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Peacock
Peacock cover
Promotional single by Katy Perry
Album Teenage Dream
Released March 26, 2012
Recorded 2010
Genre(s) Dance-pop
Length 3:51
Label(s) Capitol
Producer(s) Stargate

Peacock is a song recorded by Katy Perry for her third studio album, Teenage Dream, which was released on August 24, 2010, through Capitol Records.

Because the song was filled with suggestive lyrics pertaining to male genitalia, Capitol Records initially opposed the idea of including it on her record. Similar to what happened with another song of hers – "I Kissed a Girl" (2008) – she refused to withdraw it from the record.

"Peacock" was panned by music critics and, musically, was compared to the 1980s hit "Mickey" by Toni Basil, and Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" (2005). On March 26, 2012, a remix version was released as promotional single on iTunes.

Despite not being released as a single, the song entered several music charts worldwide. Its least successful charting territory was the United Kingdom, while it performed best in the US, topping the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart for a week, and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. Perry has performed "Peacock" on several occasions, including during her 2011 world tour California Dreams Tour. When performing the track, the singer usually wears colorful or glittery clothing.

Production[]

Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, and Ester Dean assisted Perry in writing "Peacock" for her third studio album, Teenage Dream, released in 2010. According to Perry, the whole point of writing "Peacock" was to play with words. Midway through recording the album, Perry recalled saying to the people she was working with: "Look I've got a lot of jewels, but I really don't have the crown. I really don't have that full-blown presentation". So she then decided to get back into the studio and work with Stargate, a production team co-producing Teenage Dream, during a late-night session and made several more songs, including "Firework" and "Peacock".

Originally, the singer's recording label, Capitol Records, was against the inclusion of the song as a track on Teenage Dream as they deemed "Peacock" too controversial. "They were all a bit worried about the word 'cock' and it gave me déjà vu because they did the exact same thing with 'I Kissed a Girl,'" Perry stated. Unhappy with the idea of making her music more family friendly, she insisted on including the songs the label objected to. "They said, 'We don't see it as a single, we don't want it on the album.' And I was like, 'You guys are idiots'." When asked about "Peacock", Perry stated: "I'm hoping it will be a gay-pride anthem, peacocks represent a lot of individuality..... It's not just like, 'I wanna see your bulge.'" And then she went on to clarify: "It does have the word cock in it, but art is also in fart! It's all in how you look at it. Prior to the release of Teenage Dream, the singer debuted "Peacock" in early August 2010 when she performed it at the MTV World Stage in Malaysia.

Track listing[]

Digital download - Cory Enemy & Mia Moretti Remix
No. Title Length
1. "Peacock" (Cory Enemy & Mia Moretti Remix) 5:32
Digital download – Yuksek Remix
No. Title Length
1. "Peacock" (Yuksek Remix) 4:19
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