American Girl

Singer-songwriter Bonnie McKee described this lead single from her second album as a "summer banger" with "big, splashy, colorful lyrics." The lyric comes from her adolescent experience: she really did fall in love at a 7-11 while loitering in the parking lot. (In America, this was a popular weekend activity for underage kids in the '80s and '90s). She won't say who she fell in love with, but says she still knows him.

Bonnie McKee is better known for the hits that she's penned for such leading pop stars as Katy Perry ("California Gurls") Taio Cruz ("Dynamite") and Britney Spears ("Hold It Against Me"). So with all the contact numbers McKee must have on her phone, it was of no surprise that she recruited a galaxy of famous faces to appear in the song's video. They include Katy Perry (in her pj's), Kesha, KISS, Macklemore (in his bathtub), Adam Lambert, Carly Rae Jepsen, Jewel, Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe, Jason Derulo, Karmin, Taio Cruz, Nicole Scherzinger, Becky G, Lance Bass of 'N Sync, comedian Joan Rivers, and Star Trek actor George Takei. Naturally, McKee's in the clip too - that's her eating a cheeseburger and a popsicle. Justin Francis directed.

Tom Petty had a song called "American Girl" and Carrie Underwood had the country-tinged "All American Girl," but Bonnie McKee noticed there were no big songs called "American Girl" in the pop milieu sung by actual American girls. It seemed obvious to her, so she used that title as a starting point.