Popular (The Veronicas song)

"Popular" is a song recorded by Australian duo The Veronicas for their second studio album Hook Me Up (2007). Produced by Toby Gad, it was released as the album's final single on 11 October 2008 as a digital download. Written by The Veronicas' twin sisters, Lisa Origliasso and Jessica Origliasso, together with Beni Barca and Gad, it was recorded in Los Angeles, California. The track pokes fun at people with privileged lifestyles.

"Popular"
Single by The Veronicas
from the album Hook Me Up
Released11 October 2008 (Digital Download)
RecordedThe Veronicas' living room, Los Angeles, California
GenrePop punk
Length2:44
LabelSire
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Toby Gad
The Veronicas singles chronology
"Take Me on the Floor"
(2008)		 "Popular"
(2008)		 "Lolita"
(2012)

"Popular" received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the fun lyrics and named it a highlight of the album. The recording was released to radio in the week of 12 October 2008,[1] and peaked at number eleven on the Australian Airplay Charts.[2]

Writing and inspiration

"Popular" was written by The Veronicas' twin sisters, Jessica Origliasso and Lisa Origliasso, together with Beni Barca and Toby Gad. It was recorded at Jessica and Lisa's living room in Los Angeles, California, with Gad producing the track.[3] In an interview with Cameron Adams of Herald Sun Lisa elaborated on the song's subject matter: "We wanted something different. We wanted to take the piss out of celebrity life. We thought it was hysterical." When asked about the rapped verses in the recording, Jessica replied, "I'm rapping! I'm doing it for all the unrhythmic white chicks in Australia! With a really thick Australian accent!"[4]

Reception

Emily Mackay of NME called "Popular" "plain old up-yours fun",[5] while K. Ross Hoffman of AllMusic said the Australian accent was used to "excellent effect" in the rapped verses.[6] Ben Norman of About.com found the lyrics "humorous" and named the track one of his favourites from the album, calling it: "Upbeat, very poppy, but eventually the complete inanity of it grew on me... Don't discount this song due to the extreme contrast it poses to the rest of the disc or their previous material. Give it a shot, you might just like it."[7] Similarly, Nick Levine of Digital Spy declared "Popular", along with "Untouched" and "This Is How It Feels", as one of the highlights on the album.[8] Evan Sawdey of PopMatters was impressed with the song which made for a "glorious" end to Hook Me Up, an album he felt was full of hooks. He said: "the gloriously trashy "Popular" seems fueled entirely by dance floor sweat, being both ridiculous and confident in equal measure."[9]

David James Young of Sputnikmusic compared "Popular" to an inbred lovechild of Peaches and Princess Superstar, saying: "what can be said about this one? Basically, if Peaches went out and got completely hammered with Princess Superstar and they managed to have some kind of inbred lovechild with “Best Damn Thing”-era Avril Lavigne as the midwife, it would probably come out sounding something like this. And believe me, this is definitely not a compliment. Talking about the song, the girls say that the song is "taking the piss out of famous people". However, in a similar vein to Good Charlotte atrocity “I Just Wanna Live”, you simply cannot tell and it comes off as vain and cheap."[10]

The recording is the only single of The Veronicas to date not to chart within the top one hundred of the ARIA Singles Chart. It peaked at number eleven on the Australian Airplay Chart.[2]

Track listing
iTunes single[11]
  1. "Popular" – 2:44

Credits and personnel
Recording
Personnel
  • Songwriting – Jessica Origliasso, Lisa Origliasso, Beni Barca, Toby Gad
  • Production – Toby Gad
  • Instruments and programming – Toby Gad
  • Mixing – Toby Gad
  • Vocals – Jessica Origliasso, Lisa Origliasso

Credits adapted from Hook Me Up album liner notes.[3]

Charts
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australian Airplay Chart[2] 11

Release history
Country Date Format
Australia 11 October 2008[11] Digital download

References
  1. Staff (13 October 2008). "The Veronicas: Popular". auspOp. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  2. "Australian Music Report Weekly Hot 100 - Chart week ending date 29/02/09". Australian Music Report. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  3. Hook Me Up (liner notes). The Veronicas. Sire Records. 2007. 9362499154.CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. Adams, Cameron (8 November 2007). "The Veronicas dish the dirt". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  5. Mackay, Emily (2 June 2009). "Album review: The Veronicas – Hook Me Up". NME. UK: IPC Media. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  6. Hoffman, K. Ross. "Hook Me Up - The Veronicas". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  7. Norman, Ben. "The Veronicas' Hook Me Up". About.com (The New York Times Company). Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  8. Levine, Nick (17 October 2009). "The Veronicas: 'Hook Me Up' - Music Album Review - Digital Spy". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK (National Magazine Company Ltd.). Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  9. Sawdey, Evan (15 September 2008). "The Veronicas: Hook Me Up". PopMatters. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  10. Young, David James (2 November 2007). "The Veronicas - Hook Me Up (album review)". Sputnikmusic (IndieClick Music Network). Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  11. "'Popular' – Single – The Veronicas". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
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