Who Am I Living For?

"Who Am I Living For?" is a song by American recording artist Katy Perry taken from her third studio album Teenage Dream (2010). It was written by Perry, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Brian Thomas, and Monte Neuble and produced by the former two. The song's development was inspired by Perry's religious upbringing.

Containing elements of dubstep and glitch, the downbeat gospel-tinged electro-R&B and electronic rock ballad received generally mixed reviews from critics, who praised its dark composition and emotional tone, as well as comparing it to Rihanna and Linda Perry. Lyrically, the song retells the biblical story of Esther; the Jewish Queen of Persia who discovered and foiled Haman's plan to massacre the Jewish community in Persia. Critics drew comparisons from the story to Perry's own life, who said that "Who Am I Living For?" speaks of her "constant battle between staying true to her faith, and falling down in the perils of a celebrity lifestyle."

Writing and meaning

While being interviewed by MTV Asia, Perry was asked how having Christian parents influenced her music, and she cited "Who Am I Living For?" in her response:

"I guess where I come from is still inside of me and nipping at my heels everyday. There's a song on my new record which talks about my convictions – it's a song called 'Who Am I Living For'. It's interesting along the road in the path of life, I meet a lot of different people who come from so many different places and they really kind of influence and inspire who I am.

I definitely continue to want to know the answers and have my own personal pilgrimage, so in a way it does affect what I do musically and who I am as an entertainer but there's still a lot of me in that as well. I think probably one of the things that is most important in life is not collecting all this stuff or trying to be as famous as possible but to worry about your soul and your spirit and what's happening next."^[1]

Composition

"Who Am I Living For?" is a slow-paced electro-R&B ballad, which also heavily utilizes the genres of electronic rock and dubstep.^[2][3][4] The song is also influenced by gospel, glitch, and downbeat music.^[5][6] "Who Am I Living For?" is written in the key of A minor, and the tempo moves at 63 beats per minute over a slow beat.^[7] Perry's vocals in the song range from the low note of G₃ to the higher note of D₅.^[7] The song's edgy suspense-filled atmosphere is composed of a dramatic dubstep beat, electric and acoustic guitar riffs, and glitchy beats,^[2][8][9] with Perry's vocals on the song using a "wailing" technique, which was critically praised for showcasing her strong voice.^[5]

Lyrically, "Who Am I Living For?" recalls Perry's Christian roots and retells the biblical story of Esther, the Jewish Queen of Persia; who discovered and foiled King Haman's plan to massacre the Jewish community.^[8][10] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone said of the song: "Her Christian back story only comes up once, in 'Who Am I Living For,' where Perry riffs on the biblical story of Esther, the Jewish orphan who married the Persian king and uncovered a plot to exterminate the Jews. It's dark and compelling, especially since she sings it like Rihanna."^[8] Melissa Garcia of the website OCReloaded interpreted the lyrics as Perry's "constant battle between staying true to her faith, and falling down in the perils of a celebrity lifestyle", and went on to further add that the song "shows an honest insight into a fight that is endless and unyielding in every sense."^[10] Perry's vocals on "Who Am I Living For?" have been described as some of the strongest on the album, partially due to the "wailing" vocal technique that she uses.^[5]

Critical reception

"Who Am I Living For?" received generally mixed reviews from critics, some of whom felt that the song was a standout on Teenage Dream, while others criticized it as trying too hard. Click Music reviewer Shefali Srivastava declared the song as a stand out moment on the album, while later going on to describe it as anthemic, and enjoyed seeing Perry take a "particularly defiant turn."^[4] Rolling Stone called this song "dark and compelling," and added "especially since she sings it like Rihanna."^[11] Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine criticized Perry's vocals on the song, saying that it "is a one-note wallow in self-pity, weighed down by clichéd lyrics, a leaden beat, and a tone-deaf vocal turn from Perry."^[12] Rudy K. of Sputnikmusic agreed, saying that this song was a nice try but it would have been better in hands of more versatile artist.^[13] The Phoenix called the song "existentially weird."^[14] When reviewing The Complete Confection re-release, PopMatters called this song "abrasively underwhelming."^[15]

Live performances

Perry performing "Who Am I Living For?" at the Zenith de Paris

The song was included on the setlist for Perry's 2011 worldwide concert tour, The California Dreams Tour. During the song, Perry would be captivated by four of her back up dancers who strapped her up with elastic strings, and threw her back and forth while during the end they threw her and left her on the ground defeated.

Writing for NME, Emily MacKay did a live review of the singer's tour at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo in London during March 2011. She said that the spiritless "Circle the Drain", "Hummingbird Heartbeat" and "Who Am I Living For?" were enough to make you feel somewhat like that of a "fractious toddler having a series of expensive toys waved in its mottled face by a fretful aunt to keep it from deciding it wants to cry.".^[16] Reviewing Perry's performance at TD Garden, Jay N. Miller praised the live performance of the song, calling it "One of the best moments of the tour" and praised Perry's contralto voice calling it "stunning".^[17]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the Teenage Dream liner notes.^[18]

Recording

• Recorded at the Studio at the Palms, Paradise, Nevada, and at The Boom Boom Boom Studios, Burbank, California
• Mixed at Triangle Sound Studio, Atlanta, Georgia.

Personnel

References

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics