Katy Perry’s New Album Is Guaranteed To Put a Summer Smile On Your Face
By Patrick DeMarco
Katy Perry is truly having the best week ever. To kick things off, this past Monday, her Billboard chart bulldozing Teenage Dream record—you know, the one with those five consecutive number-one singles—celebrated a decade owning our whipped cream bikini’d lives. And now here we are at the end of the week with her sixth studio offering, Smile and it’s guaranteed to put exactly the beaming same on everyone’s faces once you put those headphones on and give it a spin.
Wait, there’s one more thing… what could it be? Oh, yes, Katy Kats, everyone’s favorite California gurl along with her fiancé, Mr. Orlando Bloom, welcomed their first child into the world together, Ms. Daisy Dove Bloom, just yesterday!! Congratulations are certainly in order for the happy couple. And if you haven’t seen their first absolutely precious first pic holding hands with the adorable Ms. Daisy yet, go right here. It’s guaranteed to warm your soul right up in these darkened times.
Know what else is guaranteed to warm you up and also give you all the late-summer music feels? Ms. Perry’s bouncy new record. In a few words…Witness this ain’t. Where do we truly begin when it comes to the “I Kissed a Girl” songstress’ sixth studio offering? How about with how long it took the singer to get here. After the blockbuster offerings that were Teenage Dream and Prism along with their equally box office crushing accompanying world tours, Perry’s then brought us Witness, a beautifully weird album chock full of dance beats aligned with lyrics about loneliness, fame and odd sexual entandras. No shade, “Bon Appetit” and Migos, no shade. Although Witness certainly isn’t a terrible album—it was a far reach from the chart owning prowess that we came to know and love from Perry along her record booking way.
So, now here we are with Smile. As we’ve seen with the drum line saturated (and Zedd helmed) lead single “Never Really Over,” which hit radio airwaves last summer—the diva still has what it takes to create a smash hit, but does the rest of the album measure up? With this record, we get a pop star who’s aware of how long she’s been in the music game—a decade plus—and made it her mission to create her kind of music and didn’t make it a messy mission to grab that next number one smash, it’s all quite groovy.
The laced-out (and Charlie Puth co-vibin’) flow of “Harleys in Hawaii” will indeed have you yearning to strap your helmet on and have you riding Harleys in Hawaii. The vibes also pop on the thumping “Cry About Later,” which will certainly have you living your best bedroom dance party life upon first listen. Iconic production duo Stargate lend a mighty hand on the gritty, “Resilient,” which aims to make you just bounce, and the album’s percussion pounced title track is guaranteed to turn any frown upside down in this horribly darkened era of life. Turn it all the way up whenever you need to
There’s also the disco-kissed “Tucked,” which not only has a dance-y chance to own the top of the charts, but it just may turn it out to be the next drag queen anthem. You know, for obvious reasons. Plus, it’s just a really fun jam and a true Smile standout:
The after hours kissed “Teary Eyes” comes is a shimmering second. “Have you ever lost, lost the light in your life? Have you ever left, left yourself behind? Have you ever lied and just replied “I’m fine?” Just keep on dancing with those teary eyes,” the singer coos on top of a luscious deep house beat, bring your Kleenex on the dance floor with this one. But the true album highlight is the electrified “Daises,” an empowering banger that everyone across this 2020 shattered globe needs in their headphones in this very tattered moment.
If there’s one thing that Perry’s a master at, it’s creating pearl clutching sonnets that truly make us set ourselves free from ourselves (See “Roar,” “Firework,” “By the Grace of God,” and from this record, there’s also “Never Worn White” and “With Love”),“Daisies” is truly no exception.
“They told me I was out there, tried to knock me down
Took those sticks and stones, showed ’em I could build a house
They tell me that I’m crazy, but I’ll never let ’em change me
‘Til they cover me in daisies, daisies, daisies”
It’s just that anthem we need to take us away from everything. To sum the Smile experience up, we need to accept that at this point in her career, Perry knows exactly what she’s doing. See also…American Idol. She’s far away from serving us lightning in a bottle consecutive number-one singles in this decade, but once you delude that criticism from your mind, you’ll see that the “California Gurls” icon is still really, really, really good at making really, really, really good music. Smile is certainly proof of that it’s all we’ll truly ever need from Katy Perry for now. She’s certainly not going anywhere anytime soon!
Listen to Katy Perry’s Smile HERE:
About the author: Patrick DeMarco has been an avid entertainment writer for the City of Brotherly Love for just about a decade now, and is happy to keep the fires burning as a contributor for The Philadelphia Globe.
Leave a Comment