Last Friday Night

"Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" is a song by American recording artist Katy Perry. The song was written by Perry, Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Bonnie McKee, and was produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin. It is the fifth single from Perry's third studio album, Teenage Dream by Capitol. Prior to its single release, "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" peaked at number sixty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and number forty-nine on the Canadian Hot 100 because of digital sales.

Composition

"Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" is apop rock song with a length of three minutes and fifty seconds. It is set in common time and has a moderate tempo of 126 beats per minute. It is written in the key of F♯ major and Perry's vocals span one octave, from C♯4 to D♯5. It follows the chord progression B–G♯m7–D♯m7-C♯. Billboard included the song in their Five Potential Pop Hits for 2011 list.

Artwork

Perry revealed her official album artwork for the 'Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)' Remixes! on her Facebook page. The photo features Katy in nerdy gear, including mouth guard and glasses, and was taken when she hosted the Teen Choice Awards in summer 2010. The image is surrounded by '80s-style neon colors and swirly graphics.

Music video and promotion

The music video for "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" was filmed in May 2011. It will be released on the 14 of June. Perry tweeted, "I told someone about my new music video I just filmed & they responded with 'wow, that's gonna break the internet.' ... Should I knock on wood?" The teaser of the video was released on Perry's Youtube profile on June 7, 2011.

Prior to the video's planned June 14 release date, it was leaked onto the internet June 11. In the video, Perry plays Kathy Beth Terry, a nerdy teenager with braces, headgear and oversized glasses who's just woken up the morning after a house party, surrounding by passed-out partygoers. Puzzled as to what happened, she goes online, only to find pictures of herself in various compromising positions. The video than goes into a flashback of the events that occurred the night before. While studying, Kathy hears loud music from the house next door, and goes over to stop the commotion. She is greeted by the hostess (played by internet celebrity Rebecca Black), who invites her to come in. Another nerdy high schooler, played by Glee star Kevin McHale, oggles her from afar and fantasizes about being with her. Kathy, however is more interested in the attractive football player attending the party, who turns her down because of her appearance. To cheer her up, Black gives Kathy a makeover, ripping off her headgear with pliers, dressing her in tight-fitting neon clothes and teasing her hair out. The jock becomes enamored with her, and everyone starts dancing. Jazz musician Kenny G plays a saxophone solo on the roof while 90's heartthrobs Hanson act as the house band. The entire party ends up moving to Kathy's house, where Kevin McHale's character punches the jock for fondling Kathy. At the end of the night, Kathy finally passes out, and the video shifts to present day, where she looks on with regret.

Critical reception

The song has received mixed to positive reception from music critics. Allmusic picked it among the top tracks on the album, and said that Perry "salutes fellow attention-whore Kesha on “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”. Rolling Stone said that "Perry likes her songs chatty; in the kegger romp "Last Friday Night," she chirps, "Think I need a ginger ale/That was such an epic fail". Slant Magazine said that “"Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" is a lifeless roller-rink jam with a "T! G! I! F!" shout-along that will no doubt provide the soundtrack to any number of trashy sorority parties this semester". Spin Magazine said that "Last Friday Night recounts an evening of nonstop naughtiness – think streaking, skinny-dipping, and ménage à trois-ing.

Now Magazine said that "The singer recently said that the catchy 'Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)' is her version of 'I Gotta Feeling'. With lyrics about photos ending up online after a debauched evening, it’s also reminiscent of Lady Gaga singing about drunkenly losing her keys and phone on Just Dance. Derivative, sure, but the song strikes a perfect equilibrium between Perry’s sex appeal and goofy, self-effacing charm". The A.V. Club said that "assuming that everything here is based on real life also means we have to accept that she’s had a ménage à trois on the indie-rock-meets-American Idol cut Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)". The Washington Post said that "Over strummy guitars and zigzagging keyboards, Perry recounts an evening of debauchery with no repercussions, her innocent transgressions (streaking, skinny-dipping) mentioned in the same breath as more serious trouble (mysterious bruises, a blackout), but when it's time for Perry to reflect on her 3 a.m. follies, she stiffly sings, "That was such an epic fail." It sounds like a clueless parent's attempt to speak teenager.

Personnel

Katy Perry – songwriter and vocals

Dr. Luke – songwriter, producer, drums, keyboards and programming

Max Martin – songwriter, producer, drums, keyboards and programming

Bonnie McKee – songwriter

Emily Wright – engineer

Sam Holland – engineer

Tucker Bodine– assistant engineer

Tatiana Gottwald – assistant engineer

Serban Ghenea – mixing

Jon Hanes – mix engineer

Tim Roberts – assistant mix engineer

Lenny Pickett – saxophone

Credits adapted from Teenage Dream album liner notes.

Background

Perry has revealed that she was inspired to write the track, after running naked through a park. According to Music Rooms, Perry claims that after a wild night of partying and streaking, she wrote the song about her antics the next day. Perry revealed: “There’s nothing better than an impromptu dance party with my friends. My track Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) is a song about debauchery because I had one of those nights in Santa Barbara. We went out to this place called Wildcat and got crazy,” Perry admitted: “We had a couple of beers and danced until we died, then brought the party back to the hotel room.” She added: “Most of that song is actual truth, apart from the ménage à trois… unfortunately! But, yes, streaking in the park, that’s what we did, so we had to write a song about it the next day!” Bonnie McKee, the co-witer of the song stated "TGIF is pretty much a word for word description of our trip to Santa Barbara [with Perry], so I love that one. It’s really kitschy and fun and makes me nostalgic.