It Takes Two

Album: Prism (2013)
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Songfacts®:

  • Perry engages in some self-examination over the breakdown of her marriage to Russell Brand on this Stargate produced track, which she penned with Scottish singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé. She told MTV News that she believes it's important to be mature about ending a romance. "It's really easy when relationships end to be like 'That guy was a f---ing douchebag,'" she said. "But really if you laid it down, and you saw the whole span of the relationship, you saw that you were in love, you saw the intimate moments, you saw the pain, you saw all the emotions and you have to kind of say 'Well, what responsibility can I take for myself in all of this.'"
  • Perry's boyfriend John Mayer plays guitar on the track. He also co-wrote another song on the deluxe edition of Prism, "Spiritual" and suggested the album title.
  • Speaking with The Sun, Emeli Sandé recalled their songwriting collaboration:

    "Katy Perry was really cool because I got to meet her. We had a studio session for a day. She really understood pop music and what she needed to do – and totally understood how to do everything. Then we went and had dinner afterwards – it was amazing."

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