<P> Capitol Records said that they are not specifically releasing the song in hopes of it reaching No. 1 and rewriting Hot 100 history (since Perry was the first woman to obtain five No. 1s on the chart from one album), rather the decision came out of "Perry's fondness for the song, its ear - catching hook and her obvious track record of success at pop radio". EMI Music / Capitol Records EVP / marketing and promotion Greg Thompson told Billboard that, "if it goes to No. 1, that would be great, If not, we still have a Katy song on the radio in fourth quarter", presumably boosting sales for Teenage Dream in the Christmas season . "The One That Got Away" officially impacted U.S. radio on October 11, 2011 . </P> <P> In late September 2011, Perry wrote the following message on her Twitter account: "The One That Got Away...It's happening!!!", along with a picture of the official single artwork . The artwork shows a pink - haired Perry looking up at the sky while wearing a disc - shaped hat . The photo gives a whimsical nod to the 1970s, with its distinctively retro appearance . </P> <P> Originally titled "In Another Life", the song was produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin, both of whom co-wrote it with Perry . It is a midtempo pop song positioned on the piece of E major and has a tempo of 134 beats per minute . Joanna Holcombe from Yahoo! Music noted that the song is about first loves . Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly, said that the song is "a midtempo ode to a summer - after - high - school love with whom she recalls sharing Mustang makeout sessions to Radiohead"'. Michael Wood from Spin magazine said that the song is one of the album's quieter cuts and that it recall (s) "Perry's singer - songwriter days at L.A.'s Hotel Café". The song follows the chord progression of E--G ♯ m--C ♯ m--A, and Perry's vocal range spans from B to E. Kitty Empire noticed that Perry's vocal is wistful throughout the song and that the references to June and Johnny Cash were unexpected . Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone stated that when Perry sings,' I was June, and you were my Johnny Cash,' "it's understood that she's thinking of the scrubbed - up Hollywood version of June and Johnny, from Walk the Line ." In 2017, the singer revealed that "The One That Got Away" was about Josh Groban . </P> <P> Kerri Mason from Billboard described the song as "delectable", noting that it has more texture than anything on Perry's previous album, One of the Boys . Mikael Wood from Spin Magazine said that although "Perry delivers the gurl - gone - wild stuff with requisite sass", she actually "sounds more engaged on' Not Like the Movies,' and' The One That Got Away' . Similarly, Kitty Empire from The Guardian praised the collaboration, stating that Perry and Luke are at their most appealing in the song . In a similar note, Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone, stated that Perry is more at home with the mall romance of "The One That Got Away". The same opinion was echoed by Greg Kot from Chicago Tribune who felt that Perry sounds more invested in the more "serious" songs on the album, such as "The One That Got Away". However, he added that it's as if Perry is "determined to balance the summer frothiness with a few shots of' adult' earnestness". Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly was not satisfied with the selection of the song as the sixth single, noting that there are better songs on the album that could have been chosen instead . Robert Copsey of the website Digital Spy awarded the song with four out of five stars and said: </P>

Who was the one that got away about