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Katy Perry on the ‘Firework’ lyric we’ve been getting wrong all this time

Do you know the correct lyrics in the chorus?
Katy Perry set the record straight and told her "American Idol" co-star Luke Bryan he was singing the wrong words to her song "Firework." 
Katy Perry set the record straight and told her "American Idol" co-star Luke Bryan he was singing the wrong words to her song "Firework." AP

Looks like we’ve been getting the lyrics to one of Katy Perry’s biggest hits wrong for years.

The singer's song "Firework" has become a feel-good anthem and a Fourth of July staple since its release in 2010. But the 37-year-old just revealed that many people get confused over one word in the chorus.

During Sunday's episode of "American Idol," Perry's fellow judge Luke Bryan started belting out one part of the tune's chorus, and she looked unamused.

"It’s not 'up, up, up,' and it’s not 'ahh, ahh, ahh,'" she corrected the country star.

“Well, what is it then? 'Cause I've been dying to know all these years,” Bryan replied.

The part of the chorus in question starts with the words, "Come on show them what you’re worth/ Make them go ..." and many people, like Bryan, sing "up" or "ahh" after that.

Perry set the record straight and shared what she actually sings. "It’s 'awe, awe, awe,'" she said, before spelling it out for Bryan.

Still, he wasn't all that convinced, and said, "Is that a word in the dictionary?" 

"It is," Perry replied.

At this point, Bryan started to sing the chorus with the correct lyrics and Perry playfully emphasized her point.

"Yeah, it's 'awe, awe, awe.' Everybody, get it right," she said. 

Her fellow judge Lionel Richie, who had been silent during the exchange, then broke out into laughter as Perry mentioned another lyric that people often get wrong.

"It’s not 'fireworks.' It’s 'firework,'" she said. 

Bryan seemed satisfied and ended the conversation by saying, "'Baby you're a firework.' God, I'm so glad I knew that."

Perry shared a video of the moment on Instagram and an excerpt from an article about her song “Firework.” The blurb explains that the lyrics were inspired by one of author Jack Kerouac’s lines.

The end of the line reads “...and everybody goes ‘Aww!” which is spelled a bit differently than her lyric “awe” but it’s pretty darn close.

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