Harleys in Hawaii
singles
CoverKaty Perry - Harleys in Hawaii.png
ArtistKaty Perry
ReleasedOctober 16, 2019
Studio
Genre
Length3:06
LabelCapitol
Writer
Producer
  • Carlsson
  • Puth
Prev year2019
Next year2020

"Harleys in Hawaii" is a song by American singer Katy Perry. It was released as a standalone single on October 16, 2019, by Capitol Records, along with its music video.[1][2] It later became the tenth track of Perry's sixth studio album, Smile (2020).[3] The song was written by Perry, Jacob Kasher Hindlin and its producers Charlie Puth and Johan Carlsson.[4]

Development and release

The song's cover art, revealed in October 2019, was called "retro" on Fox News.[5] She said the inspiration for the song was a trip to Hawaii with fiancé Orlando Bloom.[6]

Perry shot a music video for the song in Hawaii in July 2019.[7] The video was produced by Catalan video producer Canada and directed by Pau Lopez, Gerardo del Hierro, and Tomas Pena under the name Manson and was released along with the song on October 16, 2019.[8]

Composition

"Harleys in Hawaii" is a tropical,[9][10] pop,[9][11] trap,[10] reggae[12] and R&B[13] song, which describes Perry's emotions as she rides Harley-Davidson motorcycles in Hawaii with her lover.[14] It has a moderately fast tempo of 140 beats per minute and follows a common time signature of . It is played in the key of B minor and follows a chord progression of Bm-Em-Fm. The song is three minutes and five seconds long.[15]

Critical reception

Dani Blum from Pitchfork believed that Perry remains a "master at executing proven chart-topping formulas". She praised Perry's vocals and deemed the track a "standard, breezy pop: a gently writhing beat".[16] Mike Wass of Idolator wrote that Perry "switches it up with a soft and sexy bop" after "delivering a double dose of emotional pure-pop" with her previous singles "Never Really Over" and "Small Talk". He also stated that the song is "a mid-tempo earworm" and a "refreshingly grown pop song" despite its "kitsch title".[17] Louise Bruton from The Irish Times described the song as "hazy and oddly brilliant".[18] "Harleys in Hawaii" was deemed as a highlight on Smile by Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic.[19] John Dolan of Rolling Stone described "Harleys In Hawaii" as a "cute island R&B escapade".

Chart performance

"Harleys in Hawaii" reached number one in the New Zealand Hot Singles chart,[20] 67 in Scotland,[21] and 71 in Canada.[22] Within the United States, the song charted at number ten on the Bubbling Under Hot 100,[23] and has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for equivalent sales of 500,000 units in the United States.[24]

In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 45 on the Official Singles Chart in October 2019.[25] It saw resurgence in sales and streams in September 2021, where its chart sales rose 426% month-on-month. A part of this can be attributed to the song going viral on TikTok. The track was streamed 215,000 times within the nation, a large increase from the 25,000 average weekly streams it was getting earlier in the year prior to going viral.[26] In September 2023, two years after it initially went viral on TikTok, the song resurged in popularity once again with a viral powder-room performance of the song, as part of her series "Potty Jams", in which she belted out her songs in a bathroom. The song received a weekly streaming boost, nearly twice as much as before, at 1.14 million streams within the United States in the week ending September 28. The viral performance had also received millions of TikTok streams.[27]

Impact

Mark Gardiner from The New York Times noted the song's marketing value for the Harley-Davidson company. He said that "Harleys in Hawaii" has been viewed extensively by a demographic that "the motorcycle maker has had a hard time reaching."[28] According to Business Insider, the publicity is estimated to be worth over $40 million for Harley-Davidson.[29]

Accolades

YearOrganizationAwardResultRef(s)
2020MTV Video Music AwardsBest Cinematography[30]
2021Webby AwardsBest Music Video[31]

Track listing

  • Digital download and streaming
  1. "Harleys in Hawaii" – 3:06
  • Digital download and streaming (Win and Woo Remix)
  1. "Harleys in Hawaii" (Win and Woo Remix) – 3:26
  • Digital download and streaming (Kandy Remix)
  1. "Harleys in Hawaii" (Kandy Remix) – 2:45

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[32]

  • Katy Perry – vocals, songwriter
  • Charlie Puth – producer, songwriter, backing vocals, drum programming, synthesizer
  • Johan Carlsson – songwriter, producer, backing vocals, drum programming, synthesizer, guitar, rhodes
  • Jacob Kasher Hindlin – songwriter
  • Peter Karlsson – vocal editor, vocal producer
  • Jeremy Lertola – engineer, assistant recording engineer
  • Cory Bice – engineer
  • Rachael Findlen – engineer
  • Sam Holland – engineer
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing
  • John Hanes – mix engineer
  • Dave Kutch – mastering engineer

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Harleys in Hawaii"
Chart (2019–2024)Peak
position
Croatia (HRT)[33]45
Estonia Airplay (TopHit)[34]81
France (SNEP Sales Chart)[35]85
Greece International (IFPI Greece)[36]26
India (IMI)[37]11
Italy Airplay (EarOne)[38]57
Lithuania (AGATA)[39]23
Netherlands (Dutch Tipparade 40)[40]20
Netherlands (Single Tip)[41]13
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[20]1
Philippines (Philippine Hot 100)[42]67
Romania (Airplay 100)[43]61
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[44]7
Venezuela Anglo (Record Report)[45]45

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Harleys in Hawaii"
RegionDateFormat(s)VersionLabelRef.
VariousOctober 16, 2019Digital download · streamingOriginalCapitol[32]
AustraliaOctober 18, 2019Radio airplay[46]
ItalyOctober 31, 2019Universal[47]
VariousNovember 13, 2019Digital download · streamingKandy remixCapitol[48]
Win and Woo remix[49]

