Maps of Music

One of the Boys (2008)

Where the lyrics of One of the Boys take you, and where it was really made.

The album's lead single was not the first pick. 'Thinking of You' was originally planned as the first single, but it was scrapped for 'I Kissed a Girl'.

Key places

Recorded at Conway Recording Studios (2008)

Recording site Conway Recording Studios — Listed as a recording site for the album in Los Angeles. The point marks the studio's city-block location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Capitol Studios (2008)

Recording site Capitol Studios — Listed as a recording site for the album in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The studio is a known recording facility in the same city. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Freshkills, New York City (2008)

Recording site Freshkills — Listed as a recording site for the album in New York City. The site is recorded at the New York City location level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at The Compound (2008)

Recording site The Compound — Listed as a recording site for the album in Los Angeles. The point marks the studio's building-level location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Unstable Studios, Surrey (2008)

Recording site Unstable Studios — Listed as a recording site for the album in Surrey, England. The point sits at the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at The Earth's Core, Glasgow (2008)

Recording site The Earth's Core — Listed as a recording site for the album in Glasgow, Scotland. The point sits at the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• One of the Boys: second studio album by American singer-songwriter Katy Perry
• Released June 17, 2008 through Capitol Records
• First album under the stage name Katy Perry
• Preceded by the debut EP Ur So Gay (2007)
• Producers include Butch Walker, Dr. Luke, Benny Blanco, Greg Wells, S*A*M and Sluggo, Ted Bruner, Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, and Dave Stewart
• Released in several editions: standard, Australian Tour, special digipak with four bonus tracks, and Japanese re-issue

Background

• Follows the debut Katy Hudson (2001), released under her real name on Red Hill Records
• Label change and pseudonymous surname marked a shift away from the Christian rock of the debut
• Perry said she had been working on the album since she was eighteen
• She signed to and was dropped from a joint venture between Java Records and Island Def Jam, and from Columbia Records, without releasing singles from either
• Original titles were Katy Perry and Fingerprints
• Unused songs went to other artists: 'I Do Not Hook Up' and 'Long Shot' to Kelly Clarkson, 'Breakout' and 'The Driveway' to Miley Cyrus, 'Rock God' and 'That's More Like It' to Selena Gomez & the Scene

Recording

• Perry co-wrote every song and wrote three alone, including the title track, 'Mannequin', and 'Thinking of You'
• 'Thinking of You' was written in 2002, a year after Katy Hudson was released
• After she signed to Capitol, label head Jason Flom started studio sessions between Perry, Dr. Luke, and Max Martin, which produced 'I Kissed a Girl' and 'Hot n Cold'
• The album combines five new songs with six songs chosen from previously shelved sessions
• Perry said there would be lots of storytelling, with some songs that make you cry and others made to dance to

Cover

• Photography by Michael Elins
• Art direction by Ed Sherman
• Design and illustration by Shayne Ivy

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, born October 25, 1984, in Santa Barbara, California; known professionally as Katy Perry.
• Released the gospel album Katy Hudson (2001) under Red Hill Records at age 16; it was commercially unsuccessful.
• Moved to Los Angeles, then signed to Capitol Records in 2007 and rose to fame with One of the Boys (2008).

Members

• Solo artist. Her sister Angela influenced her early singing; her brother David is also a singer.

Career

• "I Kissed a Girl" from One of the Boys topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
• Teenage Dream (2010) became the only album by a woman to produce five U.S. number-one singles.
• Prism (2013) yielded "Roar" and "Dark Horse" as U.S. number ones; later albums include Witness (2017), Smile (2020) and 143 (2024).
• Performed the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show in 2015, which drew 118.5 million U.S. viewers.
• Prismatic World Tour grossed $204.3 million worldwide.
• Estimated sales of over 151 million records worldwide; seven RIAA Diamond certifications.
• Judge on American Idol from the sixteenth season (2018) to the twenty-second season (2024).
• Flew into space aboard Blue Origin NS-31 in April 2025.
• Named UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in December 2013.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Billboard's Kerri Mason gave a highly positive review, saying the album was 'packed with potential hits'
• Blender said Perry's punch lines did not always justify her self-congratulatory tone, but praised the producers' new-wave synth hooks
• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine first gave the album two out of five stars
• Uncut wrote that Gwen Stefani should be nervous
• Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani criticized Perry's vocal performances and compared the title track to No Doubt's 'Just a Girl'
• NME's Alex Miller discouraged readers with any interest in enjoying a record from buying it
• Robert Christgau gave a two-star honorable mention in his Consumer Guide, naming 'I Kissed a Girl' and the title track as highlights

Reappraisal

• AllMusic later raised its rating to three and a half out of five
• Metacritic assigns the album a score of 47, citing 'mixed or average reviews'

Records

• Debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200 with 47,000 copies sold in its first week
• Stayed on the Billboard 200 for 92 weeks, Perry's third-longest charting album
• Nielsen Music: 1.73 million copies sold in the United States as of August 2020
• RIAA: three-times Platinum for three million album-equivalent units in the US
• UK Albums Chart peak at number 11; 758,410 copies sold as of May 2026; BPI two-times Platinum
• Top 10 in Argentina, Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, and Switzerland
• Canada five-times Platinum; Australia and Chile three-times Platinum; Denmark, France, New Zealand, and Norway two-times Platinum
• IFPI: 33rd highest-selling album of 2008; seven million copies worldwide as of August 2010

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title track was inspired by 'Confessions of a Teenage Girl' by Bonnie McKee, who became Perry's friend and collaborator after meeting her at a thrift shop
• 'I Kissed a Girl' was inspired by actress Scarlett Johansson
• 'Ur So Gay' was composed as a tool of revenge on an ex-boyfriend
• 'Thinking of You' was first planned as the lead single before 'I Kissed a Girl' replaced it
• In September 2008 a Havens Corners church set the sentence 'I kissed a girl and liked it. So I went to hell.' in its garden to criticize the song
• Rolling Stone's Nicole Frehsee compared 'Mannequin' to 1980s Cher songs

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact