"Firework" is a song by American singer Katy Perry from her third studio album, Teenage Dream (2010). Perry co-wrote the song with Ester Dean and the song's producers Stargate and Sandy Vee.
It is aĀ dance-popĀ self-empowermentĀ anthemĀ with inspirational lyrics, and Perry felt it was an important song for her on the record.Ā Capitol RecordsĀ released it as the album's third single on October 26, 2010.
The song was commercially successful, reaching number 1 on theĀ BillboardĀ Hot 100Ā and the top five on 20 charts around the world. "Firework" has sold over 1 million copies in the United Kingdom, and was certifiedĀ 12Ć platinumĀ by theĀ Recording Industry Association of AmericaĀ (RIAA) for shipments of over 12 million copies in theĀ United States.
An accompanying music video, directed byĀ Dave Meyers, was released on October 28, 2010. It portrays Perry singing and dancing aroundĀ Budapest, with interspersed scenes of young people becoming confident in themselves. An openĀ castingĀ call for the music video drew an unprecedented 38,000 applicants.
OnĀ MuchMusic's top 50 videos of 2010, "Firework" reached the top position. The music video was said to be a more upbeat take onĀ Christina Aguilera's message in "Beautiful". It was nominated for three awards at theĀ 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, eventually winning one of those, theĀ Video of the Year, the main and final award.
"Firework" was nominated forĀ Record of the YearĀ andĀ Best Pop Solo PerformanceĀ at theĀ 54th Grammy Awards. On January 5, 2012, "Firework" was elected the fifth most played single on US radio during 2011 byĀ Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, with 509,000 plays.