The record company backing Katy Perry has decided that they will release a sixth single from her very successful sophomore album - Teenage Dream. Since the first five, California Gurls, Teenage Dream, Firework, E.T. and Last Friday Night all reached the summit a sixth no. 1 would mean that Perry surpasses the record of five no. 1 songs from a single album that Michael Jackson set years ago. 

The song they chose to go with - The One That Got Away.

Now, it’s not a bad song per say. But it’s not really no. 1 material. It’s more like bottom part of the top 40 material, if that. But Katy Perry is a huge star and she probably has a lot of fans that wishes for her to topple the record set by Michael Jackson and if the record company promotes the song in a good way it might just have a shot.

Perrys last two no. 1 singles, E.T. and Last Friday Night, were both boosted by huge marketing campaigns. E.T. was remixed and Perry was joined by the one and only Kanye West, something that certainly gave the song a much needed push towards the summit. Last Friday Night was accompanied by av event-like music video where all the “hip” stars were invited. Cameos ranged from Rebecka Black, Glee to Kenny G and as a final push Last Friday Night was remixed with a feature from Missy Elliot.

Rap and pop crossovers is big business these days and if Perry is to stand a chance when the summer songs are replaced she’s probably going to need a celebrity heavy remix (a Dr. Luke radio edit has already been announced), as well as a good music video launch. I wouldn’t go for a rapper this time. Instead I’d go for a male pop star for a duet. It would fit nicely onto the song since it’s written like a love story, even a coming back to school-topical one. Perry probably still needs the crossover potential so Chris Brown might be an option as well as Trey Songz. I wouldn’t recommend either, especially not with the formers past, but they would be options. 

The fact that it’s a more slow paced song might be a pro as well as a con. Ballads have made it back big time thanks to the likes of Adele but that doesn’t mean that the formula of dancable pop music isn’t still the perfect fit for radio.

Other options that Perry should’ve looked into would be the more upbeat Hummingbird Heartbeat and the ballad and previous promo single Not Like the Movies. The dance no. 1 Peacock could’ve been a option if it wasn’t for the risk of angering various parental groups. My guess is that The One That Got Away beat all of these singles due to it’s back to school topicality, but I don’t think that will be enough to bring it to the summit. But in the end, only time will tell, and back when they were singles I didn’t think Firework and E.T. would make it either.