Just because it’s over doesn’t mean it’s really over — but do we still care?
Katy Perry’s back with a bright pop album to make us “smile” — her sixth studio album, optimistically titled Smile. Although it seems the world hasn’t had much to be optimistic about since Perry last racked up multiple Top 40 singles. After 2010’s Teenage Dream, a blockbuster album that tied Michael Jackson’s record for most number one singles from an album, Perry fell from grace quickly. 2013’s Prism’s
While die-hard Katy Perry fans, also known as KatyCats, have been following the slow, lead-up release to Smile since May 2019 when Perry released stand-alone single “Never Really Over,” it seems the general public has only just recognized this new era for Perry. The average person is probably most familiar with the repetitive title song “Smile,” which has been bored into your head courtesy of a Target commercial.
The album Smile isn’t bad; however, it’s completely forgettable and feels dated. Unlike pop stars like Dua Lipa and Lady Gaga who have found new ways to make 80s dance-pop fresh, Perry opts to make an album that sounds like songs Gwen Stefani declined to record for Love. Angel. Music. Baby. and The Sweet Escape – both of which were released over a decade ago. After one listen, it’s clear that Smile is a course correction for Perry and an apology for putting out what some might consider her previous depressing album.
Every song on the record is a retread of something we’ve already heard from Perry before. “Cry About It Later” is a standard Katy Perry bop; “Teary Eyes” features the same trap-pop influences from “Dark Horse” and will be a fan pleaser. “Daises,” the record’s lead single, named for Katy’s then-unborn daughter with Orlando Bloom, is one of the better ones on Smile, but covers territory more thoroughly explored on Perry’s unreleased pop-rock songs “Box” and “Diamonds.”
Immediately, the record’s first three songs remind you that Perry’s never been the most creative lyricist. “Resilient” drives home this fact with every self-help cliché in a song ready-made for adult alternative radio. “Not the End of the World” showcases Perry at her most creative with lyrics like “flipping off the flop.” Next is “Champagne Problems,” which is nearly indistinguishable from “Never Really Over.”
Halfway through the album, you realize that Perry has been nothing but boring. The last four songs on the standard edition of the record aren’t better than the rest of the album, but they are more interesting. “Tucked” regains some steam while “Harley’s in Hawaii” sounds like a motorcycle commercial disguised as a trop-pop song. “Only Love” doesn’t stand out because it fades into the background once “What Makes A Woman” starts. For the first time in her career, Katy has released a pop-country song that gets back to her singer-songwriter roots. If Capitol Records wants another successful single from Smile, they will probably have Katy record a country version.
The last song, “High on Your Supply” is only available on the Target exclusive version of the record, but it should have been put on the standard edition. It’s clearly about Witness failing to achieve any lasting success and should have replaced “Resilient,” a much weaker song.
Nothing kills a pop career like being boring. Katy Perry is in a much happier place now, but her album doesn’t reflect that as much as it should. Instead, she spends much of Smile apologizing for an unsuccessful experiment that killed her status as a bona fide hitmaker and trying to recapture the spark of a previous hit like “Firework.” Hopefully, this album doesn’t derail whatever success Perry has had with confronting her own issues from the past because Smile isn’t going to rocket her back to the top of the charts.
