'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Katy Perry's cameo in the music video of Cupid's Chokehold ignited a lot of buzz among fans during the early days of the songstress' career. The March 2005 song was released by the American rap rock band Gym Class Heroes at a time when Katy Perry was reportedly dating their lead singer and songwriter Travie McCoy.
The song was one of the biggest hits of the year, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, atop the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 radio chart, and number three on the Canadian Hot 100 among others.
Two versions of the song were released. The first one was called The Papercut Chronicles version and came out in 2005. The song was re-recorded for the album As Cruel as School Children and re-released on November 4, 2006. The second version contains female backing vocals that don't exist in the The Papercut Chronicles version.
Trending
Katy Perry's cameo in Cupid's Chokehold explained
The two versions of Cupid's Chokehold have two separate music videos. Katy Perry features in the second iteration, also called As Cruel as School Children version.
Directed by Alan Ferguson, this version is a literal interpretation of the song's lyrics and features real cupids trying to bring couples together. Furthermore, the As Cruel as School Children version is considered the official music video for the song, and music networks like VH1 and MTV telecast this version instead of its predecessor.
Travie McCoy stars in the music video and suffers the blow of multiple arrows to his backside by Cupid throughout the video. Each arrow makes him fall in love with a different woman, but things are always ephemeral.
Finally, Katy Perry appears as a fan in one of his concerts, and the two become one without the use of Cupid's arrow. The scene made even more sense at that time, as Katy Perry and McCoy were dating in real life.
The music video begins with Cupid (played by Princeton Perez) shooting McCoy with an arrow right when he passes by a girl (played by Porscha Coleman). They fall in love at first but things quickly plummet. Arguments turn into full-fledged brawl, and it all crumbles when the girl finds McCoy gambling with his friends.
Cupid tries to find a partner for McCoy a second time, and this time the girl seems to be more romantically involved with the singer. However, she becomes angry when McCoy invites his friends to a party hosted by her parents. Things end for good when he finds the girl making out with a masked stranger. He beats the stranger up and leaves the room.
Perry makes her cameo almost three-and-a-half minutes into the video as a fan in one of McCoy's converts. The two meet at a bar and fall in love with each other without the intervention of Cupid's arrow.
In the end, Cupid himself gets shot from behind by a female Cupid and the two of them start dancing together with Katy Perry and Travie McCoy watching from the front.
The cameo appearance in Cupid's Chokehold was one of the most iconic ones during the early days of Katy Perry's career as a musician. The music video currently stands at 135 million views on YouTube.
Perry broke up with McCoy in 2008 after a two-year relationship. Although they reportedly reconciled shortly after, Perry broke up again in 2009 - this time for good.
