One Racy Breakout Hit

'I Kissed a Girl' was the lead single from Katy Perry's 'One of the Boys' and helped launch the singer to super stardom. This was no cover of Jill Sobule's 1995 single. Instead, the 2008 hit played up Katy's flirtatious appeal. The single caused backlash from some in the gay community and also turned Perry into an immediate sex symbol.

'I Kissed a Girl' was a worldwide smash, topping Billboard's Hot 100 chart for a strong seven weeks while also rising to the top of the charts in Canada, Australia and the UK among other countries.

The inspiration for the song came from the lips of another sex symbol, Scarlett Johansson. The New York Daily News reported in 2008 "I opened up a magazine and I saw a picture of Johansson," Perry said. "I said to [my boyfriend at the time], 'I'm not going to lie. If Scarlett Johansson walked into the room and wanted to make out with me, I would make out with her. I hope you're okay with that.'"

How did Johansson feel about being the inspiration behind one of the year's biggest hits? "That's flattering," Johansson told Allure "but my lips are kind of taken."

Perry told Howard Stern that she had also woken up from sleeping with the chorus in her head and had not done anything with it for a year and a half."

'I Kissed a Girl' Official Video

'I Kissed a Girl' Lyrics

This was never the way I planned
Not my intention
I got so brave, drink in hand
Lost my discretion
It's not what I'm used to
Just wanna try you on
I'm curious for you
Caught my attention

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

No, I don't even know your name
It doesn't matter
Your my experimental game
Just human nature
It's not what, good girls do
Not how they should behave
My head gets so confused
Hard to obey

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

Us girls we are so magical
Soft skin, red lips, so kissable
Hard to resist so touchable
Too good to deny it
Ain't no big deal, it's innocent

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

Controversy From the Gay Community

Some in the gay community were not impressed by the 'I Kissed a Girl' lyrics. Jane Czyzselska, editor of lesbian lifestyle magazine Diva, admitted to the Guardian in 2008 that the message of the song was confusing.

"I don't think she's being homophobic," said Czyzselska." I think she might be a bit dumb, a bit un-self-aware. The kind of behaviour you get from some privileged people - 'oh I didn't realise'. Perhaps she doesn't know any gay people who have suffered verbal or physical abuse."

Peter Tatchell, a campaigner for gay rights said "[the lyrics's aren't] seriously homophobic but they can be read as implicitly demeaning gay people. I am sure Katy would get a critical reception if she expressed comparable sentiments in a song called 'UR so black, Jewish or disabled'. Should there be different standards for lyrics about gay issues, as opposed to race and disability issues? I don't think so. Having said this, the homophobia of some reggae, rap and ragga music is far worse. Some of these songs explicitly incite the murder of lesbians and gays. They are much more offensive than any lyrics sung by Katy Perry."

'I Kissed a Girl' Acoustic on The Howard Stern Show (at 3:35)