Firework vs. Born This Way

(Todd plays "Firework" on his keyboard. Text appears reading: "KATY PERRY - FIREWORK". He stops, text reading "AND" appears, and then he starts "Born This Way", with text "LADY GAGA - BORN THIS WAY A pop song review")

Todd: It has come to my attention that sometimes people in the world might feel unhappy about themselves

Video: Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful"

Todd (VO): I don't really interact with people, so I mostly discover this fact through pop songs. Specifically big, inspirational ballads by famous pop stars... [Video cuts to TLC's "Unpretty"] meant to boast up the self-esteem of people feeling down on themselves. Probably because they're not big, famous pop stars. Now these are songs are meant to take the sad sacks of the world [Video cuts to Mariah Carey's "Hero"] and uplift theirspirits, making them feel more comfortable about who they are. Mariah Carey: About the hero that lies in you... Todd (VO): Not me. I've personally never particularly liked this kind of song.

Todd: I mean, I'm Todd in the Shadows. I don't really have the need for a picking-up song because of the glamourous, jet-setting lifestyle that I lead.

''Black and white footage with a depressing soundtrack. Todd sits in front of his computer, drinks and puts a gun to his head, and shoots it - repeatedly, because as Imma Be showed, that is not a real gun.''

Todd: But, it remains a popular topic for songwriters. Now as it happens, we have two songs of this type circulating by now...

Video for Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" Todd (VO): ...one by the artsy, challenging pop singer whose songs I wished I liked more than I do...

Video for Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold" Todd (VO): ...and one by the stupid, lowest common denominator pop singer whose songs I wished I liked a whole lot less. Todd: What I'm talking about, of course, is Katy Perry's single "Firework" and "Lady Gaga's single 'Boring This Way.'" [silence, Todd looks down to check his notes.] Excuse me, "Born This Way."

Video for Katy Perry's "Firework" Todd (VO): Now, in this case we've got two huge hit songs with positive messages, brought by probably two of the least liked people in pop music, to bring. Video for Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" Todd (VO): Now, before we get to the songs themselves, let's remember that neither of these women are known for heartfelt, inspirational ballads.

Todd: It's an unlikely move, and a bit of a sell out for both artists. So, I decided to tackle the two songs together and value them simultaneously for their tonal similarities, and not because I haven't put up a new video in a while and need to catch up as much as possible.

Both videos shown side-by-side Todd (VO): Now, keep in mind I find both these videos acceptably mediocre, so this is not a ranking kind of thing, though they both have their strong points and their weak points, so I thought they deserved a comparison.

Todd: And I thought a good place to start would be the main message in the lyrics.

Video for Firework Katy Perry: Do you ever feel like a plastic bag? Todd: Do you ever feel like a plastic bag? Katy Perry sure does. Because she's made of plastic. And she's a bag. Boom! Katy: Boom, boom, boom!

Todd: Now these are both "feel good about who you are" type of songs, [Firework] Katy Perry wants you to feel amazing and brilliant, and [Born this Way] Gaga wants you to believe you're absolutely justified in being who you are no matter the way you choose to... express yourself, let's say.

[Firework] Todd (VO): But who were these songs written for specifically? Now, I always felt, specially with the introduction of the mildly chubby girl in the video, that the main target audience for "Firework", like many of these types of songs, are women with low self-esteem because of body issues or whatnot.

Todd: And as true enough as the media often seems like it's conspiring to make young women feel worse about themselves, and the consequences of this can be truly heartbreaking. For example... hey, JesuOtaku.

JesuOtaku: Oh, hey. What's up?

Todd: You look fat.

JO: [does a baffled look] Excuse me?

Todd: Now see how utterly devastated this poor young woman is just from one snide comment about her body. See the pain [cut to JO staring, looking slightly bored] and shame in her eyes as her self-image is utterly destroyed. Truly this is a sad commentary on the pressure the media puts on women with obvious self-esteem issues such as this unfortunate woman here.

JO: Todd, get help. [leaves]

Todd: See as she runs away in humiliation, probably going to the mall and choke on some Haagen-Dasz. What an awful world we live in. So yeah, "Firework" has an admirable message, I suppose, I'm not sure Katy Perry deals with issue as sensitively, though.

Katy Perry: Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin?, like a house of cards? Todd: [sad] No, I don't feel paper thin, because I don't have your perfect body, Katy Perry! [sobs]