Contrarian Corner: Katy Perry and Taylor Swift are musics mean girls

Image Credit: Katy Perry Richard Drew/AP

Katy Perrys 3-D extravaganza Part of Me hit theaters this week. Obvious self-reflective implications aside, its strange that Perry chose this title from her collection because its lyrically the least Katy Perry-ish song in her repertoire. Part of Meforegoes the whipped-cream-and-rainbows sensibility that so perplexes (and captivates) my colleague Annie Barrett. It speaks ofovercoming adversity and seeks self-empowerment. Its also a hit job.

Im not here to sift through the dross surrounding Perrys divorce from Russell Brand. And I cant fault Perry for documenting the unraveling of the relationship in the documentary not to do so would be as glossy and inauthentic as one of her lolliprops. Still, it seems this song speaks to a potential directional shift in girl pop that, frankly, is troubling. Perry and her fellow hit-churner Taylor Swift have taken the break-up song to a new level, crucifying their exes publicly to massive success.It begs the question: When did a few cute girls personal burn books turn into the American songbook?

Perry and Swift certainly arent reinventing the wheel with these heartbreak anthems. All great songs arguably have something to do with love whether its the ecstasy of falling in, the agony of falling out, or a deeply shallow passion for party rocking. Like Perry,Rihanna used the hard-edgedRated R to wade through the wreckage of her romance with on-again, off-again boyfriend Chris Brown. On her next album, she wisely Found Love not to mention her biggest hit to date. And, of course, no conversation about break-up songs would be complete without mentioning Adele. Like Swift, Adeles blockbuster 21chronicles every moment of a re! lationsh ip withering on the vine. And yet Adeles M.O. feels different, less tawdry, if only because she has steadfastly refused to name the man who spurned her. To do so, she said, would empowerhim.

Now stack that up against songs like Dear John, the tune in which Swift set her sights on former fling John Mayer, or nearly every other track on Speak Now (which made history when all 17 of its songs and remixes found a place on theBillboard Hot 100). Swift has sought to fortify herself by issuing emotional hits (in every sense on the word) against her lovers done wrong. Adding fuel to the fire, shes been explicit about the men who have inspired her songs (sometimes more cryptically than others). Much of this can be attributed to age. Swift is still only 22. Fame notwithstanding, its a very self-centered age. Its also a demographically desirable one a bridge when young girls can look up to her and older women can still consider her a contemporary. With that in mind, what message does it send when Swift uses her guitar as a pitchfork and her voice as a torch to lead a musical witch hunt? Sure, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, and Martina McBride (to name a few) have all had a vengeful hit or two about no-good men. Taylor Swift has had 17.

Unlike Swift, Perry has not artisticallylaid her love life bare with any regularity. She flirted with confessional songwriting inTeenage Dreamdeep cut Circle the Drain, a song about extricating oneself from a relationship with an addict that was widely considered to be about her ex-fianc! (and Gym Class Heroes frontman) Travie McCoy. In March, after her Grammys debut of Part of Me, shedenied the track was about Brand. But her admission that it didnt fit in with the rest ofTeenage Dream and her decision to debut the song in her first public, post-divorce filing performance speak volumes.Like Swift, Perry is not purging the ugliness from her life. She is capitalizing on it, wallowing in it for personal and financial gain. Only hervendetta anthem involves a thumping beat instead of a banjo strum.

NEXT: Do Swift and Perry promote bullying?