References

  1. ^ White, Jack (October 15, 2019). "Katy Perry confirms release date of new single Harleys in Hawaii". Official Charts Company. Archived December 30, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  2. ^ Perry, Katy (October 14, 2019). "#HarleysInHawaii 10.16.19". No. 1183760842182946817. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  3. ^ "Katy Perry Just Revealed the Title, Artwork and Release Date For Her Next Single". Billboard. Archived February 29, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  4. ^ White, Jack (October 14, 2019). "Katy Perry confirms release date of new single Harleys in Hawaii". Official Charts Company. Archived December 30, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  5. ^ Day, Nate (October 14, 2019). "Katy Perry goes retro in artwork for new single 'Harleys in Hawaii'". Fox News. Archived March 4, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  6. ^ Caro, Lorena (October 14, 2019). "We Can't Wait to See Katy Perry Joyride Around '60s Hawaii". Paper. Archived October 22, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  7. ^ "New Katy Perry song "Harleys in Hawaii" is coming this week". ABC News Radio. October 14, 2019. Archived October 15, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  8. ^ "Katy Perry – "Harleys In Hawaii" Video". Stereogum. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  9. ^ Rolli, Bryan. "Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Ed Sheeran And The Worst Songs Of 2019". Forbes. Archived 31 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  10. ^ Willman, Chris (August 28, 2020). "Katy Perry's 'Smile' Gets Lost Looking for Life Lessons on the Dance Floor: Album Review". Variety. Archived August 29, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  11. ^ Wass, Mike (August 28, 2020). "Album Review: Katy Perry's Illuminating 'Smile'". Idolator. Retrieved August 29, 2020.[dead link]
  12. ^ Jenkins, Craig (August 28, 2020). "Katy Perry 'Smile' Album Review". Vulture. Archived August 29, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  13. ^ Dolan, Jon (August 28, 2020). "Katy Perry is Generally Doing Pretty Well These Days on 'Smile'". Rolling Stone. Archived September 15, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  14. ^ DeVille, Chris (October 16, 2019). "Katy Perry – "Harleys In Hawaii" Video". Stereogum. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  15. ^ "Key & BPM for Harleys In Hawaii by Katy Perry". tunebat.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022.
  16. ^ "Katy Perry: Smile review". Pitchfork. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Katy Perry Switches It Up With Soft & Sexy "Harleys In Hawaii"". idolator. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2020.[dead link]
  18. ^ "Katy Perry: Smile review – Subpar lyrics with otherwise perfect melodies". The Irish Times. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Katy Perry: Smile review". AllMusic. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  20. ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. October 28, 2019. Archived October 25, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  21. ^ Scot
  22. ^ CAN
  23. ^ Bubbling
  24. ^ RIAA
  25. ^ UK
  26. ^ White, Jack (September 21, 2021). "Katy Perry's 2019 single Harleys in Hawaii enjoys huge uplift thanks to TikTok". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  27. ^ Andrew, Unterberger (October 4, 2023). "Katy Perry Bathroom Performance Goes Viral, Results in Big Gains for Four-Year-Old Single". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  28. ^ Gardiner, Mark (November 5, 2019). "A Katy Perry Song Drops a Gift in Harley-Davidson's Lap". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived January 2, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  29. ^ Mohammed, Theron (November 7, 2019). "Katy Perry's 'Harleys in Hawaii' could reportedly be worth over $40 million for Harley-Davidson". Business Insider. Archived January 2, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  30. ^ Bloom, Madison (July 30, 2020). "MTV VMAs 2020: See The Full List of Nominees Here". Pitchfork. Archived August 1, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  31. ^ "Harleys In Hawaii – @katyperry (2020) 🏆: @wearepartizan – 2021 People's Voice Winner – Best Music Video". No. 1397571415633797120. May 26, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  32. ^ "Harleys in Hawaii / Katy Perry". Tidal. October 16, 2019. Archived October 18, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  33. ^ "Croatia ARC TOP 100". HRT. Archived November 12, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  34. ^ "Top Radio Hits Estonia Weekly Chart: Jan 4, 2024". TopHit. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  35. ^ "Katy Perry – Harleys in Hawaii". PureMédias. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  36. ^ "IFPI Charts Εβδομάδα: 37/2021" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived September 27, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  37. ^ "IMI International Top 20 Singles for week ending 22nd November 2021 | Week 46 of 52". Indian Music Industry. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  38. ^ "Harleys In Hawaii − Katy Perry" (in Italian). EarOne. Archived December 26, 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  39. ^ "Savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. October 26, 2019. Archived October 28, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  40. ^ "Katy Perry – Harleys in Hawaii" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  41. ^ "Katy Perry – Harleys In Hawaii" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  42. ^ "Philippine Hot 100". Archived August 1, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 18, 2019. – via Facebook
  43. ^ "Airplay 100 – 1 decembrie 2019" (in Romanian). Kiss FM. December 1, 2019. Archived December 4, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  44. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 43". Sverigetopplistan. Archived March 22, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  45. ^ "Anglo" (in Spanish). Record Report. April 18, 2020. Archived January 26, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  46. ^ "Singles To Radio – The Music Network". themusicnetwork.com. Archived 2019-10-23 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
  47. ^ "KATY PERRY "Harleys In Hawaii" | (Radio Date: 31/10/2019)" (in Italian). radiodate.it. October 31, 2019. Archived November 16, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  48. ^ "Harleys In Hawaii – KANDY Remix", Spotify, November 13, 2019, archived 2019-11-13 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2019-11-13
  49. ^ "Harleys In Hawaii (Win and Woo Remix)", Spotify, November 13, 2019, archived 2019-11-13 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2019-11-13