Songfacts®:

• This is the first single from Electra Heart, the second album by Greek/Welsh singer-songwriter Marina and the Diamonds. Asked to describe just what Electra Heart is and stands for, Marina told Popjustice: "Electra Heart is the antithesis of everything that I stand for. And the point of introducing her and building a whole concept around her is that she stands for the corrupt side of American ideology, and basically that's the corruption of yourself. My worst fear - that's anyone's worst fear - is losing myself and becoming a vacuous person. And that happens a lot when you're very ambitious."
• This song was produced by Stargate and sees Marina's platinum blonde anti-heroine, Electra Heart, on the run with her amoral US fantasies. The single premiered on BBC Radio 1 on August 22, 2011 with a release date of October 3, 2011.
• The whole Electra Heart concept was inspired by Marina reading Aristotle's book Poetics. She explained to NME: "It's about analyzing Greek tragedy and I saw so many parallels between that and Hollywood that I realized old Hollywood is our modern-day mythology; people like Marilyn and Elvis."
• Marina, who is of Greek origin, explained her Electra Heart name to NME: "It's the perfect combination of Greek history and Hollywood pin-ups. 'Electra' has the same meaning as my middle name, Lambrini - the one who is full of light. And 'Heart' - it's all about being very shut off from love, and being too proud to admit it."
• Diamandis told NME: "I wrote 'Radioactive' in New York in the middle of a heat wave. Introduced to a glittering new nightlife, I fell in love with New York; it has this magic, fizzing white energy that no other city in the world has. I felt happy and was inspired to write a song that felt light and euphoric, a more streamlined, minimalistic style of songwriting."
  
  She added: "I have changed my approach to songwriting completely, and as a result, written songs I would never have written on my own (i.e on my s--t Argos keyboard alone in my bedroom in London)."