“Cupid’s Chokehold” by Gym Class Heroes (ft. Patrick Stump)
As a premise to what is being expressed, we can say that the singer is somewhat of a playa (as further illustrated by the cover art). Indeed even his own parents, whom he addresses in the verses, recognize him as such. But he is trying to convince them that he has in fact met that special someone whom he is totally smitten with. And such is the idea the title of the track alludes to, i.e. Cupid, the personification of being in love, having the vocalist “in a chokehold”, i.e. exerting complete influence over the singer.
And just to note, conspiracy theory-wise it has been put forth that this song may be in reference to Katy Perry. For she is the person whom the writer of the tune, Gym Class Heroes’ Travie McCoy, was dating at the time he did so.
Who wrote “Cupid’s Chokehold”?
Travie McCoy of the Gym Class Heroes is credited as the writer of this song alongside Roger Hodgson of Supertramp fame. That’s because “Cupid’s chokehold” interpolates “Breakfast in America” (1979), Supertramp’s celebrated track from the 1970s.
In fact this song was “really unintentional”, as Gym Class Heroes’ Matt McGinley explained it. That is to say that the band originally used “Breakfast in America” for practice purposes, but said rehearsals ultimately led to the development of “Cupid’s chokehold”.
It is worth mentioning that Gym Class Heroes sampled “Breakfast in America” onto this song without first getting permission from Roger Hodgson. Originally this pissed Hodgson off, but at the end of the day he actually liked the finished product.
When did Gym Class Heroes release “Cupid’s Chokehold”?
This track came out during March of 2005, being put out by Fueled by Ramen. It is featured on Gym Class Heroes’ second album The Papercut Chronicles. And another version of it entitled “Cupid’s Chokehold/Breakfast in America” is also featured on the band’s third album, As Cruel as School Children.
The latter version proved to be more popular than the first. This is because the music video to said rendition, with Alan Ferguson acting as director, received ample airplay on VH1 and MTV. Moreover the audio to the original never made it onto iTunes. Also interesting to note is that the second version’s video actually features Katy Perry – whom Travie McCoy was dating at the time – though this was before she had blown up.
The As Cruel as School Children version of this song was created under the urgings of Atlantic Records, who teamed up with Fueled by Ramen for release of that album. And what they instructed the band to put together specifically was a new rendition of the tune that was “bigger” than the first.
Meanwhile the director of the video to The Papercut Chronicles’ version of the song is Andrew Paul Bowser.
Chart and Certification
Cupid’s Chokehold proved to be the Gym Class Heroes’ most-successful tune. It topped Billboard’s Mainstream Top 40, reached number 4 on the Hot 100 and number 3 on the UK Singles Chart. Additionally it has been certified platinum in the United States and charted in nearly 20 nations overall.
Are Katy Perry’s vocals on “Cupid’s Chokehold”?
No. Patrick Stump, who is widely known as the lead singer of Fall Out Boy, a rock band from the US, handles the vocal responsibilities on this song.
Production
The producer of “Cupid’s Chokehold”, the version that actually hit, was Sam Hollander, aka S*A*M.
