4. If You Seek Amy (2009)
USA BILLBOARD HOT 100: #19
UK SINGLES CHARTS: #20
From the Album: Circus
Why its Great: I may be going out on a limb here. As it’s chart positions show, this wasn’t exactly one of the biggest hits of her career. And let’s be honest it’s a contrived, nonsense song lyrically that only really exists so that we can get to the rather rude pun in the title/chorus. The pun that annoyed a lot of parents at the time who were presumably oblivious to the fact that this wasn’t even a new pun (there’s numerous previous songs from all walks of life that do something similar), James Joyce used the same gag in Ulysses (following it up with an arguably even more vulgar pun) and even Shakespeare was trotting out similar “secret dirty words” pun four hundred years earlier.
Plus, I have to admit some bias here. I absolutely adore nonsense pop songs. I can, for instance, pore over Girls Aloud lyrics that are obviously utter nonsense trying to come up with some secret hidden meaning that doesn’t actually exist.
So it may be a one joke song, totally devised to work around that one joke, but its pumping rhythm propels it along and if you think pop music should be fun you’re in the right place with this on.
Alternative Album Cut: Womanizer – well it’s the song most people would choose from the Circus album, and it is a cracker. Note though, if you are the kind of person who likes, say, the Lily Allen version over the original that means you’re acknowledging the sheer genius of the original.