I Kissed a Girl

In the summer of 2008, the Katy Perry song "I Kissed a Girl" was the subject of much hype on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK, not only did Perry play BBC2's Later live music show, but prior to that she was given considerable airspace on the BBC1 Breakfast news program. The song's theme was hardly original though; in 1995, Denver-born singer-songwriter Jill Sobule released a song with the same title which she had co-written with Robin Eaton. It would be fair to say though that the two tracks have little in common; the original is a low key, almost ballad type of song about a soon-to-be married woman who experiences a spontaneous kiss with a girlfriend. After Perry's song scored, Sobule told Hollywood Insider that she didn't feel "precious" about the title but added she'd received "tons of e-mails from annoyed fans."

Sobule admitted to The Rumpus that it "did bug me a little bit" when Perry said she came up with the idea for the title in a dream. She added: "In truth, she wrote it with a team of professional writers and was signed by the very same guy that signed me in 1995. I have not mentioned that in interviews as I don't want to sound bitter or petty… cause, that's not me." However, in the very next sentence, an angry Sobule expressed her frustration accusing Perry of being a "f---ing stupid, maybe 'not good for the gays,' title thieving, haven't heard much else, so not quite sure if you're talented, f---ing little slut."

Regarding the lyrics, "They can have their diamonds and we'll have our pearls," Sobule is making a reference to the clitoris, something War did on their song "Spill The Wine," where Eric Burdon sings, "Spill the wine, take that pearl."