincoln, the List of presidents of the United States, 16th president of the United States, located on the western end of the Nati ...

during the "

Celebrating America ''Celebrating America'' is a television special which aired as part of the post-inaugural events following the inauguration of Joe Biden on January 20, 2021. Hosted by actor Tom Hanks and produced by Ricky Kirshner, Glenn Weiss, and Stephanie Cut ...

" inaugural concert special commemorating the

Inauguration of Joe Biden The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States took place on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, on the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It was the 59th inauguration and marked the commencement o ...

as the 46th

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

, closing out the show. A massive firework display was coordinated to appear near the

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, victorious commander-in-chief of the Continen ...

, to serve as a backdrop for her performance. On May 7, 2023, Perry performed "Firework" along with "

" at the Coronation Concert outside

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

in celebration of the

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

and

Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. Camilla was raised in East ...

. She sang "Firework" during the

(2011–2012), the

Prismatic World Tour The Prismatic'' ''World Tour was the third concert tour by American singer Katy Perry, in support of her fourth studio album, ''Prism (Katy Perry album), Prism'' (2013). The tour began on May 7, 2014, at Belfast, Northern Ireland's Odyssey Aren ...

(2014–2015), Witness: The Tour (2017–2018), and

The Lifetimes Tour The Lifetimes Tour is the ongoing fifth concert tour by American singer Katy Perry. It was announced in support of her seventh studio album, '' 143'' (2024). The tour commenced at Mexico City's Arena CDMX on April 23, 2025, and is scheduled t ...

(2025).

Cover versions and usage in media

*"Firework" was available as a free downloadable track in ''

Just Dance 2 ''Just Dance 2'' is a 2010 dance rhythm game developed by Ubisoft Paris and published by Ubisoft. The game was released exclusively for the Wii on October 12, 2010, in North America and in Australia and Europe on October 14, 2010, as a sequel to ' ...

'', but became unavailable following the shutdown of the

Wii Shop Channel The Wii Shop Channel is a discontinued digital distribution service for the Wii video game console. The service allowed users to purchase and play additional software for the Wii (called Channels), including exclusive games (branded WiiWare), ...

in 2019. *It was prominently featured in the 2012 animated film '' Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted'', during the circus acts with the main heroes. *"Firework" was used prominently in two key dramatic scenes in the French film ''

Rust and Bone ''Rust and Bone'' () is a 2012 romantic drama film directed by Jacques Audiard, starring Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts, based on Craig Davidson's short story collection '' Rust and Bone''. It tells the story of a nightclub bounce ...

'', starring

Marion Cotillard Marion Cotillard (; born 30 September 1975) is a French actress who has appeared in both European and Hollywood productions. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Marion Cotillard, various accolades, including an Ac ...

. *It is one of the main songs featured in the 2014 political action-comedy film ''

The Interview ''The Interview'' is a 2014 American political satire action comedy film produced and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg in their second directorial work, following '' This Is the End'' (2013). The screenplay was written by Dan Sterling ...

'' starring

James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has starred in numerous films, including Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), ''Milk (2008 American film), Milk'' (200 ...

and

Seth Rogen Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known primarily for his comedic Leading actor, leading man roles in films, the accolades he has received include nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, ...

, with a cover version by Jennie Lena. *"Firework" is referenced in the ninth episode of ''

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ''Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' is an American sitcom created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, starring Ellie Kemper in the title role. It premiered on March 6, 2015, on Netflix and ran for four seasons, ending on January 25, 2019. An interactiv ...

'', when Titus tries to convince Kimmy he wrote the song himself. * Jon Jafari covered the song in February 2016, promising to do so if his goal of $25,000 was reached during a charity

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...

livestream Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming media, streaming of video or Digital audio, audio in real-time communication, real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature ...

. *"Firework" was the first song played after

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

accepted the Democratic presidential nomination at the

2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the maj ...

. *In 2017, international symphonic metal supergroup Exit Eden covered "Firework". *It was featured on the "lipsync for your life" segment in the twelfth season of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race (franchise), ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder (company), World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, ...

'', being performed by contestants Widow Von'Du and Jackie Cox. *"Firework" was played in the episode "Old White Men" of ''

The Dropout ''The Dropout'' is an American biographical drama television miniseries about the rise and fall of the disgraced biotechnology company Theranos and its founder, Elizabeth Holmes, played by Amanda Seyfried. Created by Elizabeth Meriwether, it ...

'' on the radio in a car, when

Alan Ruck Alan Douglas Ruck (born July 1, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Cameron Frye in John Hughes' film '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986), as well as television roles as Stuart Bondek on the ABC sitcom '' Spin City'' (1996� ...

sings along to it as a fictionalized version of

Walgreens Walgreens is an American pharmacy store chain. It is the second largest in the United States, behind CVS Pharmacy. As of March 2025, the company operated more than 8,700 stores in the U.S. Walgreens has been the subject of a number of lawsuit ...

executive Jay Rosan * Firework is performed as a power ballad by the character Satine in the jukebox musical ''Moulin Rouge!''

Track listing

*Digital download # "Firework" 3:47 # "Firework" (Music video) 3:55 * CD single # "Firework" 3:48 # "Firework" (Instrumental) 3:51

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the ''Teenage Dream'' liner notes. *

— vocals, songwriting *

— instrumentation, production ** Mikkel S. Eriksen — songwriting, recording ** Tor Erik Hermansen — songwriting *

— songwriting, instrumentation, production, mixing *

— songwriting * Carlos Oyandel — additional engineering * Damien Lewis — additional engineering * Josh Houghkirk — additional engineering assistant *

Phil Tan Phil Tan is a Malaysian-American audio engineer and mixer. He is a three time Grammy Award recipient, having received 14 nominations for the award. Early life and education Tan was born in Malaysia. He attended Full Sail University in Florida in ...

— mixing *

Brian Gardner Brian Knapp Gardner, also known as Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, is an American mastering engineer. He has worked on a number of recordings since the mid-1960s, including classic rock, funk, disco, alternative rock, R&B, hip hop, pop punk and dance-p ...

— mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2010 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Budapest in fiction American dance-pop songs Katy Perry songs LGBTQ-related songs MTV Video of the Year Award Music videos directed by Dave Meyers (director) Number-one singles in New Zealand Record Report Pop Rock General number-one singles Song recordings produced by Sandy Vee Song recordings produced by Stargate (record producers) Songs written by Ester Dean Songs written by Katy Perry Songs written by Sandy Vee Songs written by Tor Erik Hermansen Songs written by Mikkel Storleer Eriksen 2010 songs Capitol Records singles

Production and composition

Critical reception

Chart performance

Music video

Development and release

Synopsis

Reception

Live performances

Cover versions and usage in media

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

See also

References